Aintree facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Aintree |
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 Sign marking boundary of Aintree and the Liverpool district of Walton |
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 Aintree
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| Population | 6,689 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | SJ375985 |
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| Metropolitan borough |
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| Metropolitan county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LIVERPOOL |
| Postcode district | L9, L10 |
| Dialling code | 0151 |
| Police | Merseyside |
| Fire | Merseyside |
| Ambulance | North West |
| EU Parliament | North West England |
| UK Parliament |
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Aintree is a village in Merseyside, England. It's located about 6 kilometres (4 miles) northeast of Liverpool city centre. In 2011, about 6,689 people lived there.
Aintree is most famous for Aintree Racecourse. This is where the exciting Grand National horserace has taken place for a very long time. In the past, Aintree also had a large motor racing track. This track used the same stands as the horserace. Today, a shorter version of the track is still used for different motorsport events.
Some local people call the northern part of Aintree "Old Roan." This is just a nickname used by residents. It is not an official name for the area.
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Aintree's Past: How the Village Began
The name Aintree comes from an old language called Saxon. It means "one tree" or "tree standing alone." The name was first written down in 1226. It was also spelled Ayntre in 1292.
There's a local story about an old oak tree. People used to say this tree was "the Ain tree." However, the name Aintree is much older than that specific tree.
The original village was a small settlement. It was located near where School Lane, Bull Bridge Lane, and Wango Lane meet. A lot of the nearby land used to be wet and boggy. But in 1779, a law helped to drain this land. This made it good for farming.
Life in Aintree Today
Aintree village has two primary schools. These are Aintree Davenhill and Holy Rosary. There is also a Music School for learning instruments.
You can find five churches in Aintree. These include St. Giles (Anglican) and Holy Rosary (Roman Catholic). There are also Old Roan Methodist Church and Old Roan Baptist Church. Aintree Village Family Church is another Baptist church.
The village has two small shopping areas. You can find them on Altway and at the Old Roan. There are also three public houses, which are like local pubs. These are the Blue Anchor, The Valentine, and the Old Roan (which is now closed). The Valentine pub is named after a fence at the famous racecourse. The Old Roan pub gave its name to a railway station nearby.
A large retail park is located on Ormskirk Road. This area used to be for factories. Now, it has many big shops for people to visit.
Aintree's Schools: Davenhill and Holy Rosary
Aintree Davenhill Primary School has a big field. It also has a building that was first built in the 1950s. This building was actually planned to be a hospital. But it was changed into a school instead! The classrooms were along corridors that were meant to be hospital wards.
Holy Rosary Primary School used to have two separate sites. They were about 800 metres (half a mile) apart. Younger students were at one site, and older students at the other. In 2008, the school was made into one big site. The old site is now called the Hope Centre. It offers different services for the local community. The school has a large field for sports days and an all-weather sports pitch.
Getting Around Aintree: Transport Links
The main road into Aintree from Liverpool is the A59. It's known as Ormskirk Road as it goes through the village. This road passes by Aintree's retail parks. A big and busy road junction called Switch Island is located near Aintree. Here, several major roads meet up. These include the M57, M58, A59, and A5036.
Aintree has two railway stations. Aintree railway station is very handy for the racecourse. But the village itself is closer to Old Roan railway station. Both stations are on the Merseyrail Northern Line. Trains run regularly between Liverpool Central and Ormskirk.
Bus services are also very common in Aintree. A bus runs to Liverpool every 20 minutes. Other bus routes go to places north of Aintree. These include Maghull, Ormskirk, and Southport.
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal also flows through the village. This canal is a waterway used for boats.
Famous People from Aintree
Aintree has been home to some well-known people:
- Ted Sagar: He was a famous goalkeeper for the Everton football team. After he stopped playing in 1952, he ran a pub in Aintree.
- Phil Thompson: He was a captain for the Liverpool football team. He also works as a sports expert on TV. He used to live on Bull Bridge Lane.
- Andy Burnham: He is an important politician from the Labour Party. He was born in Old Roan, Aintree, in 1970. Today, he is the Mayor of Greater Manchester.
- Richard Crawshaw: Known as Dick Crawshaw, he was a politician who lived in Aintree for most of his life.
- Ronald Sugden: He was a first-class cricketer and an officer in the Royal Air Force.
