Seacombe is a district of the town of Wallasey

Wallasey

Wallasey is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England, on the mouth of the River Mersey, at the northeastern corner of the Wirral Peninsula...

, on the Wirral Peninsula

Wirral Peninsula

Wirral or the Wirral is a peninsula in North West England. It is bounded by three bodies of water: to the west by the River Dee, forming a boundary with Wales, to the east by the River Mersey and to the north by the Irish Sea. Both terms "Wirral" and "the Wirral" are used locally , although the...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. Administratively, Seacombe is a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral

Metropolitan Borough of Wirral

The Metropolitan Borough of Wirral is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, in North West England. It has a population of 311,200, and encompasses of the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula. Major settlements include Birkenhead, Wallasey, Bebington, Heswall, Hoylake and West Kirby. The city of...

. Before local government reorganisation

Local Government Act 1972

The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....

 in 1 April 1974, it was part of the County Borough

County borough

County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...

 of Wallasey, within the geographical county of Cheshire

Cheshire

Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...

. At the 2001 Census

United Kingdom Census 2001

A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....

, the population of Seacombe was 15,158, (7,081 males and 8,077 females.

Notable features

Seacombe Scumheads is the district's football club and plays in the SCPL Division. Since promotion, the club has finished in the top six in all three of their top flight campaigns and have left the Bowlies to move into the purpose built Neptune Arena for the 2011/2012 season.

Seacombe is dominated by three landmarks. The first of these is one of the terminals for the Mersey Ferry

Mersey Ferry

The Mersey Ferry is a ferry service operating on the River Mersey in north west England, between Liverpool and the Wirral Peninsula. Ferries have been used on this route since at least the 12th century, and continue to be popular for both local people and visitors.The current fleet consists of...

, the legendary "Ferry 'cross the Mersey" described by Gerry & The Pacemakers

Gerry & the Pacemakers

Gerry and the Pacemakers were a British beat music group prominent during the 1960s. In common with The Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein and recorded by George Martin. They are most remembered for being the first act to reach number one in the UK Singles Chart with...

. The ferry travels in a triangular route between the Seacombe, Birkenhead

Birkenhead

Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...

 Woodside

Woodside, Merseyside

Woodside is a small riverside locality in Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, England, situated almost opposite Liverpool Pier Head across the River Mersey.-History:...

 and Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

 Pier Head

Pier Head

The Pier Head is a riverside location in the city centre of Liverpool, England. It is part of the Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City UNESCO World Heritage Site, which was inscribed in 2004....

 terminals. The second landmark is the parish church of St Paul. The third is a building housing some of the ventilation systems for the Kingsway Tunnel

Kingsway Tunnel

The Kingsway Tunnel is a road tunnel under the River Mersey in Merseyside, northwest England, and runs between Liverpool and Wallasey. It is one and half miles long and is often called the Wallasey Tunnel to distinguish it from the older Queensway Tunnel which runs between Liverpool and...

, a colossal structure which faces the river. It consists of two huge grilles which resemble stereo speakers, and a central concrete flue-like structure. This building has an almost identical counterpart on the Liverpool side of the river.

In 1845 George Turnbull

George Turnbull

George Turnbull was a Scottish philosopher, theologian, teacher, writer on education and an early but little-known figure in the Scottish Enlightenment. He taught at Marischal College, Aberdeen, worked as a tutor and became an Anglican clergyman...

 was the civil engineer who designed and built the Seacombe Wall sea defence that helped drain the marshes behind the town.

Seacombe was originally a terminus for the Wirral Railway

Wirral Railway

The Wirral Railway was incorporated in 1863 as the Hoylake Railway , with powers to build lines from Birkenhead to New Brighton, and to Parkgate on the western side of the Wirral Peninsula; the latter line was not built. Between 1872 and 1882 the HR was renamed twice, and extensions of the line...

; however, passenger services ended on 4 January 1960 and all services on the line terminated on 16 June 1963. Much of the line to Seacombe station

Seacombe railway station

Seacombe railway station was a railway station located in Wallasey, Wirral, England.It was the terminus of a small branch line that ran from Seacombe Junction to opposite the ferry terminal at Seacombe, adjacent to the River Mersey. It was opened on 1 June 1895 as part of the Wirral Railway, with...

 was used as the approach road to the Kingsway Tunnel.

Seacombe is also home to Spaceport

Spaceport (Seacombe)

Spaceport is a tourist attraction in Seacombe, Wallasey, Merseyside, North West England. The attraction's main topic of interest is space and space travel suited to visitors aged 7 or older...

, a space-themed visitor attraction situated near the ferry terminal. Spaceport was opened on 26 July 2005 by Merseytravel

Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive

The Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive is the Passenger Transport Executive responsible for the coordination of public transport in the metropolitan county of Merseyside, England...

 Chairman Cllr Mark Dowd.

Claims to fame

The area was immortalised in the title of "Party Seacombe", an instrumental by George Harrison

George Harrison

George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...

 on his Wonderwall Music

Wonderwall Music

Wonderwall Music is George Harrison's first solo album and the soundtrack to the film Wonderwall. The songs are virtually all instrumental, except for some non-English vocals and a slowed-down spoken word track. The songs were recorded in December 1967 in England, and January 1968 in Bombay, India...

album. Falkland Road in Seacombe, which runs from King Street to Liscard Road, is the birthplace of the writer, peace campaigner and philosopher Olaf Stapledon

Olaf Stapledon

William Olaf Stapledon was a British philosopher and author of several influential works of science fiction.-Life:...

, (1886 - 1950), author of Last and First Men

Last and First Men

Last and First Men: A Story of the Near and Far Future is a "future history" science fiction novel written in 1930 by the British author Olaf Stapledon. A work of unprecedented scale in the genre, it describes the history of humanity from the present onwards across two billion years and eighteen...

and Star Maker

Star Maker

-External links:*...

. Stapledon's birth certificate gives his place of birth as "Poolton (sic) - cum - Seacombe".
Michael Portillo

Michael Portillo

Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo is a British journalist, broadcaster, and former Conservative Party politician and Cabinet Minister...

lived briefly in Seacombe in 2003 for the BBC TV programme When Michael Portillo became a Single Mum, which saw the former Conservative MP experience life as a single parent (he also worked in the Asda superstore in Wallasey).