Freshfield

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Freshfield
Dunes at Formby Point - geograph.org.uk - 357105.jpg
Beach near Freshfield
Merseyside UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Freshfield
Location within Merseyside
OS grid reference SD292078
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town LIVERPOOL
Postcode district L37
Dialling code 01704
Police Merseyside
Fire Merseyside
Ambulance North West
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Merseyside
53°33′46″N3°04′13″W / 53.5628°N 3.0702°W / 53.5628; -3.0702 Coordinates: 53°33′46″N3°04′13″W / 53.5628°N 3.0702°W / 53.5628; -3.0702

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 (Harington and Ravenmeols), nor is it any longer separated in a physical sense from the town.

Contents

The area is often considered to be affluent with local celebrities, footballers, politicians and businessmen making it their home (see people from Formby). Shireburn Road in Freshfield is the most expensive road in Merseyside, house prices on the exclusive road averaged £1,159,831 in 2009. [1]

History

The name did not exist until Formby's second railway station, Freshfield, was built in 1854. The name was chosen, as the local landowner, Thomas Fresh, owned the adjacent model farm and fields. [2] Fresh was Inspector of Nuisances in Liverpool and was one of the celebrated trio of pioneering officers appointed in 1847 by the Borough of Liverpool's Health of the Town Committee; the others being William Henry Duncan, the UK's first medical officer of health, and James Newlands, borough engineer (though Fresh had been in a similar post for more than two years previously). [3]

A process of reverse naming seems to have occurred with some people referring to the area of Formby around this station as "Freshfield". The title originally proposed was "Freshton".[ citation needed ]

Governance

Until 1974, Freshfield was part of the urban district of Formby within the administrative county of Lancashire. Since 1 April 1974, it has formed part of the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, in Merseyside.

From 1950 until 2010 Freshfield like the rest of Formby formed part of the constituency of Crosby, The MP for Crosby from 1997 until 2010 was Claire Curtis-Thomas, a member of the Labour Party, prior to her election the seat was generally considered to be a safe Conservative Party stronghold with Tory MPs elected at every election barring the 1981 Crosby by-election where Shirley Williams of the Social Democratic Party was elected to represent the constituency. As a result of the Crosby constituency being abolished for the 2010 general election, Freshfield like the rest of Formby is part of the newly created Sefton Central constituency represented by Bill Esterson, a member of the Labour Party.

For elections to Sefton Council, Freshfield is divided between two electoral wards with three councillors each: Harington ward, whose councillors are Gillian Cuthbertson, Alf Doran, and Denise Dutton, all members of the Conservative Party, and Ravenmeols ward, whose councillors are Barry Griffiths, Anne Ibbs, David Mcivor, again all Conservative Party members.

Community

The area contains The Freshfield and The Grapes pubs, Victoria Hall and Victoria Road (a long avenue on which several famous English sportsmen have lived). RAF Woodvale is nearby.[ citation needed ]

Transport

Freshfield railway station is situated on the Liverpool to Southport branch of Merseyrail's Northern Line.

Formby Woods

Located nearby is a section of the Mersey Forest, known as Formby Woods, a community forest known for being a habitat of rare red squirrels, with a reserve managed by the National Trust. [4]

Related Research Articles

Metropolitan Borough of Sefton Metropolitan borough in England

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.

Formby Town in England

Formby is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 22,419 at the 2011 Census.

Crosby, Merseyside Town in England

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.

Little Crosby Village in England

Little Crosby is a small village in Merseyside, North West England. Despite being a suburb within 8 miles of Liverpool it has retained its rural character by, for example, opting not to have street lights.

Waterloo, Merseyside Human settlement in England

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.

Birkdale Human settlement in England

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. From 1894 to 1912, Birkdale and the adjoining suburb/village of Ainsdale were administered by Birkdale Urban District Council before becoming part of the county borough of Southport. Until 1 April 1974, Birkdale lay in the traditional borders of the county of Lancashire. At the 2001 census, the local government ward called Birkdale had a population of 12,265. 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.

Ainsdale Human settlement in England

Ainsdale is an area of Southport in the borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, situated three miles south of the centre of Southport. 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.

Little Altcar Village in England

Little Altcar is a village and former civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton on Merseyside, within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire and on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain of England. The village has been absorbed into Formby. It had a population of 892 in the 2001 Census, increasing to 910 at the 2011 Census.

Hightown, Merseyside Village in England

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.

Ince Blundell Village in England

Ince Blundell is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in the ceremonial county of Merseyside and historic county of Lancashire, England. It is situated to the north of Liverpool on the A565 road and to the east of the village of Hightown. There are two associated hamlets of Lady Green and Carr Houses.

Thornton, Merseyside Village in England

Thornton is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, in Merseyside, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire and situated to the north east of Crosby, it is a residential area of semi-detached and detached housing which dates mainly from the 1930s. Many of the houses, particularly those around Edge Lane and Water Street, feature notably long gardens. The A565 Liverpool-Southport road serves the area. At the 2001 Census the population of the village and civil parish was recorded as 2,262, falling to 2,139 at the Census 2011.

Crosby (UK Parliament constituency) Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1950–2010

Crosby was a constituency in Merseyside, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1950 until 2010. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Seaforth, Merseyside Human settlement in England

Seaforth is a district in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historically in Lancashire, it is north of Liverpool, between Bootle and Waterloo.

Sefton Central (UK Parliament constituency) Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 2010 onwards

Sefton Central is a constituency represented by Bill Esterson of the Labour Party since 2010.

Sefton Council Local government body in England

Sefton Council is the governing body for the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in the historic county of Lancashire and the ceremonial county of Merseyside, north-western England. The council was under no overall control from the 1980s until 2012 when the Labour Party took control. It is a constituent council of Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.

Brighton-le-Sands, Merseyside Human settlement in England

Brighton-le-Sands is an area of Merseyside, England in the borough of Sefton. It is located close to Crosby, situated between Blundellsands to the north, Waterloo to the south and Great Crosby to the east.

Ravenmeols is a Metropolitan Borough of Sefton ward in the Sefton Central Parliamentary constituency that covers the village of Ince Blundell and the nearby hamlets of Lady Green and Carr Houses, the village of Little Altcar, and the eastern half of the town of Formby including the eastern half of the area known as Freshfield. The population of this ward taken at the 2011 census was 12,065.

Harington is a Metropolitan Borough of Sefton ward in the Sefton Central Parliamentary constituency that covers the western half of the town of Formby including the western half of the area known as Freshfield. The ward population taken at the 2011 census was 11,780.

Thomas Fresh was a pioneer in British environmental health. In 1844, he became Liverpool's first public health officer.

References

  1. "Local and community news, opinion, video & pictures - Visiter". Formbytimes.co.uk. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  2. Gahan, John W. (1985), Seaport to Seaside, Countyvise Limited, p. 88
  3. Parkinson, Norman (2013). "Thomas Fresh (1803-1861), Inspector of Nuisances, Liverpool's first Public Health Officer". Journal of Medical Biography. 21 (4): 238–249. doi:10.1177/0967772013479277. PMID   24585830.
  4. Formby: Large area of beach, sand dunes and pine woods, National Trust, archived from the original on 1 March 2009, retrieved 9 January 2009

Further reading

  1. Yorke, B. & Yorke, R. (2008) "Pine Trees and Asparagus: The Development of a Cultural Landscape", in: Lewis, J., Stanistreet, E. (eds.) Sand And Sea, Sefton's Coastal Heritage. Bootle: Sefton Council.
  2. Yorke, R. (2009) "Thomas Fresh: Inspector of Nuisances". Journal of the Liverpool History Society 8, pp. 16–24.