The historic village is surrounded by ditches of water on farms and was once home to a lake that stretched all the way to Maghull.
A village home to less than 3,500 people has a long history of monks and tales of blood seeping up from the ground. Melling village is a gem which was originally part of Lancashire and dates to 1086 in the Doomsday book.
The name is tribal keeping the memory of a group of migrant settlers from the 6 th century AD. The land was owned by Henry of Melling who gave it to Cockersands Abbey Monks in 1184Ad
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Most of the land from Melling to Maghull was a large stretch of water, moss and bog called Hengerther Lake. Monks from Cockersands Abbey drained the water in the 14 th century.
They used local labour to cut the drainage ditches to make fertile land. There are still water ditches surrounding the village to this day.
St Thomas’ Church
The local church is at the heart of the community. The grade II listed budling is also known as St Thomas and the Holy Rood.
It was founded by the monks and records suggest a building has stood on the site since 1190 but the new chapel was built in 1934 and is located on Melling rock which is the highest natural point in Sefton Borough.
George Robertson, the father of ex-Liberal Democrat politician Tony Robertson was asked to play the organ at the church. Farmer Mrs Roby who ran a farm on Tithebarn Lane was looking for someone to play the organ while her regular organist was away. George volunteered and after Sunday service he came back with a cabbage.
Tony Robertson, who represented Melling Civil Parish as a Sefton Borough Councillor from 1999 to 2011, said: “Dad came home from a Sunday Service with a cabbage one day saying he'd been given it by Mrs Roby for playing the organ. You can imagine how amusing this was for us all.
“In reality, dad was delighted just to play their organ, he would have done it cabbage or no cabbage.”
People living in the area also spoke of a centuries-old folk tale about Oliver Cromwell fighting on the church grounds and blood-like liquid seeped up from the grounds.
History was nearly lost
The people of Melling are intensely proud of the village's history and used to rely on local historian Mr Edward Newton. When he died his weekly leaflets were all the residents had to learn about their history.
Author Carol Fitzgerald hunted down every leaflet through with help from friends, Crosby library and Edward’s daughter Lorna. Carol asked if she could make a book compiling all of Edward's work so Melling doesn’t lose its history, Carol said Lorna was "delighted".
Carol wrote Melling ‘Through the Ages’ and donated the £1,400 profit to St Thomas’ Church during the pandemic.
‘I couldn’t leave Melling’
People living in Melling told the ECHO how much they loved living in the historic village. It was described by one resident as "one big family who all help each out" and many praised their big community support during the pandemic.
The Horse and Jockey, a local pub, used their own money during the pandemic to help people struggling financially. They cooked meals and volunteers were delivered food to some of the local elderly residents who couldn’t leave their houses.
Author, Carol Fitzgerald said: “I love it. I couldn't leave Melling. I just couldn't. The house is too big for me, but I've got my granddaughter living with me and she makes enough noise for ten. She says ‘nan, this house is too big for you’ but I can't move.
“I've got lovely neighbours, a lovely view. I’m not going anywhere. I couldn't live in a concrete city. I just couldn’t, I love Melling. It's so community orientated.
“Everybody helps each other out. Where I live there are only 28 houses, but the community is fantastic, and we all pull together.”
According to data from Rightmove, over the last year properties in Melling have an average house price of £200,494, up 9% from 2019, with the majority of sales coming from semi-detached properties. Detached properties sold for an average of £267,455, with terraced properties fetching £153,500
‘A walk-through wonderland’
The village is covered in colourful buildings and vibrant flowers but there is a particular part of Melling that makes it stand out from the rest.
Sandra Lockett, who also works with St Thomas Church, runs a local community knitting group where residents put their skills to the test. Every holiday or event, the knitting group make knitted hats for all the post boxes.
One villager said: “Ahh isn’t it great. I love my daily walk around. It feels like a walk-through wonderland. My grandkids just love it.”
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