Crossens

Last updated

Crossens
StJohnsChurchCrossens.jpg
St John's Church
Location map United Kingdom Southport.svg
Red pog.svg
Crossens
Location in Southport
Merseyside UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Crossens
Location within Merseyside
OS grid reference SD369198
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town SOUTHPORT
Postcode district PR9
Dialling code 01704
Police Merseyside
Fire Merseyside
Ambulance North West
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Merseyside
53°40′11″N2°56′55″W / 53.6697°N 2.9487°W / 53.6697; -2.9487

Crossens is the northernmost district of the town of Southport, Merseyside, England.

Contents

Historically part of the ancient parish of North Meols and entirely in Lancashire, most of Crossens was transferred to Merseyside on 1 April 1974, when local government boundaries were reorganised nationally. Part of northern Crossens, known as Fiddlers Ferry, is in West Lancashire. Formerly, the village was a detached settlement lying on the western edge of Martin Mere, but after the drainage of the Mere and the expansion of Southport, it had become absorbed into the town's conurbation. [1]

History

Formerly Crossenes or Crosnes, meaning a “ness” or headland with a cross. The cross was possibly a guide for shipping or people crossing the Ribble Estuary from Freckleton (near Lytham). A hospice or lodging house was sited in Crossens where travellers could rest after making the crossing. It is also believed to be the point at which 2,000 horsemen from a retreating Royalist force crossed the Ribble estuary following the Battle of Marston Moor. They later joined the Siege of Lathom House.

Sited as it was on the shore of Martin Mere and at the seaward end of Crossens Sluice, Crossens formed the basis of a substantial fishing industry supporting the surrounding area and the nearby village of Banks. After Martin Mere was largely reclaimed for farmland, the focus of the town increasingly turned to agriculture, and to this day the high-quality soil supports several flower and vegetable farms in the east of the district. Farming of some scale or other has been a feature of this area since medieval times. However, the Industrial Revolution led to Crossens' incorporation into Southport as a site for housing for the larger town's burgeoning worker population. The first half of the 20th century saw the area becoming home to some light industry (including the Vulcan motor works), but apart from some small industrial units the area is now primarily a commuter suburb for Southport, Preston and Ormskirk. [1]

Criffel granite boulder

The Criffel Stone is a large boulder that lies at the side of Banks Road, Crossens. It is made of Criffel granite; a type of rock that is only normally found in Dumfries, Scotland. It was found in the ground when the pumping station on Banks Road was being built in 1959.

Geologists found that the rock was deposited in the area during the last ice age (18,000 years ago) by ice. Rocks like this that have been transported in this way are called erratics. [2]

Shops and Businesses

Within the village of Crossens, there are a number of local businesses. This includes takeaway restaurants, bars, newsagents, and shops centred around Rufford Road. In 2024, the village welcomed ‘The Woollen Pig’ which is a bar offering a range of alcoholic drinks, soft drinks, jacket potatoes, and snacks - the latter available for guests and their dogs. This added to other local venues such as ‘The Beer Den’, and ‘Sea Palace’.

Transport

Crossens lay on the route of the West Lancashire Railway from Southport to Preston; Crossens railway station, opened in 1878, was the last station within the Southport boundary. In April 1904 it became the final electrified station on the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway's suburban lines radiating from Liverpool. The electric trains shared the line from Southport with steam trains continuing to Preston. The line and station closed on 7 September 1964. [3]

Being the northernmost part of Southport, Crossens is the terminus of several bus routes - Arriva North West services 44, 47 and 49 terminate at the Plough Hotel roundabout, still known as such even though the Plough Hotel was demolished c.2015. Other bus services passing through Crossens include Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire services 2, X2 and 347. In addition, there is also the Cumfybus service 40, which terminates on Harrogate Way.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southport</span> Town in Merseyside, England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Crosby</span> Human settlement in England

Great Crosby is an area of the town of Crosby, in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England and is historically, part of Lancashire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Ribble</span> River in North Yorkshire and Lancashire, England

The River Ribble runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire in Northern England. It starts close to the Ribblehead Viaduct in North Yorkshire, and is one of the few that start in the Yorkshire Dales and flow westwards towards the Irish Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Churchtown, Merseyside</span> Human settlement in England

Churchtown is a suburb of Southport, Merseyside, England. Historically in Lancashire, it is surrounded by Crossens, High Park and Marshside in the ancient parish of North Meols on the northern fringe of what is now Southport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ribble Steam Railway</span> Heritage railway and museum in Lancashire, England

The Ribble Steam Railway is a standard gauge preserved railway in Lancashire, in the United Kingdom. It was opened to the public on 17 September 2005, running along Preston Docks. The railway began by housing much of the collection from the previously closed Southport Railway Museum (Steamport), which was based in the old Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway engine shed at Southport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Longton, Lancashire</span> Human settlement in England

Longton is a village and civil parish in the west of the borough of South Ribble, Lancashire, England. It is about 4 miles to the south west of Preston. The population of the civil parish, which also includes the village of New Longton, was 5,500 at the 2001 Census increasing to 7,652 at the 2011 Census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meols Cop railway station</span>

Meols Cop railway station serves the Blowick suburb of the coastal town of Southport, Merseyside, England. The station has an island platform and is served by Northern Trains‘ Manchester Victoria/Manchester Piccadilly - Southport via Wigan Wallgate branch services, on which it is the last stop before the terminus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penwortham</span> Human settlement in England

Penwortham is a town and civil parish in South Ribble, Lancashire, England, on the south bank of the River Ribble facing the city of Preston. The town is at the most westerly crossing point of the river, with major road and rail links crossing it here. The population of the town at the 2011 census was 23,047.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Meols</span> Civil parish in West Lancashire, England

North Meols is a civil parish and electoral ward in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England. The parish covers the village of Banks and the hamlet of Hundred End. The population of the parish/ward at the 2011 census was 4,146. Historically the parish covered a wider area including much of what is now Southport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manchester–Southport line</span>

The Manchester–Southport line is a railway line in the north-west of England, operated by Northern Trains. It was originally built as the Manchester and Southport Railway. The section between Wigan and Salford is also known locally as the Atherton Line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hesketh Bank</span> Human settlement in England

Hesketh Bank is a village in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England. It is situated approximately 7 miles (11 km) north-east of Southport and 7 miles (11 km) south-west of Preston. The village is within the civil parish of Hesketh-with-Becconsall, which includes the village of Becconsall immediately to the south and which borders the Ribble Estuary to the north. The parish had a population of 4,187 at the 2021 Census. Hesketh Bank, Becconsall, and the village of Tarleton to the south form a single built-up area with a population of 8,755.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banks, Lancashire</span> Human settlement in England

Banks is a large coastal village in the civil parish of North Meols, in the West Lancashire district, in Lancashire, England, south of the Ribble estuary four miles (6 km) north-east of Southport town centre. In 2021 it had a population of 4430. It is in the Southport parliamentary constituency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Much Hoole</span> Human settlement in England

Much Hoole is a village and civil parish in the borough of South Ribble, Lancashire, England. The parish of Much Hoole had a population of 1,851 at the time of the 2001 census, increasing to 1,997 at the 2011 Census.

Crossens railway station was a railway station serving Crossens, a suburb of Southport, Sefton, Merseyside, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chorley Interchange</span> Bus station in Lancashire, England

Chorley Interchange is a bus station in Chorley, England.

Churchtown railway station was on the West Lancashire Railway (WLR) in England. It opened in 1878 and served the Southport suburb of Churchtown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Longton</span> Human settlement in England

New Longton is a village located 4 miles (6 km) south west of Preston, in the district of South Ribble, in the county of Lancashire, North West England. It is in the parish of Longton, which is the name of the older village located 2 miles (3 km) to the west of New Longton.

Hutton is a village and civil parish in Lancashire, England. It is located 3 miles (4.8 km) south west of Preston, in the South Ribble borough and parliamentary constituency. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 2,277.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hundred End</span> Human settlement in England

Hundred End is a coastal hamlet in West Lancashire, England. It is 2 miles east of the larger village of Banks and 2 miles west of the larger village of Hesketh Bank.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marshside RSPB reserve</span> Nature reserve in Southport, Merseyside, England

Marshside is a wetland nature reserve operated by the RSPB in the Marshside area of Southport, Merseyside, England. It lies 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) north of the centre of Southport, on the southern side of the Ribble estuary, and is part of the wider Ribble & Alt Estuaries Ramsar reserve. and the Ribble Estuary National Nature Reserve.

References

  1. 1 2 "Crossens". Birkdale & Ainsdale Historical Research Society. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  2. ↑ "Criffel Stone, Crossens near Southport". Lancashire Past. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  3. ↑ "Station name: Crossens". Disused Stations. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.