Otterspool Park
The name ‘Otterspool’ is derived from the Old English name Otirpul or Oterpol. Otir was the Old English for otter and the location was so named because of the otters which inhabited the tidal creek and freshwater pools formed where a stream joined the River Mersey. The stream feeding Otterspool was known as Osklesbrok but was later renamed the River Jordan by a community of puritans who leased smallholdings around the stream.
Otterspool Park is in the valley of the River Jordan (formerly the Osklesbrok) which is culverted from Sefton Park boating lake under Aigburth Vale to re-emerge the left of Otterspool Park gates.
Before modifications were made to the flow of the stream, ‘Osklesbrok’ was a vigorous watercourse with good quality fishing and contained a number of cascades along its course as it flowed through woodland before joining the Mersey.
In 1779 a Snuff Mill was erected at Otterspool along with workmen’s cottages and by 1812 Otterspool House had been constructed by John Moss, who turned the snuff mill into an oil mill and built a harbour wall along the river edge to allow barges direct access to the factory. A bridge carrying the railway over the valley was constructed in 1864.
Upstream of the railway bridge a was dam constructed to create a lake. The dam was removed at some stage in the 19th Century, but a by-pass culvert can still be seen on the valley side.
Liverpool Corporation bought the Otterspool Estate in 1925 and Otterspool House which was in a poor state of repair was demolished in 1931. A café, now derelict, was subsequently built on the site.
Read MoreOtterspool Park is in the valley of the River Jordan (formerly the Osklesbrok) which is culverted from Sefton Park boating lake under Aigburth Vale to re-emerge the left of Otterspool Park gates.
Before modifications were made to the flow of the stream, ‘Osklesbrok’ was a vigorous watercourse with good quality fishing and contained a number of cascades along its course as it flowed through woodland before joining the Mersey.
In 1779 a Snuff Mill was erected at Otterspool along with workmen’s cottages and by 1812 Otterspool House had been constructed by John Moss, who turned the snuff mill into an oil mill and built a harbour wall along the river edge to allow barges direct access to the factory. A bridge carrying the railway over the valley was constructed in 1864.
Upstream of the railway bridge a was dam constructed to create a lake. The dam was removed at some stage in the 19th Century, but a by-pass culvert can still be seen on the valley side.
Liverpool Corporation bought the Otterspool Estate in 1925 and Otterspool House which was in a poor state of repair was demolished in 1931. A café, now derelict, was subsequently built on the site.
