A dialect is a massive part of a town or area's identity.
St Helens has no shortage of unique sayings that separates them from the rest of Merseyside. The Lancashire influence on much of the town's speech is still clear to see, despite St Helens leaving the county in the 1970s..
Revisiting a topic previously explored by the ECHO, we looked at some popular St Helens sayings, and what the true meaning/ origin behind them really is.
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Yicker
People living in the village of Haydock have long been referred to by the nickname 'Yickers' but where did this actually originate from? The term dates back to the days of copper and coal mining on Merseyside/Lancashire, of which St Helens was a powerhouse.
When loading barges on the Sankey Canal to carry coal and copper down to the River Mersey, there was need for a strong but 'dim' young man to do a lot of the heavy work, and they were referred to as the 'yicker'. Over time the term was adopted by people from surrounding areas such as Parr and used in a derogatory way towards those hailing from Haydock.
Historically, Haydock was one of the UK's richest areas for coal and coal mining, which employed many of the people living in the village. With the last colliery- Wood Pit- which saw a tragic disaster in 1878, closed in 1971.
Were you made at Pilks?
The origin of this term comes from one of the town's biggest industries historically- glassmaking. Pilkington's Glassworks were opened in in 1826, when St Helens Crown Glass Company was formed by John William Bell and capital was raised from three wealthy families who lived in the area.
'Were you made at Pilks?' might be directed towards you (in an angry tone) if you were stood in front of a television- blocking the view of those behind you. That's your cue to move!
'Our Maude'
Unlike Liverpool, where you might hear someone refer to their girlfriend as their 'bird', travel up the East Lancs to St Helens, and you might instead hear someone call their wife or girlfriend 'Our Maude' Unlike some of the other sayings on this list, this one isn't completely exclusive to St Helens, with people from other nearby towns such as Wigan also using 'Our Maude' as a term of endearment.
'Split and fish'
If you were asked which food you associate with St Helens, you would likely say some kind of hearty pie, or, if you were from the town, you might reply with a 'split and fish' But what exactly does that mean?
It's actually a dish you could ask for in any chippy up and down the country, but with a unique name- the 'split' simply refers to half chips and half peas, a staple of a St Helens diet.
