Some of the following St.Helens dialect expressions and local terms occur in
archival collections held at St.Helens Local History and Archives Library.
| Battery Cob |
Section of raised land
situated in Sutton. The cob was an artificial hill used for
testing bullets by the nearby armaments works. It was the site of a
wartime plane crash in 1943. |
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| Bergies or Burghies |
Banks of waste material alongside
Haresfinch Road, St.Helens derived from the glass polishing industry.
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| Billy Woods |
A deep clay hole filled with water off
Watery Lane, Sutton, St.Helens. The clay was dug out for earthenware products
made by the Sutton Drain Tile and Garden Pot works in Nook Lane. Children
used to swim in the hole despite the danger. |
| The Bonk |
Site of chemical waste caused by a factory
explosion near the back of Watery Lane going towards Fleet Lane, Parr,
St.Helens. |
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| Cement City |
Estate off Fleet Lane/Berry's Lane, Parr
in St.Helens built for colliery workers. |
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| Cephos Bridge |
Bridge at Peasley Cross Lane, St.Helens
which contained a placard advertising Cephos headache remedy in the
1960s. |
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| Chemics (also spelt ‘Kimmicks’ or “Kimics”) |
Chemical waste site near Borough Road and
Greenbank area in St.Helens |
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| Cinder Walk |
This was a local name for the Watery Lane side of Cecil
Street, St.Helens, prior to the construction of houses in the area in the 1950s. The
name arose because cinders from Thomas Bolton and Sons Copper Rolling Mill were
tipped regularly onto the unpaved road. |
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| The Cleg |
Originally a clay hole on land off
Nutgrove Hall Drive/Elephant Lane, St.Helens. The back of the land used
to be Tannery Farm Garage |
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| Daffodil School |
Hamblett School in Rainford Road,
St.Helens was known as the Daffodil School because of its spectacular
show of yellow blooms each springtime. |
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| Donkey Common |
Nickname for an open space, roughly north
of Elephant Lane in Thatto Heath, St.Helens, |
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| The Downies |
Undulating grassland near Burtonhead Road,
Thatto Heath, St.Helens. |
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| Griffins |
The Scala
Cinema, Ormskirk Street opened in 1911 and was nicknamed ‘Griffins’
after the owner, Alfred Griffin. It closed in 1957 |
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| The Hotties |
“The Hotties” refers to a series of pipes,
located on the south bank of the Sankey Canal, which formerly discharged
hot water/steam from the glass works, producing clouds of steam over the
canal’s surface. |
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| Intersection Bridge |
Bridge off Gerards Lane, St.Helens where
St.Helens/Runcorn Gap Railway crosses Liverpool/Manchester line. |
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| Jaggers |
Nickname for Richard Evans School, Haydock,
St.Helens. The name derives from John Jaggers who was the first head
teacher. |
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| Little Pig |
The Victoria Vaults was known locally as
the "Little Pig" because men from the local slaughterhouse would smuggle
young pigs to the landlord who paid in kind with beer. |
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| Monkey Bridge |
Bridge over railway, which leads from Dee
Road to Kendricks Fold, Rainhill, St.Helens |
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| Mucky Mountains |
These were alkaline waste tips which were
deposited on the banks of the Sankey Canal by
companies such as Muspratt's Vitriol Works. |
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| Nine Arches |
Sankey (railway) Viaduct at Earlestown has
nine arches. |
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| Parr Dog |
Nickname for
the Parrvilion Cinema, Jackson Street, St. Helens, which opened in 1914.
It was the first local cinema to be upgraded for sound films. It closed
in 1958 and later became Free's glass emporium. |
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| Pickled Egg |
Nickname for the Manor House public house,
Sutton Road, St.Helens. The landlord's speciality was pickled egg. |
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| Pudding Bag |
The
'Pudding Bag' district in Sutton contained a
close-knit community, lying inside 3 railway lines between Intersection
Bridge and St.Helens Junction station. The district was an enclosed
cul-de-sac with a single opening which served both as a means of
entrance and exit; therefore it acquired its name because it was like a
pudding bag with an opening at only one end. |
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| Red Rocks |
A natural sandstone path stretching from
Prescot Road to the top of the Avenue, St.Helens. |
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| The Rink |
Earlestown & Newton Police Station, Market
Street, Earlestown. It was built on the site of The Old Pavilion. |
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| Sankey Canal |
Also known as the St. Helens Canal |
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| 77 Step Bridge |
Second bridge over railway from Rainhill
Station to Lea Green, St.Helens. |
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| The Stinkey Brook |
Sankey Brook (a stream near Sankey Canal,
St.Helens) was known as “the Stinkey Brook” because it was
the disposal ground for waste from local chemical companies.
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| Sutton Bug |
Nickname for the Sutton Empire cinema,
Junction Lane, Sutton, St.Helens, which opened in 1913 and closed in
1957. The building later housed a carpet shop. |