Oxton, Cheshire Genealogy

Introduction
Oxton is a suburb of Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside, England. Administratively it is a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. Originally a village in its own right, it became part of the Municipal Borough of Birkenhead upon its creation in 1877. Before local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974, it was part of the County Borough of Birkenhead, within the county of Cheshire.

History
The name Oxa-tún derives from Old Norse, meaning "a farm or enclosure where oxen are kept". By 1278, the name had been adapted into Old English as Oxeton and was recorded as Oxon in 1549.[2]

Oxton was once one of the most affluent areas in England mainly due to its proximity to Liverpool and the fact that along with various other Merseyside locations, it was a favourite residential area for wealthy Liverpool merchants and tradesmen of the time. Oxton Village is a mainly early Victorian era settlement with fine sandstone and brick built houses, many of which now form part of a conservation area designated in April 1979 and administered by the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. Some of these buildings have been designated by English Heritage as Grade II listed.

A significant part of the land on which Oxton is situated was part of the Estate of the Earl of Shrewsbury - this has been commemorated over the years in many of the road names, which bear the family names and titles of the various Earls; Alton Road, Beresford Road, Chetwynd Road, Ingestre Road, Shrewsbury Road, Talbot Road, Waterford Road and Wexford Road.

Oxton was a township in Bidston Parish, Wirral Hundred which became a civil parish in 1866. In 1898 the whole of Oxton was added to Birkenhead. Including the hamlets of Arno Hill and Lingdale. Oxton was within the Ancient parish of Woodchurch, Cheshire

Poor Law Unions
Birkenhead Poor Law Union, Cheshire