Blackbrook is an electoral ward in St Helens, Merseyside

St Helens, Merseyside

St Helens is a large town in Merseyside, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens with a population of just over 100,000, part of an urban area with a total population of 176,843 at the time of the 2001 Census...

. The area is so called for the brook of the same name. The Blackbrook area is situated at the north east of St.Helens Borough and is historically part of the Parr

Parr, St Helens

Parr is a former village, now situated within St. Helens, England and is located towards the eastern side of the town. However the area dates back to the West Derby hundred district from the 12th century. The area is located within walking distance of St...

 township.

The actual brook itself forms the boundary between the townships of Parr, Haydock

Haydock

Haydock is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, in Merseyside, England. It contains all of the Haydock electoral ward and a section of the Blackbrook electoral ward. The village is located roughly mid-way between Liverpool and Manchester, close to the junction of the M6 motorway...

 and Ashton in Makerfield.

History

It lies within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

.

In 1770, the Penny Bridge branch of the Sankey Canal

Sankey Canal

The Sankey Canal, which is also known as the Sankey Brook Navigation and the St Helens Canal, is a canal in Cheshire, extending into Merseyside, in the northwest of England, connecting St Helens with the River Mersey...

 was extended through Blackbrook, adlacent to the brook, to facilitate the transport of coal from the Stanley Colliery, Ashton in Makerfield.

Education

Schools in the area include St. Augustine of Canterbury High School

St Augustine Of Canterbury Roman Catholic High School (St Helens)

St Augustine of Canterbury Roman Catholic High School or Guzzies as it is commonly known, is a voluntary-aided Catholic comprehensive school in the town of St Helens, Lancashire. The school has approx. 725 students whose ages range from 11 to 16...

, Blackbrook Roman Catholic Primary School and Ashurst Primary School.

Sport

Blackbrook ARLFC

Blackbrook ARLFC

Blackbrook Amateur and Junior Rugby League Football Club are an amateur rugby league club based at Blackbrook Sports and Recreational Club in Boardmans Lane, Blackbrook, St Helens, Merseyside...

 amateur rugby league

Rugby league

Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...

 team, founded in 1975, play at Boardmans Lane.
Blackbrook has been a feeder club for St Helens RLFC, Wigan Warriors

Wigan Warriors

Wigan Warriors is an English rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club's first team squad competes in the engage Super League and the team are the current Challenge Cup holders as of the 27th August 2011....

 and Warrington Wolves

Warrington Wolves

Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league football club based in Warrington, England that competes in Super League. They play at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2003....

 and many players have been produced from this amateur team who have entered into the professional ranks of rugby league.

Amongst the notables being Brian Case

Brian Case

Brian G. Case is an English former professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s who at representative level has played for Great Britain, and England, and at club level for Blackbrook, Warrington, and Wigan, playing at , i.e...

and Barry Williams

Steve Ganson, current rugby league referee, attended both Blackbrook Roman Catholic Primary School and St. Augustines of Canterbury High School. A signed Steve Ganson shirt from the Rugby League World Cup (in which he refereed) still hangs proudly at St. Augustines High School to this day.