Simonswood is a civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 in the West Lancashire

West Lancashire

West Lancashire is a non-metropolitan district with the status of a borough in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Ormskirk. The other town in the borough is Skelmersdale....

 district of Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

, 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...

. 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 was 130.

It was originally a township

Township (England)

In England, a township is a local division or district of a large parish containing a village or small town usually having its own church...

 associated with the parish of Walton on the Hill

Walton, Merseyside

Walton, originally known as Walton-on-the-Hill, in Liverpool, Merseyside, England, is an area situated to the north of Anfield and the east of Bootle and Orrell Park. It is largely residential, with a diverse population.-History:...

, and became a separate civil parish in 1866.

From 1894 to 1974 it formed part of the West Lancashire Rural District

West Lancashire Rural District

West Lancashire was a rural district from 1894 to 1974 in Lancashire, England. It was created with other rural districts in 1894, based on the Ormskirk rural sanitary district...

. On 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972

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....

, it was transferred to the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley

Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley

The Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England. It comprises the towns of Kirkby, Prescot, Huyton, Whiston, Halewood and Cronton; Kirkby, Huyton, and Prescot being the major commercial centres...

 in the new metropolitan county

Metropolitan county

The metropolitan counties are a type of county-level administrative division of England. There are six metropolitan counties, which each cover large urban areas, typically with populations of 1.2 to 2.8 million...

 of Merseyside

Merseyside

Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...

.

The Simonswood parish was transferred back to Lancashire (to the West Lancashire district), on 1 April 1994. At the time of this transfer the area of the parish was 830 hectares, and the population was 150.