St Helens (England): See
"... a township unpleasing to the eye, where the natural amenities have been replaced by everything unlovely that man could devise" - St Helens circa 1905
Town Hall is a rambling 19th-century sort-of-Italianate building on Corporation Street and houses the municipal offices.
St Helens Parish Church is on Church St 200 yards west of Central station. It's Anglican, completed in 1926 after its predecessor burned down.
North West Museum of Road Transport, Old Bus Depot, 51 Hall St WA10 1DU (100 yards north of Central station), ☏ +44 1744 451681. Sun 11AM-4PM. Great collection of old buses and cars, many built at Leyland Motors not far north. Dog-friendly. Adult or conc £4, child £2.50. (updated Aug 2022)
1 World of Glass, Chalon Way East WA10 1BX, ☏ +44 1744 22766. Tue-Sat 10AM-5PM. Museum demonstrating the town's history of glass manufacture. Adult £8, child or conc £6. (updated Aug 2022)
2 Carr Mill Dam originally just impounded a mill pond, but was enlarged in 1750 to create a reservoir for Sankey Canal. So it's a mile-long lake used for angling and competitive powerboating. Lakeside trails lead into Sankey Valley.
Sankey Valley Country Park stretches for 7 miles southeast from Carr Mill Dam along the line of Sankey Canal, which is joined by Sankey Brook and flows to Newton-Le-Willows. There are footpaths and cycleways. The canal is disused.
3 Colliers Moss Common is a reclaimed brownfield site, on waste from a power station. It's been landscaped with parkland, lagoons and pathways.
4 Sherdley Park is an extensive green space yet was once very much greater, owned by the Hughes mining dynasty, lords of all they surveyed. In the 20th century it was sold off piecemeal, and its mansions were demolished, until after the Second World War the Borough bought the remnant as a park. The north end is Sherdley Park Golf Club, the south has formal gardens, woodland, ponds and play areas. It's sometimes used as an event space.
5 Sutton Manor is a park, centred on "The Dream", a 66 ft sculpture. From 1906 to 1991 it was a colliery, one of the deepest on the Lancashire coalfield at 2000 ft, and the colliery gates still stand on Jubits Lane its western boundary. There was never a pit disaster, but some 60 workers died in accidents, and the mine often struggled for profitability. It fell victim to an NCB "review" and the site was cleared and landscaped. The park has a mix of woods and open lawns and is accessible 24 hours.
6 Windleshaw Chantry is a ruin, all that remains of an abbey; it was built in 1435 so it is by some distance the oldest building in St Helens. A chantry was where monks chanted prayers for the illustrious dead - especially their patron's ancestors, if they knew what was good for them.
7 Smithy Heritage Centre, Kiln Lane, Ecclestone WA10 4RA, ☏ +44 1744 730744. Apr-Sep: Sun noon-4PM. Small industrial history museum in a former blacksmith's smithy. Free. (updated Aug 2022)