The name Litherland derives from two elements,
Old Norse hlið/
hlith-ar, which means "slope", and
Old English land, "land". Litherland was mentioned in the
Domesday Book of 1086 as
Liderlant, however there was no mention of Liverpool at that time. The first manor of Litherland consisted of one half and two quarters, the areas being Litherland including what is now Seaforth (the half) and present day Orrell and Ford (the two quarters). Litherland remained a poor area until the arrival of the
Leeds and Liverpool Canal in 1774, this brought the area into the modern world, originally providing a safe route through
Lancashire from Liverpool to
Wigan, and eventually in 1816 through to
Leeds. The route became very busy primarily for goods and later for the transportation of passengers. The outcome of all this activity was to bring prosperous businessmen from the city to the countryside, where they had a desire to live. The canal was crossed by a mechanical lifting bridge built in 1934 (replacing an earlier swing bridge) which was demolished in 1974. The area was the northern extremity of the Bootle and North Docks lines of Liverpool's
tramway network. From the boundary with Bootle, it ran for ¾ of a mile along Linacre Road to a terminus at the junction with Bridge Road. This short stretch was the last horse drawn service in Liverpool, switching to electric operation in August 1903, eight months after the rest of the system converted. The Litherland Gala was staged every year and was famous for the procession of shire horses and floats from the docks. The gala procession ended at the
Bryant and May sports field.
Litherland Town Hall was officially opened in February 1941:
The Beatles played some of their earliest gigs there in 1961. ==Governance==