Railway Bridge, Otterspool Park

Image: © Sue Adair Taken: 15 Aug 2005

Railway bridge on the Southport to Hunts Cross Merseyrail line in Otterspool Park, a natural valley where once a creek known as Osklesbrok cascaded into the river Mersey. This little park has a long and interesting history, it was a fine source of fish (and therefore Otters) and local monks established a fishery in 1264. On the southern boundary of the hunting park of Toxteth, many of the new tenants were part of a community of Puritans and the farms behind the ancient deer park wall soon became known as the 'Holy Land'. The sect took their religious fervour to the extreme by renaming the Osklesbrok the 'River Jordan' and one of the nearby farms 'Jericho'. A snuffmill was constructed at the mouth of the creek in 1779 and by 1812 a fine house had been built within the creek of Otterspool by John Moss who turned the snuff mill into an oil mill, building embankments to give barges direct access to his factory. The promenade was constructed in 1950 sealing Otterspool forever. For more info see: www.btinternet.com/~m.royden/mrlhp/local/otterspool/otters.htm

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