Birkdale | |
---|---|
Birkdale village centre | |
Location within Merseyside | |
Population | 12,265 (2001 Census) [1] |
OS grid reference | SD333155 |
Metropolitan borough | |
Metropolitan county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | SOUTHPORT |
Postcode district | PR8 |
Dialling code | 01704 |
Police | Merseyside |
Fire | Merseyside |
Ambulance | North West |
UK Parliament | |
Birkdale is an area of Southport, within the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, though historically in Lancashire, in the north-west of England. The area is located on the Irish Sea coast, approximately a mile away from the centre of Southport. At the 2001 census, the local government ward called Birkdale had a population of 12,265. [1] The population of the area at the 2011 Census is shown under Birkdale (ward) (qv). Other parts of Birkdale are included in Dukes ward —which contains a significant part of the village centre and the Royal Birkdale Golf Club — Kew and Ainsdale wards.
Birkdale also inspired the name for a new urban mixed use community in the United States twelve miles (19 km) north of Charlotte, North Carolina in Huntersville, North Carolina called Birkdale Village.
Birkdale probably takes its name from two Old Norse words, birki meaning "birch-copse" and dalr meaning "dale" or "valley". [2] [3]
Birkdale is part of the Southport constituency for elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, it is currently represented by the Conservative Party MP, Damien Moore.
For elections to Sefton Council Birkdale acts as a single electoral ward, it currently has three councillors, their names are Iain Brodie - Browne, Richard Hands, and Simon Shaw, all are members of the Liberal Democrats.
Birkdale was formerly a township and chapelry in the parish of North Meols, [4] in 1866 Birkdale became a separate civil parish, in 1894 Birkdale became an Urban District which from 1905 also contained the parish of Ainsdale, on 1 April 1912 the district and parish were abolished and merged with Southport. [5] [6] In 1911 the parish had a population of 15,900. [7]
Until 1 April 1974, Birkdale lay in the county of Lancashire.
On the whole it is a wealthy area featuring many large Victorian and Edwardian houses; many of the houses have not yet been broken up into individual flats, and still house families. The area is almost entirely residential, with mainly semi-detached houses as the norm. In the summer of 2003, the average property price was £149,550 (just under £10,000 less than the national average). This has risen to £200,844 in July 2005, more than £20,000 over the national mix-adjusted national average house price. The area has been a popular area with footballers from local Merseyside or Lancashire clubs.
Birkdale Village is on Liverpool Road and features a variety of shops, bars and restaurants. Birkdale railway station is situated on the Northern Line of the Merseyrail network, that links Southport to Liverpool.
Despite its small size, Birkdale receives a great deal of sporting attention once every few years as it plays host to The Open Championship. It was last played at the Royal Birkdale golf course in July 2017. To lesser fame, the home ground of the Southport and Birkdale Cricket Club on Trafalgar Road is used for county level cricket matches approximately once a year. Southport and Birkdale squash club also play here and are in the North West Counties Squash League.
Red Rum, a racehorse who was trained by Ginger McCain, had his stables in Upper Aughton Road in Birkdale, while a horse named after the village took part and finished tenth in the 2002 Grand National. Birkdale United AFC played a crucial part in the footballing education of Premiership footballers such as Jack Rodwell, Dominic Matteo, Shaun Teale and Paul Dalglish, and still has its home in the village, boasting teams for boys from the age of 6 and girls from the age of 7 through to open age teams. The club was also presented the FA's highest accolade in January 2008, becoming the first FA Charter Community Club in Southport.
Birkdale has three secondary schools, Christ the King Catholic High School, which has around 1200 pupils including sixth form students, Birkdale High School which is for boys, and Greenbank High School (in the part of Birkdale known as Hillside) for girls.
Birkdale is served by frequent buses run by Arriva North West (to Southport, Formby and Liverpool), Cumfybus, and Stagecoach Merseyside (to Liverpool and Preston). Birkdale has two stations, Birkdale and Hillside which are on the Northern Line of the Merseyrail network.
Merseyside is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Welsh county of Flintshire across the Dee Estuary to the southwest, and the Irish Sea to the west. The largest settlement is the city of Liverpool.
The Metropolitan Borough of Sefton is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England. It was formed on 1 April 1974, by the amalgamation of the county boroughs of Bootle and Southport, the municipal borough of Crosby, the urban districts of Formby and Litherland, and part of West Lancashire Rural District. It consists of a coastal strip of land on the Irish Sea which extends from Southport in the north to Bootle in the south, and an inland part to Maghull in the south-east, bounded by the city of Liverpool to the south, the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley to the south-east, and West Lancashire to the east.
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately 17 miles (27 km) north of Liverpool and 15 miles (24 km) southwest of Preston. At the 2021 census, Southport had a population of 94,421, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England and the third most populous settlement in the Liverpool City Region.
Great Crosby is an area of the town of Crosby, in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England and is historically, part of Lancashire.
Formby is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England.
Allerton is a suburb of Liverpool, in the county of Merseyside, England. Historically in Lancashire, it is located 3 miles (4.8 km) southeast of the city centre and is bordered by the suburbs of Garston, Hunt's Cross, Mossley Hill, and Woolton. It has a number of large houses in the prestigious Calderstones Park area, with mainly 1930s semi-detached housing around the shopping area of Allerton Road. It is paired with Hunts Cross to form the Allerton and Hunts Cross city council ward, which had a population of 14,853 at the 2011 census.
Crosby is a coastal town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historically in Lancashire, it is north of Bootle, south of Southport and Formby, and west of Netherton. It abuts the areas of Blundellsands to the north and Waterloo to the south. It is approximately 6 miles (9.6 km) north of Liverpool City Centre.
Waterloo is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, in Merseyside, England. Along with Seaforth the two localities make up the Sefton Ward of Church. The area is bordered by Crosby to the north, Seaforth to the south, the Rimrose Valley country park to the east, and to the west the Crosby Beach and Crosby Coastal Park.
Ainsdale is a village near Southport, in the Sefton district, in Merseyside, England, situated three miles south of the centre of Southport. Originally in the historic county of Lancashire, at the 2001 Census it had a population of 12,723. By the time of the 2011 census, only figures for Ainsdale (ward) were available.
Freshfield is an area of Formby, in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, situated at the northern end of the town. It has no local political distinction or representation and is included as part of the two council wards which make up Formby, nor is it any longer separated in a physical sense from the town.
Hightown is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England, located midway between the city of Liverpool and the coastal resort of Southport. It is 8 miles north of Liverpool city centre and is located on the coast near the boundary of the Mersey Estuary and Liverpool Bay. The River Alt joins the sea at this point and forms an estuary. There is a pumping station on the River Alt at Altmouth, built 1972, as part of a programme to alleviate flooding in the area. This is on the Altcar Rifle Range, a Territorial Army base originally established in 1860 by Lt. Col. Gladstone.
Netherton is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, in Merseyside, England.
Southport is a constituency in Merseyside which has been represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Patrick Hurley of the Labour Party.
Seaforth is a district in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historically in Lancashire, it is north of Liverpool, between Bootle and Waterloo.
Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club is an 18-hole championship golf course in North West England, situated near the Merseyside towns of Southport and Ainsdale, north of Liverpool. The course is near the coast of the Irish Sea, set amongst ranges of tall sandhills and smaller sand dunes, just south of Royal Birkdale Golf Club.
Birkdale railway station serves the Birkdale suburb of Southport, England. The station is located on the Southport branch of the Merseyrail network's Northern Line.
Hillside railway station serves the southern half of the Birkdale area of Southport, England. It is located on the Northern Line of the Southport branch of the Merseyrail network's.
Sefton Council, or Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council, is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It is a metropolitan borough council and provides the majority of local government services in the borough. The council has been a member of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority since 2014.
Hillside is a residential suburb of the seaside town of Southport, England. It is surrounded by Birkdale, a former town in its own right, but part of Southport itself since amalgamation in 1912. It takes its name from a building named Hill Side, clearly evident on early maps. There was also Hillside Farm, part of which still survives on Hillside Golf Course. The original Birkdale station was in Hillside, situated at the present junction of Dunkirk Road and Dover Road.