We hope that you will enjoy exploring the rich history of the Old Swan and Stoneycroft area. This location has its roots as a simple crossroads situated between the thriving port of Liverpool to the West and the historic market town of Prescot to the East. To the North lies the remnants of the Norman castle in West Derby and the prestigious Croxteth Hall, the seat of the powerful Molyneux family and the Earls of Sefton. To the South is the village of Wavertree, which was once home to a crucial corn grinding windmill.
The crossroads was once a hub of activity, with a few manor houses, farm worker cottages, coaching inns, stables, and blacksmiths. The coaching inns, including the Old Swan (originally known as The Three Swans) and The Black Horse, provided weary travelers with a place to rest and change their exhausted horses.
In addition to travelers, the area was also frequented by drovers who brought large herds of cattle, sheep, and pigs from Lancashire farms to the nearby abattoir in Stanley to feed the growing port of Liverpool. The roads, often just muddy tracks, were also used by packhorse trains carrying everything the growing town of Liverpool needed, especially coal for heating and steam power. The journey was slow and expensive, but evidence of this historic trade can still be seen today in the narrow packhorse bridges that can still be found throughout the Lancashire hills and valleys.