Whiston is an ancient town lying south of the road linking Liverpool and Warrington, and crossed by the Liverpool to Manchester railway. For more than 450 years it was known for its coal mines. Its recorded history begins in the 13th century but its roots are much older. A polished stone hand-axe, a relic of the Neolithic Age, was discovered there in 1941 and in 1986 fragments of flint tools were found on a local farm.

William K Blinkhorn, honorary secretary of the Whiston Historical Society since it was founded in 1974, has spent years researching the town's history. In this wide-ranging book he traces the story of Whiston from its Stone Age beginnings right up to the closure of one of its most modern industries, the B.I.P. Chemicals' amino-plastics factory which had been built near the site of the Old Halsnead Pits Nos. 9 and 10.

He looks at the derivation of old place and field names; the lords of the manor and tenant lords of the manor of Whiston; taxes, tithes and land ownership; listed buildings; the effect of the plague; almshouses and charities; ale-houses and beerhouses; the care of the sick; religion and schools. There are numerous family trees showing the genealogy of Whiston's most noted gentry.

A section devoted to the industries of Whiston examines agriculture, coal mining, communications, watch and hand-tool making, shoe-making, blacksmithing, tanning, nailmaking, quarrying, Tushingham's brickworks, Stoves Ltd (Gas Appliances) and the production of pipes and pots.

The book is illustrated with copies of old documents and photographs, and with pen and ink illustrations by the author. He says: "I have tried to simplify this history - I think that too many details and dates become a bore when covering the time-span involved." The result is a fascinating and readable dip into Whiston's past.

To assist genealogists and local historians the book has been comprehensively indexed. The index can be consulted on-line, so that you can see if there is mention of a person, place or event of interest to you. To access the Index, click here

I suggested a Local History Group and to my surprise about a dozen people came forward and a meeting was held which lead to the formation of the Whiston Historical Society. A committee was formed and I was elected as Hon. Secretary, a position I have held for the past 30 years!

In 1974 Liverpool University held a 10 weeks course on Local History at Prescot which helped to put us on track for research and in 1979 I did a correspondance course on Industrial Archaeology with the Open University.

I have previously co-authored two publications - "A History of Whiston, 1100 - 1900" (1982) and "The Inns of Prescot & Whiston" (1988). Later, I wrote "Whiston, A Young Person's Guide" (1990) and "From Spytell Hous to Hospital" (1990). Unfortunately, these have all been out of print for some years.

However, the culmination of many years of research has enabled me to write the present publication.

Leonie Press has now re-published two of the booklets, "The Inns of Prescot & Whiston" and. "From Spytell Hous to Hospital"