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Revision as of 21:50, 1 January 2005 by Wereon (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)St Helens is a town in the traditional county of Lancashire and the metropolitan county of Merseyside in North West England. It gives its name to the metropolitan borough of St Helens.
As late as the 19th century St Helens did not exist. It was formed from the townships of Eccleston, Windle, Parr, and Sutton, all of which were in the Parish of Prescot and was named for St. Helen's parish church in Hardshaw within Windle, about 12 miles (19 km) north east of Liverpool. (The name of the town is these days written without an apostrophe.)
The glass industry was established here owing to the ready availability of sand and coal. The St Helens Canal was built in 1757 to transport raw materials and finished products to and from the River Mersey. In the 1830s the St Helens and Runcorn Gap railway was built for the same purpose.
The town grew rapidly. In 1868 it was incorporated as a borough and was made a county borough in 1889. Glass is still a major employer, the large Pilkington works dominating the town. Former industrial land has been reclaimed for use as hotels, shopping areas and housing. The many coal mines including Clock Face, Sutton Manor and Lea Green were closed from the 1960s to the 1980s, with the last colliery at Parkside closing in 1992.
The town itself (that is, the old county borough) included the suburbs of Clock Face, Sutton and part of Windle.
St Helens has a railway station (St Helens Central) on the Liverpool to Wigan line. St Helens Junction station on the Liverpool to Manchester line is 2 miles (3 km) south of the town centre. The town is close to the M62 and M57 motorways and the nearest airport is Liverpool Airport.
The main tourist attraction is St Helens' World of Glass, a museum dedicated to the glass industry.
The major sports team in the district is St Helens Rugby League Club.