Knowsley

"KNOWSLEY, a township in the parish of Huyton, hundred of West Derby, county Lancaster, 3 miles N.W. of Prescot, its post town, and 22 N. of the Huyton railway station. The village is considerable. Nearly two-thirds of the parish are woodland and park ground surrounding Knowsley House, which, since the injury that Latham House sustained in the parliamentary war, has been the principal residence of the earls of Derby. The mansion is a spacious structure of stone with two circular towers, and contains a magnificent gallery of paintings by the first Italian and Flemish masters, also a fine collection of family portraits, including Thomas, the first earl, and father-in-law to Henry VII., whom he accompanied to the battle of Bosworth. It has undergone numerous additions since the visit of Henry VII. to his mother, the Countess of Derby, and was thoroughly restored in 1735 by William, the tenth earl. This noble mansion is open to visitors on certain days. The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of Lancaster, value £300. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is a modern structure, with a tower crowned by a spire, and containing a clock and one bell. There are National and infant schools, wholly supported by the Earl of Derby."