Blowick
Encyclopedia
History and etymology
Blowick is part of the ancient parish of North MeolsNorth Meols
North Meols is a civil parish in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England. The parish covers the village of Banks and the hamlet of Hundred End...
and was formerly a detached settlement, on the northern fringe of what is now Southport.
The name derives from the Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
name Bla Vik meaning "dark bay" as it was located at the end of a large inlet on the ancient lake of Martin Mere
Martin Mere
Martin Mere is a mere near Burscough, Lancashire, England on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain. The mere is a vast marsh, around that, until it was drained, was the largest body of fresh water in England.-History:...
called "The Wyke". There are historically two Blowicks: Higher Blowick, situated around what is now the junction of Everard Road and Southbank Road, and Lower Blowick (Butts Lane, Norwood Road, etc.), which is the area around what locals tend to refer to now as simply Blowick.
Landmarks
The Southport gas holderSouthport gas holder
Southport Gas Holder was once the tallest structure in the northern town of Southport, England for 40 years.The 84.5 m high structure could be seen from miles around, for example from Blackpool and Winter Hill...
on Crowland Street was the tallest building on the Southport skyline, visible from as far afield as Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
and Parbold
Parbold
Parbold is a large commuter village and civil parish in the county of Lancashire, England.-Local government:The 83 hectares of the 'urban settlement' of Parbold has a population of 2,700. This settlement forms part of the larger Parbold ward Parbold is a large commuter village and civil parish in...
. The largest tower was decommissioned in January 2008, due to an environmental risk posed by the storage of oil within it. In September 2008, National Grid
National Grid plc
National Grid plc is a multinational electricity and gas utility company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Its principal activities are in the United Kingdom and northeastern United States and it is one of the largest investor-owned energy companies in the world.National Grid is listed on...
announced that two of the three gas towers would be dismantled by August 2009, with the fate of the smallest tower remaining uncertain. The news has met with mixed reactions from local residents, though the gasometer was voted one of the North West
North West England
North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...
’s biggest eyesores in a competition run by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
.
The Thatch & Thistle is a modern thatched public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
on Norwood Road built on the site of the original Blowick pub. Known for a time as The Thatch Inn, the pub closed on 21 August 2008 after Cains Brewery
Cains Brewery
Cains is a brewery in Liverpool, England, founded in 1858 by Robert Cain. The company, with its 200 pub estate, merged with Peter Walker & Son in 1921, with the brewery operation being taken over by Higsons in 1923. Boddingtons of Manchester took over in 1985, and shut it down in 1990...
went into administration, but reopened the following day under new management.
Haig Avenue
Haig Avenue
Haig Avenue is a football stadium in Southport, England and is the home ground of Southport F.C.-Location:The ground is situated to the east of Southport just off the A570, the main road to Ormskirk...
football stadium, the home of Conference National
Conference National
Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
team Southport F.C.
Southport F.C.
Southport Football Club are an English football club, based in Southport, Merseyside. They are currently in the Conference National, and play their home matches at Haig Avenue, which has a capacity of 6,008...
, is also located in Blowick.
The Southport Bus Depot is situated on Canning Road in Blowick and is a Victorian building with lavish architecture for a storage building and even has a clock built into the wall.
Education
The area has a secondary schoolSecondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
named Meols Cop High School and a sixth form college
Sixth form college
A sixth form college is an educational institution in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Belize, Hong Kong or Malta where students aged 16 to 18 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A-levels, or school-level qualifications such as GCSEs. In Singapore and India, this is...
named King George V College
King George V College
King George V College is a sixth form college in Southport, Merseyside, in the UK. It offers A-Level, BTEC and between 2009-2012 the International Baccalaureate Diploma. It was previously a grammar school for boys.-Brief history:...
. The former was previously a secondary modern school
Secondary modern school
A secondary modern school is a type of secondary school that existed in most of the United Kingdom from 1944 until the early 1970s, under the Tripartite System, and was designed for the majority of pupils - those who do not achieve scores in the top 25% of the eleven plus examination...
and the latter a grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
.
Transport
Blowick is served by Meols Cop railway stationMeols Cop railway station
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 Rail's - via branch services, on which it is the last stop before the terminus...
on Northern Rail
Northern Rail
Northern Rail is a British train operating company that has operated local passenger services in Northern England since 2004. Northern Rail's owner, Serco-Abellio, is a consortium formed of Abellio and Serco, an international operator of public transport systems...
's Manchester to Southport Line. The station opened in 1887, originally as part of the Liverpool, Southport and Preston Junction Railway
Liverpool, Southport and Preston Junction Railway
The Liverpool, Southport & Preston Junction Railway was formed in 1884, and totaled 7 miles. In 1897 it became part of Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, and on 1 May 1901, its northern terminus switched from to ....
. In years gone by, Blowick had a further two railway stations: (closed 1938), also on the Liverpool, Southport and Preston Junction Railway, and Blowick railway station
Blowick railway station
Blowick railway station was on the Manchester and Southport Railway in the Blowick suburb of Southport, Merseyside. Situated on a level crossing on Meols Cop Road , the station opened as Cop End in early 1871, and was renamed Blowick on 1 October 1871...
(closed 1939) on the Manchester and Southport Railway
Manchester and Southport Railway
The Manchester and Southport Railway in England opened on 9 April 1855. It merged with the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in January 1885. The line eventually formed part of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, 59.5 km Liverpool to Manchester route via a junction with the Liverpool and Bury...
.