Upton





Overview
Formerly a township in Broxton Hundred, it included the hamlet of Upton Heath. The population was 173 in 1801, 555 in 1851, 1,769 in 1901 and 6,343 in 1951.

Upton and the Vikings
In 937, at "Brunanburh" Æþelstān and his half-brother Edmund subjected the combined armies of Olaf III Guthfrithson (Viking King of Dublin), Constantine II (King of Scotland) and Owian (King of Strathclyde) to a crushing defeat. The Mercian and West Saxon army attacked in two divisions: Mercians faced the Scandinavians, and the Saxons headed off against the Scots. The precise location of the battle has never been established, but some evidence (possibly) points to Bromborough on the Wirral, a few miles north-west of Chester. The importance of the battle cannot be denied - Æþelstān's defeat of the combined Norse-Celtic force facing him irrevocably confirmed England as an Anglo-Saxon kingdom, forcing the Celtic kingdoms to consolidate in the positions that they occupy today.

This battle has been confused with the legendary Arthurian battle of "Mons Badonicus" which was already reported by Nennius/Gildas in De Excidio Britanniae ("The Ruin of Britannia") many years previously. However, the fact that Alfred fought the Danes at Chester, and that his son Edgar fought (and died) at Farndon, may have meant that if third-generation Æþelstān fought another battle near Chester, later legends would mix all these elements together. Bromborough is perhaps well worth a visit as there is compelling evidence that the Wirral was settled by the Vikings and an excellent guide can be found together with heaps more stuff on the Viking Wirral pages. Tennyson translated an epic poem about the battle and the text can be found on the Victorian Web. As the AS Chronicle puts it:


 * 937 - Her æþelstan cyning, eorla dryhten, beorna beahgifa 7 his broþor eac, Eadmund æþeling, ealdorlangne tir geslogon æt sæcce sweorda ecgum ymbe Brunanburh. (A.D.937: Here, King Athelstan, leader of warriors, ring-giver of men, and also his brother, the prince Edmund, struck life-long glory in strife around Brunanburh)

It is possible that a boundary stone ("Vínheíþr-stan" in Icelandic) existed at Upton giving rise to the name of "Wealstone Lane". The reference to "Vínheíþr" is interesting as "Vin Heath" is mentioned in Egils Saga (see Chapter 52) as being the location of the Battle of Brunanburh. Æþelstān was encamped prior to the battle at a town a little way to the south and, given the time that it took for messengers to ride between the opponents, this may well have been Chester. "Vin" is often interpreted as a personal name, but the so-called "Wirral Micro-climate" may be such that it was possible to grow grape-vines there in Viking times, so the "Vin" may be a reference to a place where grapes grew. There is a further reference to vines on the 1735 map of Upton. Port-, Tapa- and Wing-Fields are grouped together along Liverpool Road behind the Egerton Arms (now "The Mill") – Upton Drive area. Tapa is a personal name (NB Pica in Picton), words begin-ning with ‘wing’ in the Old English dictionary relate to vines.

Links

 * Upton Local History website (very useful, extensive and well-informed);
 * Upton in old newspapers, around 1900;
 * Cheshire Trade Directories;
 * "The Oaks" Upton - home of Andrews Crompton from 1915-33 and its connection with William Hesketh Lever.