St Helens House Clearances

 St Helens is in the south-west of the historic county of Lancashire, 6 miles (10 kilometres) north of the River Mersey. The town historically lay within the ancient Lancashire division of West Derby known as a hundred. 

^ The town initially started as a small settlement in the township of Windle but, by the mid 1700s, the town had become synonymous with a wider area; by 1838, it was formally made responsible for the administration of the four townships of Eccleston, Parr, Sutton and Windle. In 1868, the town was created by incorporation as a municipal borough and later became a county borough in 1887; it became a metropolitan borough in 1974, with an expanded administrative responsibility for towns and villages in close proximity.

The area developed rapidly in the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries into a significant centre for coal mining and glassmaking.^[ It was also home to a cotton and linen industry (notably sail making) that lasted until the mid-19th century as well as salt, lime and alkali pits,  copper smelting and brewing

Glass producer Pilkington is the town's only remaining large industrial employer; previously, it was home to Beechams, the Gamble Alkali Works, Ravenhead glass, United Glass Bottles, Triplex, Daglish Foundry and Greenall's brewery.

 The St Helens Borough covers roughly 30 km² (12 sq miles) of soft rolling hills used primarily for agricultural purposes, mainly arable. The highest point in the borough, and in the whole of Merseyside, is Billinge Hill, 4+ 1⁄2 miles (7 kilometres) north of the town centre. From the top of this hill the cities of Manchester and Liverpool are visible on a clear day, as well as the towns of Wigan, Bolton and Warrington.

The Mill Brook/Windle Brook runs through Eccleston and connects with the disused St Helens branch/section of the Sankey Canal in the town centre. St Helens is around 160 feet (50 metres) above sea level.

Carr Mill Dam is Merseyside's largest body of inland water, with lakeside trails and walks. It is used for national competitive powerboating and angling events.

Moss Bank, a suburb of St Helens, is about 4 km  north of the town centre. It has a community library and St David's church.

The Burgies are two tailings on the site of the old Rushy Park coal mine. They were created by dumping toxic chemical waste from the manufacture of glass; they have since been covered with tall grass and woodland.

St Helens was struck by an F1/T2 tornado on 23 November 1981, as part of the record-breaking nationwide tornado outbreak on that day. ^

 Damage from the tornado occurred in St Helens town centre.