Southport
Encyclopedia
Southport is a seaside town
in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside
, England. During the 2001 census
Southport was recorded as having a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England
. The local nickname
for people from Southport is "Sandgrounder".
Southport lies on the Irish Sea
coast of North West England
and is fringed to the north by the Ribble estuary
. The town is situated 16.5 miles (26.6 km) to the north of the city of Liverpool
and 14.8 miles (23.8 km) southwest of the city of Preston.
Historically
a part of Lancashire
, the town in its present form was founded in 1792 when a hotel was built at what now is the south end of Lord Street
. At that time the area was sparsely populated and was dominated by sand dunes. During the turn of the 19th century the area became popular with tourists due to the easy access from the nearby Leeds and Liverpool Canal
and the town quickly grew. The rapid growth of Southport largely coincided with the Industrial Revolution
and the Victorian era
. Town attractions include Southport Pier
with its Southport Pier Tramway
, the second longest seaside pleasure pier
in the British Isles
, and Lord Street, an elegant tree-lined shopping street once home of Napoleon III of France
.
Extensive sand dunes stretch for several kilometres between Birkdale
and Woodvale
to the south of the town. The Ainsdale
sand dunes have been designated as a National Nature Reserve in England
and a Ramsar
site. Local fauna include the Natterjack toad
and the Sand lizard
. The town contains examples of Victorian architecture
and town planning. These can be mostly found on Lord Street
and the surrounding areas. A particular feature of the town is the extensive tree planting. This was one of the conditions required by the Hesketh family when they made land available for development in the 19th century. Hesketh Park at the northern end of the town is named after the Hesketh family, having been built on land donated by Rev. Charles Hesketh.
Southport today is still one of the most popular seaside resorts in the UK. It hosts varied events including an annual air show
, and the largest independent flower show
in the UK. The town is at the centre of England's Golf Coast and has hosted The Open Championship
at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club
in the past.
, and some parts of the town have names of Viking
origin.
The earliest recorded human activity in the area was in the Middle Stone Age
when Mesolithic
hunter gatherers were attracted to the area by the abundant Red deer
and Elk
population, as well as the availability of fresh fish, shellfish and woodland. Recent research has shown that people were especially attracted to this area because of the local delicacy of Samphire
, which is only found in a few places in Western Europe.
There is also evidence of Romans
stopping in the area, with the founding of Roman coins, even though they never settled in South West Lancashire. The Vikings also came to this area.
The only real evidence of an early settlement here occurred in the Domesday Book where the area was called Otergimele. The name is derived from Oddrgrimir meaning the son of Grimm and inked with the Old Norse word Melr meaning Sandbank. The Domesday Book states that there were 50 huts in Otergimele, housing a population of 200. The population was scattered thinly across the region and it was at the North-East end of Otergimele (present day Crossens) where blown sand gave way to new fish supplies from the River Ribble Estury that a small concentration of people had occurred. The alluvium provided fertile agricultural land.
It was here, it seems that a primitive church was built, which gave the emerging village its name of Churchtown. This church was called St Cuthbert's and is still a centre point to Churchtown to this day.
With a booming fishing industry the area grew slowly and hamlets became part of the parish of North Meols
. From south to north these villages were Southawes, Haweside, Little London, Higher Blowick
, Lower Blowick, Rowe-Lane, Churchtown, Marshside, Crossens
, and Banks
. North Meols was centred around St. Cuthbert's Church in Churchtown, although there were vicarages in Crossens and Banks.
Parts of the parish were almost completely surrounded by water until 1692 when Thomas Fleetwoodof Bank Hall
, cut a channel to drain Martin Mere
to the sea. From this point on attempts at large scale drainage of Martin Mere and other marshland continued until the 19th century, since which the water has been pumped away. This left behind a legacy of fine agricultural soil and created a booming farming industry.
William Sutton
was the landlord of the Black Bull Inn in Churchtown (now the Hesketh Arms). In the early 1790s he realised the importance of the newly-created canal systems across the UK, he gambled with the idea of a hotel by the seaside just four4 miles (6 km) away from the newly constructed Leeds and Liverpool Canal
. So in 1792 he built a bathing house in South Hawes, two miles south-west of Churchtown. William arranged transport links from the canal that ran through Scarisbrick
, four miles from the hotel. At the time South Hawes was an almost uninhabited place that was riddled with sand dunes. The local people thought he was mad and so they called him The Mad Duke.
He quickly made a profit and others decided to open hotels nearby. Southport grew quickly in the 19th century as it gained a reputation for being a more refined seaside resort than its neighbour-up-the-coast Blackpool
. In fact Southport had a head start compared to all the other places on the Lancahire coast because it had easy access to the canal system. Other seaside bathing areas couldn't really get going until the railways were opened 20 years later in the 19th century. The Leeds and Liverpool canal brought people from Liverpool, Manchester, Bolton and Wigan amogst others. By 1820 Southport had over 20,000 visiors per year.
Southport Pier is referred to as the first true "pleasure pier", being one of the earliest pier structures to be erected using iron. A design from James Brunlees was approved at a cost of £8,700 and on 4 August 1859 a large crowd witnessed the driving home of the first support pile. The opening of the pier was celebrated on 2 August 1860.
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte
lived in exile on Lord Street, the main thoroughfare of Southport, between 1846 and 1848, before returning to France, where he became President and subsequently Emperor of the French. During his reign, he caused much of the medieval centre of Paris to be replaced with broad tree-lined boulevards, covered walkways and arcades, just like Lord Street. On the strength of this coincidence, it has been suggested that the redevelopment may have been inspired by memories of Southport's town centre.
On the night of 9 December 1886, the worst lifeboat disaster
in the history of the UK occurred off the shores of Southport. A cargo ship called the Mexico
was on its way to South America when it found itself in difficulty. Lifeboats from Lytham, St. Annes and Southport set off in order to try to rescue those aboard the vessel. The crews battled against storm-force winds as they rowed towards the casualty. The entire crew from the St. Anne’s boat was lost and all but two of the Southport crew were too. In all, 28 lifeboatmen lost their lives on that night, leaving many widows and fatherless children. A memorial was erected in Duke Street Cemetery and a permanent exhibition can be seen in the Museum of the Botanic Gardens in Churchtown, Southport. Mexico was just one of many shipwrecks in the Southport area
.
Council before becoming part of the county borough
of Southport in 1912. This was a huge expansion of the town.
In 1925, the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI) abandoned the station at Southport and left the town with no lifeboat. In the late 1980s, after a series of tragedies, local families from Southport started to raise funds and bought a new lifeboat for the town stationed at the old RNLI lifeboat house. The lifeboat is completely independent from the RNLI and receives no money from them. Instead it relies entirely on donations from the public.
On 21 March 1926, Henry Seagrave set the land speed record in his 4-litre Sunbeam Tiger Ladybird on the sands at Southport at 152.33 mph (245.149 km/h). This record lasted for just over a month, until broken by J.G. Parry-Thomas
.
with the Conservative Party
also strong in some areas, at the last election coming 3,838 votes behind current Member of Parliament
, John Pugh
.
of Lancashire
, and was incorporated as municipal borough
in 1866. It became a county borough
independent of the administrative county
of Lancashire in 1915, having reached the minimum 50,000 population (the 1911 census gave a figure of 51,643). The Birkdale Urban District, including the parishes of Birkdale and Ainsdale was added to Southport in 1912.
within Lancashire. Rather than accept this fate and lose its separate education and social services departments, Southport Corporation lobbied for inclusion in the nearby planned metropolitan county
of Merseyside, to join with Bootle
and other units to form a district with the 250,000 required population. It was duly included in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton.
This decision has been regretted by some of the population. A recurring local political issue has been the cross-party movement campaigning for Southport to leave Sefton and form its own unitary authority
, perhaps adjoined to the neighbouring West Lancashire
authority. Support for this has been seen amongst Liberal Democrat councillors, and also within the Southport Conservative Party
.
The issue of Southport having little in common with the Labour heartland of Bootle and the evidence that Southport infrastructure was progressively being allowed to wither – in favour of sustained investment in Bootle re-emerged in the early 80’s. A Southport born man Kevin Laroux Wood stood in the parliamentary election for the Southport Constituency on 9th June 1983. He was supported by a team of like minded people who raised the funds needed and formed the "Southport Back in Lancashire Party". Posters were distributed and articles published in the Visitor newspaper. Although he was not elected as MP, it put the issue firmly on the local agenda which continues to this day. In the same period in 1980, a Private Member's Bill
proposed restoring Southport to Lancashire, and renaming the residue of Sefton to the Metropolitan Borough of Bootle. The Local Government Boundary Commission for England
conducted a review of the area in 1987, which attracted 10,000 messages, of which "70% were pro forma
". In 1990 the LGBC made suggestions that Southport, Ainsdale and Birkdale should be made a district of Lancashire: the final recommendations in 1991 "concluded that public opinion was more evenly divided than initially thought", and also that eastward transport links with Lancashire were poor compared to those southward to the Liverpool area.
to make a review in December 1996 (after it had finished the work on the creation of unitary authorities
), commencing in January 1997. This review was constrained by the legal inability of the commission to recommend that the current Sefton-West Lancashire border be altered. In a MORI poll conducted at the behest of the LGCE, 65% of Southport residents supported the campaign, compared to 37% in the borough as a whole. Local MPs Matthew Banks
and Ronnie Fearn (MPs for Southport at various times) supported making Southport a unitary authority, with Banks wishing to see it tied to Lancashire ceremonially
, but Fearn wishing to see it remain, as a separate borough, in Merseyside.
The commission noted that Southport would have a relatively low population for a unitary authority, even including Formby (89,300 or 114,700), and that it was worried about the viability of a south Sefton authority without Southport, and therefore recommended the status quo be kept. The commission suggested the use of area committee
s for the various parts of the borough and also that Southport could become a civil parish. Another request made in 2004 was turned down, the Electoral Commission
must request such a review.
In 2002, a local independent party calling themselves the Southport Party was established, with many members supporting a policy of "Southport out of Sefton." Three council seats were won in the 2002 local elections, including that of the leader of Sefton Council, Liberal Democrat Councillor, David Bamber. At the following election there were no gains and a drop in the number of votes for the party. At the all out election in 2004, one of their councillors stood down, whilst the other two lost their seats. They have not regained any seats, although the group retains a campaigning presence in the town.
To date, there have been no further moves to change Sefton's boundaries, but the Boundary Commission indicated in 2004 that a future review is possible.
. The closest cities are Preston approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) to the north east and Liverpool approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) to the south.
Existing on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain
, most of the town is only slightly above sea-level and thus parts of Southport used to be susceptible to flooding. This would be most frequently noticed on Southport's Marine Drive, which was regularly closed due to flooding from high tide
s. But in February 1997, new sea defences started being constructed and in 2002 the whole project was completed.
Southport has a maritime climate
like most of the UK. Due to its position by the coast, Southport rarely sees substantial snowfall and temperatures rarely fall below −5 °C so it doesn't have frequent frost
s. Southport generally has moderate precipitation, unlike the rest of western UK.
showed a total resident population for Southport of 90,336. Approximately 19,000 were aged 16 or under, 60,000 were aged 16–74, and 10,000 aged 75 and over.. According to the 2001 census, 96% of Southports's population claim they have been born in the UK. Inhabitants of Southport are known as Sandgrounders.
Historically the population of Southport began to rapidly increase during the Industrail Revolution and the Victorian era. From then the population has been stable with minor decline in some areas of the town. Southport is quite affluent compared with other parts of the north west.
were manufactured in the town from 1965 to 2006, only closing to move production to Slovakia
. Manufacturing has dimisnished in the last few decades and only a few sites are still in production in the town today.
Lord Street
is the main shopping street of Southport. It is one of the great shopping streets of Northern England and is said to be the insperation for the tree-lined boulevards of Paris. In the 2000s Chapel Street was pedestrianised and is home to some of the UK's most famous brands. Southport also has an indoor market situated on Market Street and well as a farmer's market held on the last Thursday of every month on Chapel Street.
Southport is now a premier destination for conferences in the north west following the multi million pound investment programme for the Southport Theatre & Convention Centre. Recently it has hosted the United Kingdom Independence Party
national conference as well as the regional Labour Party
conferences for the past few years.
and is one of the clubs in the Open Championship rotation for both men and women. The club has hosted the men's championship nine times since 1954, most recently in July 2008, and has hosted the women's tournament five times, including 2010.
One of Southport's main attractions for many years was Pleasureland, a fairground established in 1912. It was owned by the Thompson Family, and was closed in September 2006. A replacement fairground on the same site, provisionally named New Pleasureland, opened in July 2007. An earlier permanent funfair, Peter Pan's Playground, closed in the 1980s and is now the site of part of the Ocean Plaza shopping development. A former landmark of Pleasureland was the Looping Star roller coaster, which was on site from 1985–87. It featured in the video for the pop single Wonderful Life, by Liverpool band Black, which was also shot at other parts of the Sefton and North West coastline. On April 24, 2009 a serious fire occurred at the oldest attraction within New Pleasureland. Called The River Caves, it was completely destroyed in this arson attack, and a 16-year old boy was arrested in connection with the fire.
The Model Railway Village is situated in Kings Gardens opposite the Royal Clifton Hotel and near the Marine Lake Bridge. The Model Railway Village opened in May 1996 and was created by Ray and Jean Jones. The Jones family still run the attraction today. The Model Railway Village season extends from April to the end of October. The season has extended into weekend openings during November, February and March, weather permitting. An earlier model village, the Land of the Little People, was demolished in the late 1980s to make way for the aborted Winter Gardens
/SIBEC shopping development. Its site is now occupied by a Morrison's supermarket.
Other major attractions in Southport include Splash World, an indoor water park
situated on the back of the Dunes swimming pool
which opened in June 2007.
Meols Hall
, a manor house, home of the Hesketh family is open to the public some of the year. Set in its own expansive grounds, it boasts a history back to the Domesday Book and is full of interesting pictures and furniture.
Southport also boasts one of the few lawnmower museums.
The Power Station, home of the town's own Radio station Dune 107.9 on the edge of Victoria Park, which itself is home to the Southport Flower Show
.
The main roads entering Southport are:-
There is no direct connection to the motorway from Southport; the nearest connections are:
An east-west bypass for the A570 at Ormskirk is planned to relieve congestion on Southport's main access route to the motorway network, although the effectiveness of the proposals are still under debate.
Several areas within Southport town centre have recently undergone major road redevelopment; the largest scheme was the construction of the Marine Way Bridge (opened May 2004), which connects the Lord Street shopping district with the new seafront developments. The 150 feet (45.7 m) high structure is thought to have cost in the region of £5m.
Also one of the main shopping areas in the town, Chapel Street, has undergone a pedestrianisation scheme to be similar to parts of Liverpool city centre.
The main operator is Arriva North West
, that operates many services to Liverpool, Ormskirk and other places to and through Southport as well as some local services.
Stagecoach in Preston
operates two services in Southport, the citi 2 (Preston – Southport) and the X2 (Preston – Liverpool)
Fox Moth
aeroplanes flying in the UK. In 1919, it was for a time one of the stops on the UK's first scheduled air passenger service, linking Blackpool, Southport and Manchester.
Southport has a railway station
with a frequent service of trains to Liverpool and a regular service to Wigan
, Bolton, Manchester
and Manchester Airport.
The Liverpool line was originally built by the Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway
in 1848 and is now included into the Merseyrail
network. It was followed on 9 April 1855 by the Manchester and Southport Railway
with a line to Manchester via Wigan
.
Formerly, Southport was also served by two further railway lines:-
In July 1897, both the West Lancashire and the Liverpool, Southport and Preston Junction Railways were absorbed into the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
(L&Y). The L&Y had a large terminus at Southport Chapel Street and could see no sense in operating two termini at very close proximity. In 1901, the L&Y completed a remodeling of the approach lines to Central to allow trains to divert onto the Manchester to Southport line and into Southport Chapel Street Station. Southport Central was closed to passengers and it became a goods depot eventually amalgamating with Chapel Street depot. It survived intact well into the 1970s.
On Southport Pier
can be found the Southport Pier Tramway
which transports passengers from the Promenade to the pier head over 3600 feet (1,097.3 m) on a gauge.
is situated next to the Royal Birkdale Golf Club, and consistently achieves high grades. It offers pupils a wide-range of subjects, particularly languages, and has educated some of the country's most esteemed talent, including the actress, Miranda Richardson
. The male equivalent (also situated in Birkdale) is the all-boys' Birkdale High School, also known for its academic success. The school has taught a few football stars, including Huddersfield captain Peter Clarke, Everton star Jack Rodwell, and Jake Bidwell
, the youngest player to play for Everton in a European competitions.
There are several other high schools prominent in the town, including Stanley High School
, which is a specialist Sports College, Meols Cop High School
, and Christ the King
which is the highest achieving high school in Southport.
Churchtown Primary School is among the ten biggest primary schools in the country, with nearly 900 pupils, and was described by OFSTED
in February 2010 as "outstanding" (grade 1).
. In the past the town had more independent schools which included Tower Dene, which was situated on Cambridge Road. The school closed due to lack of pupils and funding in 2002 and now one of the Victorian houses that housed the school has since been turned into apartments, the other is now a nursery. Kingswood College (originally St Wyburn's) is now housed outside Southport at Scarisbrick Hall
, but it takes many pupils from the town. Brighthelmston School (girls) and University School (boys) are long closed.
colleges: Southport College
that is situated near to the town centre and King George V College
which is on Scarisbrick New Road in the Blowick
area of the town.
Southport College
offers a wide range of subjects and courses that are available to meet a range of students with different abilities. The college does not offer a wide range of A-Level courses as they used to when they first opened as Southport Technical College. Courses at the college include Diplomas
, NVQs, BTEC
s and Access course
s. In addition, Southport College offers some higher education
courses in conjunction with the University of Central Lancashire
, Edge Hill University
and Liverpool John Moores University
.
King George V College
(KGV) offers both A-Level and Business And Technology Education Council courses and the college requires higher GCSE grades in order to be accepted onto the course desired. From September 2009 the college started to offer the internationally accepted International Baccalaureate Diploma
. KGV is the only college in the area to offer this qualification. From September 2011 the college will stop offering the qualification, this is due to reductions in funding and lack of uptake, with only 10 students enrolling for the course in 2010.
Currently, the college is the best performing state funded college in an 18-mile radius of KGV. For the fourth year running, KGV achieved the highest point score per student for state education in Sefton for A levels and their equivalent advanced level courses. The college has also been described by OFSTED
as "outstanding" (grade 1).
It originally opened as King George V Sixth Form College in 1979, and replaced the former King George V Grammar School for Boys, which occupied the same site from 1926 until its demolition in stages during the 1980s as the College was fully opened.
Southport is home to Southport F.C.
who play in the Conference National
, the 5th tier of English football after winning the Conference North
season of 2009-10. They have played at the Haig Avenue
ground since 1905.
Southport is also home to Birkdale United, one of the largest junior football clubs in the north west, boasting both a boys' and girls' sections, as well as male and female adult teams. It is also the only FA Charter Standard Community Club in Sefton. The youngest boys' team are Under 7s, with the girls being Under 9s. The club has been the foundations for many professional footballers, including Dominic Matteo, Shaun Teale, Paul Dalglish, Jack Rodwell and Clint Hill.
The junior section of Southport RUFC are known as the Southport Sharks, and have sides that range from 7 years old upwards. They also play on the same grounds, and train every Sunday 10am-12noon.
; the Royal Birkdale Golf Club
situated in the dunes to the south of the town is one of the venues on The Open Championship
rotation and has hosted two Ryder Cup
s. Nearby Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club
is also a two time Ryder Cup venue and Hillside Golf Club
hosts many major events as well as being a final open qualifying course. Many smaller links courses, such as Hesketh Golf Links
, also surround the town.
Southport's location by the coast also lends itself to some more specialised sporting activities – Ainsdale Beach, south of the town, is popular for kite sports, including kite-surfing. In 1925, Henry Segrave
set a world land speed record
of 152.33 mi/h on the beach, driving the Sunbeam Tiger
. His association is largely forgotten locally, but is commemorated by the name of a public house on Lord Street.
racing. The annual Southport 24 Hour Race, organised by the West Lancashire Yacht Club, is an endurance race of national standing, with an average turnout of 60 to 80 boats. In 2006, the event marked its 40th anniversary.
, a cycle route
running across the north of the country to Selby
in North Yorkshire
, through Hull
and on to Hornsea
on the east coast.
In June 2008, Cycling England announced Southport as one of the 11 new cycling towns. These 11 towns shared £47 million from the government to be spent solely on cycling schemes in the towns. Southport’s Cycling Towns programme aims to encourage tourism and leisure cycling, create regeneration opportunities and significantly increase cycling to school.
There are now many cycle lanes in Southport and more are planned, to encourage cycling in the town.
's 'Sefton & West Lancs Media Mix' titles The Mid-week Visiter and The Southport Visiter (now out on a Thursday) are free and paid-for respectively. The town also falls within the circulation areas of three regional hard copy newspapers; The Liverpool Echo
, The Liverpool Daily Post
and The Lancashire Evening Post
. Southport is also covered by several local and regional magazines, like Lancashire Life
. The local Ranger
Service, which is part of Sefton MBC, runs a quarterly free magazine called Coastlines.
Old Southport newspapers now out of print are as follows: Independent 1861-1920s; Liverpool & Southport News 1861–1872; Southport News (West Lancs) 1881–1885; Southport Standard 1885–1899; Southport Guardian 1882–1930; Southport Journal 1904–1932; Southport Star; Southport Advertiser.
The area also has many online media sites, including the UK's First online newspaper
, the Southport Reporter
, as well as Internet forums (chat forums) and blog
sites.
in October 2008). On a regional level Southport is covered by several local and regional radio stations, including BBC Radio Merseyside
, BBC Radio Lancashire
, Radio City 96.7
, City Talk 105.9
, and 97.4 Rock FM
.
Southport is situated within the television regions of BBC
North West and ITV's
Granada Television
.
Seaside resort
A seaside resort is a resort, or resort town, located on the coast. Where a beach is the primary focus for tourists, it may be called a beach resort.- Overview :...
in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in 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...
, England. During 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....
Southport was recorded as having a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England
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...
. The local nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
for people from Southport is "Sandgrounder".
Southport lies on the Irish Sea
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
coast of North West England
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...
and is fringed to the north by the Ribble estuary
Ribble and Alt Estuaries
The Ribble and Alt Estuaries lie on the Irish Sea coast of the counties of Lancashire and Merseyside in north-west England, and form the boundaries of a number of nature preservation schemes. -Protected area:...
. The town is situated 16.5 miles (26.6 km) to the north of the city of 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...
and 14.8 miles (23.8 km) southwest of the city of Preston.
Historically
Historic counties of England
The historic counties of England are subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and shires...
a part 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...
, the town in its present form was founded in 1792 when a hotel was built at what now is the south end of Lord Street
Lord Street, Southport
Lord Street is the main shopping street of Southport, in Merseyside, England. It is one of the great shopping streets of Northern England and measures exactly 1 mile in length, with a roundabout marking each end of the street...
. At that time the area was sparsely populated and was dominated by sand dunes. During the turn of the 19th century the area became popular with tourists due to the easy access from the nearby Leeds and Liverpool Canal
Leeds and Liverpool Canal
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , it crosses the Pennines, and includes 91 locks on the main line...
and the town quickly grew. The rapid growth of Southport largely coincided with the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
and the Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
. Town attractions include Southport Pier
Southport Pier
Southport Pier is a Grade II listed structure in Southport, Merseyside, England. At 1,216 yards it is the second longest in Great Britain after Southend Pier...
with its Southport Pier Tramway
Southport Pier Tramway
The Southport Pier Tramway is a tramway in the English seaside resort of Southport. It runs the length of Southport Pier, providing public passenger transport to the pier head.-History:...
, the second longest seaside pleasure pier
Pier
A pier is a raised structure, including bridge and building supports and walkways, over water, typically supported by widely spread piles or pillars...
in the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
, and Lord Street, an elegant tree-lined shopping street once home of Napoleon III of France
Napoleon III of France
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte was the President of the French Second Republic and as Napoleon III, the ruler of the Second French Empire. He was the nephew and heir of Napoleon I, christened as Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte...
.
Extensive sand dunes stretch for several kilometres between Birkdale
Birkdale
Birkdale is a village and district in the southern part of the conurbation of the town of Southport, within the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, though historically in Lancashire, in the north-west of England. The village is located on the Irish Sea coast, approximately a mile away from...
and Woodvale
Woodvale, Merseyside
Woodvale is a village in Sefton, Merseyside, England. It is situated between Formby and Ainsdale, to the south of Southport and to the north of RAF Woodvale....
to the south of the town. The Ainsdale
Ainsdale
Ainsdale-on-Sea is a village in the borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, situated three miles south of Southport, of which it is a suburb. At the 2001 Census it had a population of 12,723.-Prior to 1600:...
sand dunes have been designated as a National Nature Reserve in England
National Nature Reserves in England
National Nature Reserves in England are managed by Natural England and are key places for wildlife and natural features in England. They were established to protect the most important areas of habitat and of geological formations...
and a Ramsar
Ramsar Convention
The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, i.e., to stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands now and in the future, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural,...
site. Local fauna include the Natterjack toad
Natterjack Toad
The Natterjack Toad is a toad native to sandy and heathland areas of Europe. Adults are 60–70 mm in length and are distinguished from Common Toads by a yellow line down the middle of the back...
and the Sand lizard
Sand Lizard
The sand lizard is a lacertid lizard distributed across most of Europe and eastwards to Mongolia. It does not occur in the Iberian peninsula or European Turkey. Its distribution is often patchy....
. The town contains examples of Victorian architecture
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
and town planning. These can be mostly found on Lord Street
Lord Street, Southport
Lord Street is the main shopping street of Southport, in Merseyside, England. It is one of the great shopping streets of Northern England and measures exactly 1 mile in length, with a roundabout marking each end of the street...
and the surrounding areas. A particular feature of the town is the extensive tree planting. This was one of the conditions required by the Hesketh family when they made land available for development in the 19th century. Hesketh Park at the northern end of the town is named after the Hesketh family, having been built on land donated by Rev. Charles Hesketh.
Southport today is still one of the most popular seaside resorts in the UK. It hosts varied events including an annual air show
Southport Airshow
Southport Airshow is an annual event held in the seaside town of Southport, Merseyside, England.The first Southport Airshow Event took place in 1991, growing in poularity each autumn, the airshow takes place over two days and attracts tens of thousands of spectators to see the many aircraft take to...
, and the largest independent flower show
Southport Flower Show
Southport Flower Show held at Victoria Park, Southport, Merseyside is the largest independent flower show in the UK. It was originally started in 1924 by the local council, but since 1986 it has been operated by Southport Flower Show company, which is a registered charity. It is held annually for...
in the UK. The town is at the centre of England's Golf Coast and has hosted The Open Championship
The Open Championship
The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...
at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club
Royal Birkdale Golf Club
Royal Birkdale Golf Club is a golf course in the town of Southport, England, and is one of the clubs in the Open Championship rotation for both men and women. The club has hosted the men's championship nine times since 1954, most recently in July 2008, and has hosted the women's tournament five...
in the past.
Etymology
Around the turn of the eighteenth century Southport was established as a seaside settlement. In the late 18th century many people went into the dunes to bath in the sea water. At that time doctors recommended bathing in the sea to help cure aches and pains. William Sutton, an inn keeper from the parish centre at Churchtown, set up a drinking hut in the dunes, which he called the South Port Hotel, although it was neither a hotel nor was there a port.Early history
Although Southport in its present form was founded in 1793, there have been settlements in the area since the Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
, and some parts of the town have names of Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
origin.
The earliest recorded human activity in the area was in the Middle Stone Age
Middle Stone Age
The Middle Stone Age was a period of African Prehistory between Early Stone Age and Late Stone Age. It is generally considered to have begun around 280,000 years ago and ended around 50-25,000 years ago. The beginnings of particular MSA stone tools have their origins as far back as 550-500,000...
when Mesolithic
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
hunter gatherers were attracted to the area by the abundant Red deer
Red Deer
The red deer is one of the largest deer species. Depending on taxonomy, the red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being...
and Elk
Elk
The Elk is the large deer, also called Cervus canadensis or wapiti, of North America and eastern Asia.Elk may also refer to:Other antlered mammals:...
population, as well as the availability of fresh fish, shellfish and woodland. Recent research has shown that people were especially attracted to this area because of the local delicacy of Samphire
Samphire
Samphire is a name given to a number of very different edible plants that happen to grow in coastal areas.*Rock samphire, Crithmum maritimum is a coastal species with white flowers that grows in the United Kingdom...
, which is only found in a few places in Western Europe.
There is also evidence of Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
stopping in the area, with the founding of Roman coins, even though they never settled in South West Lancashire. The Vikings also came to this area.
The only real evidence of an early settlement here occurred in the Domesday Book where the area was called Otergimele. The name is derived from Oddrgrimir meaning the son of Grimm and inked with the Old Norse word Melr meaning Sandbank. The Domesday Book states that there were 50 huts in Otergimele, housing a population of 200. The population was scattered thinly across the region and it was at the North-East end of Otergimele (present day Crossens) where blown sand gave way to new fish supplies from the River Ribble Estury that a small concentration of people had occurred. The alluvium provided fertile agricultural land.
It was here, it seems that a primitive church was built, which gave the emerging village its name of Churchtown. This church was called St Cuthbert's and is still a centre point to Churchtown to this day.
With a booming fishing industry the area grew slowly and hamlets became part of the parish of North Meols
North 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...
. From south to north these villages were Southawes, Haweside, Little London, Higher Blowick
Blowick
-History and etymology:Blowick is part of the ancient parish of North Meols and was formerly a detached settlement, on the northern fringe of what is now Southport....
, Lower Blowick, Rowe-Lane, Churchtown, Marshside, Crossens
Crossens
Crossens is the northernmost district of the town of Southport, Merseyside, England and part of the ancient parish of North Meols. Whilst most of the village is now within Merseyside, part of northern Crossens known as Fiddlers Ferry, is in West Lancashire...
, and Banks
Banks, Lancashire
Banks is a large coastal village in Lancashire, England. It lies just south of the Ribble estuary and four miles north-east of the town of Southport. The village is administered by West Lancashire Borough Council, and by North Meols parish council for parochial matters. It falls in the South...
. North Meols was centred around St. Cuthbert's Church in Churchtown, although there were vicarages in Crossens and Banks.
Parts of the parish were almost completely surrounded by water until 1692 when Thomas Fleetwoodof Bank Hall
Bank Hall
Bank Hall is a Jacobean mansion south of the village of Bretherton in Lancashire, England. It is a Grade II* Listed Building. The hall was built on the site of a previous building in 1608 during the reign of James I by the Banastre family who were Lords of the Manor. It was extended during the 18th...
, cut a channel to drain 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:...
to the sea. From this point on attempts at large scale drainage of Martin Mere and other marshland continued until the 19th century, since which the water has been pumped away. This left behind a legacy of fine agricultural soil and created a booming farming industry.
19th century
William Sutton (Southport)
William Sutton was a local forward thinking man from North Meols who, in 1792, took advantage of the fashionable new trend of sea bathing by building a bathing house at South Hawes and, realizing the importance of the newly created canal systems, gambled with the idea of a...
was the landlord of the Black Bull Inn in Churchtown (now the Hesketh Arms). In the early 1790s he realised the importance of the newly-created canal systems across the UK, he gambled with the idea of a hotel by the seaside just four4 miles (6 km) away from the newly constructed Leeds and Liverpool Canal
Leeds and Liverpool Canal
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , it crosses the Pennines, and includes 91 locks on the main line...
. So in 1792 he built a bathing house in South Hawes, two miles south-west of Churchtown. William arranged transport links from the canal that ran through Scarisbrick
Scarisbrick
Scarisbrick is a village and civil parish in West Lancashire, England. It is spread out along the A570 so there is no real village centre, though the junction with the A5147 is close to the geographic centre...
, four miles from the hotel. At the time South Hawes was an almost uninhabited place that was riddled with sand dunes. The local people thought he was mad and so they called him The Mad Duke.
He quickly made a profit and others decided to open hotels nearby. Southport grew quickly in the 19th century as it gained a reputation for being a more refined seaside resort than its neighbour-up-the-coast 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...
. In fact Southport had a head start compared to all the other places on the Lancahire coast because it had easy access to the canal system. Other seaside bathing areas couldn't really get going until the railways were opened 20 years later in the 19th century. The Leeds and Liverpool canal brought people from Liverpool, Manchester, Bolton and Wigan amogst others. By 1820 Southport had over 20,000 visiors per year.
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte
Napoleon III of France
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte was the President of the French Second Republic and as Napoleon III, the ruler of the Second French Empire. He was the nephew and heir of Napoleon I, christened as Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte...
lived in exile on Lord Street, the main thoroughfare of Southport, between 1846 and 1848, before returning to France, where he became President and subsequently Emperor of the French. During his reign, he caused much of the medieval centre of Paris to be replaced with broad tree-lined boulevards, covered walkways and arcades, just like Lord Street. On the strength of this coincidence, it has been suggested that the redevelopment may have been inspired by memories of Southport's town centre.
Southport and St Anne's lifeboats disaster
On the 9 December 1886 the Mexico, a Hamburg-registered barque bound for Guayaquil from Liverpool went aground near Southport, in a full west north westerly gale....
in the history of the UK occurred off the shores of Southport. A cargo ship called the Mexico
Mexico (barque)
Mexico was a barque that was wrecked off Southport on 9 December 1886. She was repaired only to be lost in Scottish waters in 1890.-Shipwreck:...
was on its way to South America when it found itself in difficulty. Lifeboats from Lytham, St. Annes and Southport set off in order to try to rescue those aboard the vessel. The crews battled against storm-force winds as they rowed towards the casualty. The entire crew from the St. Anne’s boat was lost and all but two of the Southport crew were too. In all, 28 lifeboatmen lost their lives on that night, leaving many widows and fatherless children. A memorial was erected in Duke Street Cemetery and a permanent exhibition can be seen in the Museum of the Botanic Gardens in Churchtown, Southport. Mexico was just one of many shipwrecks in the Southport area
Southport shipwrecks
Over the years, a number of ships have foundered off Southport. For the purposes of this article, the Southport area shall be considered as Southwards from Lytham St Annes to Freshfield.-Star of Hope - 1883:...
.
20th century
From 1894 to 1912 Birkdale and the adjoining village of Ainsdale were separate from Southport and administered by Birkdale Urban DistrictUrban district
In the England, Wales and Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected Urban District Council , which shared local government responsibilities with a county council....
Council before becoming 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 Southport in 1912. This was a huge expansion of the town.
In 1925, the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI) abandoned the station at Southport and left the town with no lifeboat. In the late 1980s, after a series of tragedies, local families from Southport started to raise funds and bought a new lifeboat for the town stationed at the old RNLI lifeboat house. The lifeboat is completely independent from the RNLI and receives no money from them. Instead it relies entirely on donations from the public.
On 21 March 1926, Henry Seagrave set the land speed record in his 4-litre Sunbeam Tiger Ladybird on the sands at Southport at 152.33 mph (245.149 km/h). This record lasted for just over a month, until broken by J.G. Parry-Thomas
J.G. Parry-Thomas
John Godfrey Parry-Thomas was a Welsh engineer and motor-racing driver who at one time held the Land Speed Record. He was the first driver to be killed in pursuit of the land speed record....
.
Governance
Politically, Southport is a stronghold of the Liberal DemocratsLiberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
with the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
also strong in some areas, at the last election coming 3,838 votes behind current Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, John Pugh
John Pugh
John David Pugh is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom. He is Member of Parliament for Southport...
.
Lancashire
Southport lies within the historic county boundariesHistoric counties of England
The historic counties of England are subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and shires...
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...
, and was incorporated as municipal borough
Municipal borough
Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002...
in 1866. It became a 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...
independent of the administrative county
Administrative counties of England
Administrative counties were a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government from 1889 to 1974. They were created by the Local Government Act 1888 as the areas for which county councils were elected. Some large counties were divided into several administrative...
of Lancashire in 1915, having reached the minimum 50,000 population (the 1911 census gave a figure of 51,643). The Birkdale Urban District, including the parishes of Birkdale and Ainsdale was added to Southport in 1912.
Merseyside
Under the 1971 Local Government White Paper, presented in February 1971, Southport would have lost its county borough status, becoming a non-metropolitan districtNon-metropolitan district
Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...
within Lancashire. Rather than accept this fate and lose its separate education and social services departments, Southport Corporation lobbied for inclusion in the nearby planned 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, to join with Bootle
Bootle
Bootle is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England, and a 'Post town' in the L postcode area. Formally known as Bootle-cum-Linacre, the town is 4 miles to the north of Liverpool city centre, and has a total resident population of 77,640.Historically part of...
and other units to form a district with the 250,000 required population. It was duly included in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton.
This decision has been regretted by some of the population. A recurring local political issue has been the cross-party movement campaigning for Southport to leave Sefton and form its own unitary authority
Unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
, perhaps adjoined to the neighbouring 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....
authority. Support for this has been seen amongst Liberal Democrat councillors, and also within the Southport Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
.
The issue of Southport having little in common with the Labour heartland of Bootle and the evidence that Southport infrastructure was progressively being allowed to wither – in favour of sustained investment in Bootle re-emerged in the early 80’s. A Southport born man Kevin Laroux Wood stood in the parliamentary election for the Southport Constituency on 9th June 1983. He was supported by a team of like minded people who raised the funds needed and formed the "Southport Back in Lancashire Party". Posters were distributed and articles published in the Visitor newspaper. Although he was not elected as MP, it put the issue firmly on the local agenda which continues to this day. In the same period in 1980, a Private Member's Bill
Private Member's Bill
A member of parliament’s legislative motion, called a private member's bill or a member's bill in some parliaments, is a proposed law introduced by a member of a legislature. In most countries with a parliamentary system, most bills are proposed by the government, not by individual members of the...
proposed restoring Southport to Lancashire, and renaming the residue of Sefton to the Metropolitan Borough of Bootle. The Local Government Boundary Commission for England
Local Government Boundary Commission for England (1972)
The Local Government Boundary Commission for England was the statutory body established under the Local Government Act 1972 to settle the boundaries, names and electoral arrangements of the non-metropolitan districts which came into existence in 1974, and for their periodic review...
conducted a review of the area in 1987, which attracted 10,000 messages, of which "70% were pro forma
Pro forma
The term pro forma is a term applied to practices or documents that are done as a pure formality, perfunctory, or seek to satisfy the minimum requirements or to conform to a convention or doctrine...
". In 1990 the LGBC made suggestions that Southport, Ainsdale and Birkdale should be made a district of Lancashire: the final recommendations in 1991 "concluded that public opinion was more evenly divided than initially thought", and also that eastward transport links with Lancashire were poor compared to those southward to the Liverpool area.
Sefton
The government again directed the Local Government Commission for EnglandLocal Government Commission for England (1992)
The Local Government Commission for England was the body responsible for reviewing the structure of local government in England from 1992 to 2002. It was established under the Local Government Act 1992, replacing the Local Government Boundary Commission for England...
to make a review in December 1996 (after it had finished the work on the creation of unitary authorities
1990s UK local government reform
The structure of local government in the United Kingdom underwent large changes in the 1990s. The system of two-tier local government introduced in the 1970s by the Local Government Act 1972 and the Local Government Act 1973 was abolished in Scotland and Wales on April 1, 1996, and replaced with...
), commencing in January 1997. This review was constrained by the legal inability of the commission to recommend that the current Sefton-West Lancashire border be altered. In a MORI poll conducted at the behest of the LGCE, 65% of Southport residents supported the campaign, compared to 37% in the borough as a whole. Local MPs Matthew Banks
Matthew Banks
Matthew Gordon-Banks was a British Conservative Party politician. Originally commissioned into The Gordon Highlanders, he joined Barclays Bank in 1984, before before becoming private secretary to a prominent Conservative MP in 1988. In 1987 he fought Manchester Central for the Conservatives...
and Ronnie Fearn (MPs for Southport at various times) supported making Southport a unitary authority, with Banks wishing to see it tied to Lancashire ceremonially
Ceremonial counties of England
The ceremonial counties are areas of England to which are appointed a Lord Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as counties and areas for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England and Lieutenancies Act 1997...
, but Fearn wishing to see it remain, as a separate borough, in Merseyside.
The commission noted that Southport would have a relatively low population for a unitary authority, even including Formby (89,300 or 114,700), and that it was worried about the viability of a south Sefton authority without Southport, and therefore recommended the status quo be kept. The commission suggested the use of area committee
Area committee
Many large local government councils in the United Kingdom have a system of area committees, with responsibility for services in a particular part of the area covered by the council....
s for the various parts of the borough and also that Southport could become a civil parish. Another request made in 2004 was turned down, the Electoral Commission
Electoral Commission (United Kingdom)
The Electoral Commission is an independent body set up by the UK Parliament. It regulates party and election finance and sets standards for well-run elections...
must request such a review.
In 2002, a local independent party calling themselves the Southport Party was established, with many members supporting a policy of "Southport out of Sefton." Three council seats were won in the 2002 local elections, including that of the leader of Sefton Council, Liberal Democrat Councillor, David Bamber. At the following election there were no gains and a drop in the number of votes for the party. At the all out election in 2004, one of their councillors stood down, whilst the other two lost their seats. They have not regained any seats, although the group retains a campaigning presence in the town.
To date, there have been no further moves to change Sefton's boundaries, but the Boundary Commission indicated in 2004 that a future review is possible.
Geography
At 53°38′43.44"N 3°0′29.88"W the town is situated in North West EnglandNorth 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...
. The closest cities are Preston approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) to the north east and Liverpool approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) to the south.
Existing on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain
West Lancashire Coastal Plain
The West Lancashire Coastal Plain is a large area in the south west of Lancashire, England.The plain stretches from the Rimrose Valley in Seaforth, near Liverpool on the Mersey, to the south, to Preston on the Ribble, to the north. To the east, the plain is bounded by the foothills of the Pennines,...
, most of the town is only slightly above sea-level and thus parts of Southport used to be susceptible to flooding. This would be most frequently noticed on Southport's Marine Drive, which was regularly closed due to flooding from high tide
High Tide
High Tide was a band formed in 1969 by Tony Hill , Simon House , Peter Pavli and Roger Hadden .-History:...
s. But in February 1997, new sea defences started being constructed and in 2002 the whole project was completed.
Southport has a maritime climate
Oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also called marine west coast climate, maritime climate, Cascadian climate and British climate for Köppen climate classification Cfb and subtropical highland for Köppen Cfb or Cwb, is a type of climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of some of the...
like most of the UK. Due to its position by the coast, Southport rarely sees substantial snowfall and temperatures rarely fall below −5 °C so it doesn't have frequent frost
Frost
Frost is the solid deposition of water vapor from saturated air. It is formed when solid surfaces are cooled to below the dew point of the adjacent air as well as below the freezing point of water. Frost crystals' size differ depending on time and water vapour available. Frost is also usually...
s. Southport generally has moderate precipitation, unlike the rest of western UK.
Demography
The United Kingdom Census 2001United 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....
showed a total resident population for Southport of 90,336. Approximately 19,000 were aged 16 or under, 60,000 were aged 16–74, and 10,000 aged 75 and over.. According to the 2001 census, 96% of Southports's population claim they have been born in the UK. Inhabitants of Southport are known as Sandgrounders.
Historically the population of Southport began to rapidly increase during the Industrail Revolution and the Victorian era. From then the population has been stable with minor decline in some areas of the town. Southport is quite affluent compared with other parts of the north west.
| Population growth in Southport between 1901–2001 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 1901 | 1911 | 1921 | 1931 | 1939 | 1951 | 1961 | 2001 | |||
| Population | 48,083 | 51,643 | 76,621 | 78,925 | 91,240 | 84,039 | 82,004 | 90,336 | |||
North Meols CP/AP |
|||||||||||
Tourism
As a seaside town Southport has a long history of lesuire and recreation and still to this day heavily dependent on tourism. The town went into decline when cheap air travel arrived in the 1960s and people choose to holiday abroad due to competitive prices and the more reliable weather. However the town kept afloat with people coming to spend the day by the seaside on bank holidays and weekends. The town has diversifed with annual events, shopping and conferences. In 2011 Southport was named the 14th most popular coastal resort in the country, benefiting from a 23% rise in money spent in the resort in that year. Part of the resort’s progress is a result of the money invested in Southport over recent years. Research also shows the town is fourth in the country for the most notable investments over the past decade, with £9.7m of investments.Annual events
- Southport AirshowSouthport AirshowSouthport Airshow is an annual event held in the seaside town of Southport, Merseyside, England.The first Southport Airshow Event took place in 1991, growing in poularity each autumn, the airshow takes place over two days and attracts tens of thousands of spectators to see the many aircraft take to...
The north west's biggest airshow held in the Summer. - Southport Flower ShowSouthport Flower ShowSouthport Flower Show held at Victoria Park, Southport, Merseyside is the largest independent flower show in the UK. It was originally started in 1924 by the local council, but since 1986 it has been operated by Southport Flower Show company, which is a registered charity. It is held annually for...
The UK's largest independent flowershow. - British Musical Fireworks Championships
- Southport International Jazz Festival
- Southport Food and Drink Festival
- Southport Weekender
- Southport Rocks
Business
While Southport has a dependence on tourism the town is also home to many businesses both in the private and public sector. Some manufacturing facilities were situated in the town, most notably ChewitsChewits
Chewits is the brand name of a chewy, cuboid-shaped, soft taffy sweet manufactured by Leaf International. -History:Chewits was launched in the UK in 1965. The sweets were originally manufactured in Southport, but after the closing of the factory in 2006 manufacture was moved to Slovakia. The...
were manufactured in the town from 1965 to 2006, only closing to move production to Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
. Manufacturing has dimisnished in the last few decades and only a few sites are still in production in the town today.
Lord Street
Lord Street, Southport
Lord Street is the main shopping street of Southport, in Merseyside, England. It is one of the great shopping streets of Northern England and measures exactly 1 mile in length, with a roundabout marking each end of the street...
is the main shopping street of Southport. It is one of the great shopping streets of Northern England and is said to be the insperation for the tree-lined boulevards of Paris. In the 2000s Chapel Street was pedestrianised and is home to some of the UK's most famous brands. Southport also has an indoor market situated on Market Street and well as a farmer's market held on the last Thursday of every month on Chapel Street.
Southport is now a premier destination for conferences in the north west following the multi million pound investment programme for the Southport Theatre & Convention Centre. Recently it has hosted the United Kingdom Independence Party
United Kingdom Independence Party
The United Kingdom Independence Party is a eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Whilst its primary goal is the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, the party has expanded beyond its single-issue image to develop a more comprehensive party platform.UKIP...
national conference as well as the regional Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
conferences for the past few years.
England's Golf Coast
Southport is often called England's Golfing Capital because it at the centre of England's Golf Coast and has the UK's highest concentration of championship links courses. Royal Birkdale Golf ClubRoyal Birkdale Golf Club
Royal Birkdale Golf Club is a golf course in the town of Southport, England, and is one of the clubs in the Open Championship rotation for both men and women. The club has hosted the men's championship nine times since 1954, most recently in July 2008, and has hosted the women's tournament five...
and is one of the clubs in the Open Championship rotation for both men and women. The club has hosted the men's championship nine times since 1954, most recently in July 2008, and has hosted the women's tournament five times, including 2010.
Landmarks
The Model Railway Village is situated in Kings Gardens opposite the Royal Clifton Hotel and near the Marine Lake Bridge. The Model Railway Village opened in May 1996 and was created by Ray and Jean Jones. The Jones family still run the attraction today. The Model Railway Village season extends from April to the end of October. The season has extended into weekend openings during November, February and March, weather permitting. An earlier model village, the Land of the Little People, was demolished in the late 1980s to make way for the aborted Winter Gardens
Southport Winter Gardens
The Southport Winter Gardens was a Victorian entertainment complex in the town of Southport, Merseyside.The original winter gardens comprised a theatre, opera house, aquarium, a small zoo, conservatory, promenades and halls situated under the grand glass domes.-History:The Winter Gardens were...
/SIBEC shopping development. Its site is now occupied by a Morrison's supermarket.
Other major attractions in Southport include Splash World, an indoor water park
Water park
A waterpark is an amusement park that features waterplay areas, such as water slides, splash pads, spraygrounds , lazy rivers, or other recreational bathing, swimming, and barefooting environments...
situated on the back of the Dunes swimming pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
which opened in June 2007.
Meols Hall
Meols Hall
Meols Hall is a historical manor house in Churchtown, Merseyside, dating from the 12th century but largely rebuilt in by Roger Fleetwood-Hesketh in the 1960s.- History :...
, a manor house, home of the Hesketh family is open to the public some of the year. Set in its own expansive grounds, it boasts a history back to the Domesday Book and is full of interesting pictures and furniture.
Southport also boasts one of the few lawnmower museums.
The Power Station, home of the town's own Radio station Dune 107.9 on the edge of Victoria Park, which itself is home to the Southport Flower Show
Southport Flower Show
Southport Flower Show held at Victoria Park, Southport, Merseyside is the largest independent flower show in the UK. It was originally started in 1924 by the local council, but since 1986 it has been operated by Southport Flower Show company, which is a registered charity. It is held annually for...
.
Architecture
Southport has many fascinating buildings and features. Buildings, gardens and places of architectural interest to note are:- Lakeside Miniature RailwayLakeside Miniature RailwayThe Lakeside Miniature Railway, runs alongside the Marine Lake on the sea front at Southport England, it is of gauge and is representative of many miniature pleasure railways which sprung up in the early 1900s.- Route :...
- Southport PierSouthport PierSouthport Pier is a Grade II listed structure in Southport, Merseyside, England. At 1,216 yards it is the second longest in Great Britain after Southend Pier...
with its Southport Pier TramwaySouthport Pier TramwayThe Southport Pier Tramway is a tramway in the English seaside resort of Southport. It runs the length of Southport Pier, providing public passenger transport to the pier head.-History:... - Marine Way Bridge
- Lord StreetLord Street, SouthportLord Street is the main shopping street of Southport, in Merseyside, England. It is one of the great shopping streets of Northern England and measures exactly 1 mile in length, with a roundabout marking each end of the street...
- Victoria Baths
- Promenade HospitalSouthport Promenade HospitalSouthport Promenade Hospital is a Grade II listed former Victorian hospital that was situated on the Promenade at the seaside resort of Southport. Today the building has been restored into luxury apartments known as the Marine Gate Mansions.-History:...
(Renovated as luxury apartments and renamed Marine Gate Mansions) - Southport General InfirmarySouthport General InfirmarySouthport General Infirmary was a Victorian hospital that was Southport's first major hospital. The first construction of the building started in October 1892, with the first patients being seen at the hospital in September 1895.-History:...
(Demolished – 2008) (The rest of the hospital buildings on site where demolished summer-autumn 2009 with only a wing of the infirmary remaining as it is being used for mental health services) - The Ribble BuildingSouthport Lord Street railway stationSouthport Lord Street was a railway station located in Southport, Merseyside.Southport Lord Street railway station opened on 1 September, 1884, as the Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension Railway's northern terminus, which ran from Aintree Central in the northern suburbs of Liverpool...
(The small shops on Lords Street are derelict, but the back is part of the MorrisonsMorrisonsWm Morrison Supermarkets plc is the fourth largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, headquartered in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The company is usually referred to and is branded as Morrisons formerly Morrison's, and it is part of the FTSE 100 Index of companies...
supermarket). - Scarisbrick Hotel, Southport
- Smedley HydroSmedley HydroSmedley Hydro is a former Victorian Hydropathic Spa and Hotel which is now home to the UK national registration offices, situated in Birkdale, Southport, Merseyside.-Birkdale College:...
(A formor Victorian Hydropathic Health Spa, now under ownership of the home office for the UK's Birth, Deaths and Marriages) - Botanic GardensSouthport Botanic GardensSouthport Botanic Gardens is a botanical garden situated in the suburban village of Churchtown, Southport, in Merseyside, England. It is often called "The Jewel in the Crown" as it is nationally known for its floral displays, which have been featured in the BBC TV program Gardener's...
- home of only local history museum in southport - due to be closed by Sefton in 2011 - Hesketh ParkHesketh Park, SouthportHesketh Park is a public park situated near the north end of Lord Street in the Victorian seaside town of Southport, Merseyside. It was designed as a public park in the mid-19th century by Edward Kemp, and was further developed in the 20th century...
- Kew Gardens (Southport District General Hospital now occupies most of the site)
- Meols HallMeols HallMeols Hall is a historical manor house in Churchtown, Merseyside, dating from the 12th century but largely rebuilt in by Roger Fleetwood-Hesketh in the 1960s.- History :...
- Royal Clifton
- The Round House
- Wayfarers Arcade, SouthportWayfarers Arcade, SouthportWayfarers Arcade is a Grade II listed structure located in the seaside town of Southport, Merseyside on the famous boulevard of Lord Street in the town centre...
- Cambridge Walks (Closed by Sefton Council for Refurb)
- Atkinson Art Gallery & Library (Closed by Sefton Council for Refurb)
- The Arts Centre & Town Hall
- St Cuthbert's ChurchSt Cuthberts Church, (Churchtown)St Cuthbert's Church is an Anglican church in Churchtown, Merseyside, a village that is now a suburb of Southport in the English county of Merseyside. It is an active parish church in the Diocese of Liverpool and the archdeaconry of Warrington. It has been designated a Grade II listed building by...
- Emmanuel Church
- Holy Trinity
- Cannon Cinema (Lord Street)-(Demolished and replaced with the Vincent Hotel that opened in 2008)
- Open Air Baths (demolished 1990s, The South Ocean Plaza complex now occupies the site)
- Queen Victoria Statue – originally moved from the town hall gardens to Neville Street junction to the Promenade and again to the pedestrianised side of Neville Street.
Road
Due to its position by the coast, Southport is a linear settlement and as such can only be approached in a limited number of directions by road.The main roads entering Southport are:-
- A565A565 roadThe A565 is a road in England that runs from Liverpool in Merseyside to Tarleton in Lancashire. It is a primary route linking the town of Southport to Liverpool and to Preston ....
(from Preston to the north east, from the A59 Liverpool – Preston – York), - A570A570 roadThe A570 is a primary route in northern England, that runs from St Helens to Southport. The road begins at junction 7 of the M62 motorway in Merseyside, and runs in a northerly direction as a dual carriageway through the centre of St Helens, meeting the A58 road, then the A580 road to the north of...
(from OrmskirkOrmskirkOrmskirk is a market town in West Lancashire, England. It is situated north of Liverpool city centre, northwest of St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston.-Geography and administration:...
and St HelensSt Helens, MerseysideSt Helens is a large town in Merseyside, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens with a population of just over 100,000, part of an urban area with a total population of 176,843 at the time of the 2001 Census...
to the south east), - A565 (from Liverpool and FormbyFormbyFormby is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It has a population of approximately 25,000....
to the south).
There is no direct connection to the motorway from Southport; the nearest connections are:
- from the south – junction 3 of the M58M58 motorwayThe M58 is a motorway passing through Merseyside and Lancashire, terminating in Greater Manchester, England. It is 12 miles long and provides a link between the M6 motorway and the area north of Liverpool.-Route:...
(on the A570, twelve miles) - from the north – junction 1 of the M65M65 motorwayThe M65 is a motorway in Lancashire, England. It runs from just south of Preston through the major junction of the M6 and M61 motorways, east past Darwen, Blackburn, Accrington, Burnley, Nelson and ends at Colne.-History:...
(on the A582/A59A59 roadThe A59 is a major road in the United Kingdom that runs from Liverpool in Merseyside, to York in North Yorkshire.-Merseyside:The A59 begins in the centre of Liverpool at the mouth of the Birkenhead Tunnel, and heads north out of the city, first as Scotland Road in Vauxhall, then Kirkdale Road,...
, nineteen miles)
Several areas within Southport town centre have recently undergone major road redevelopment; the largest scheme was the construction of the Marine Way Bridge (opened May 2004), which connects the Lord Street shopping district with the new seafront developments. The 150 feet (45.7 m) high structure is thought to have cost in the region of £5m.
Also one of the main shopping areas in the town, Chapel Street, has undergone a pedestrianisation scheme to be similar to parts of Liverpool city centre.
Bus
Due to the limited number of directions by road, many of the services operated in Southport are from one place South to one place North or East of Southport.The main operator is Arriva North West
Arriva North West
Arriva North West is a division of Arriva that operates bus services around North West England. It consists of two companies: Arriva North West Ltd and Arriva Merseyside Ltd....
, that operates many services to Liverpool, Ormskirk and other places to and through Southport as well as some local services.
Stagecoach in Preston
Stagecoach in Preston
Stagecoach in Preston was a network of bus routes running within the city of Preston, Lancashire and into the surrounding area. It was founded in 2009 after Stagecoach Group acquired Preston Bus that was founded in 1904...
operates two services in Southport, the citi 2 (Preston – Southport) and the X2 (Preston – Liverpool)
Aviation
Southport is also home to Birkdale Sands, a sand runway located on one of Southport's beaches. For many years this was used for pleasure flights using one of the last De HavillandDe Havilland
The de Havilland Aircraft Company was a British aviation manufacturer founded in 1920 when Airco, of which Geoffrey de Havilland had been chief designer, was sold to BSA by the owner George Holt Thomas. De Havilland then set up a company under his name in September of that year at Stag Lane...
Fox Moth
De Havilland Fox Moth
|-References:NotesBibliography* Hotson, Fred W. The de Havilland Canada Story. Toronto: CANAV Books, 1983. ISBN 0-07-549483-3.* Jackson, A. J. British Civil Aircraft 1919-1972: Volume II. London: Putnam , 1988. ISBN 0-85177-813-5....
aeroplanes flying in the UK. In 1919, it was for a time one of the stops on the UK's first scheduled air passenger service, linking Blackpool, Southport and Manchester.
Rail
Southport railway station
Southport railway station serves the town of Southport, Merseyside, England. It is at the end of one of the branches of the Northern Line of the Merseyrail network, and at the end of the Manchester-Southport Line which runs via Wigan...
with a frequent service of trains to Liverpool and a regular service to Wigan
Wigan
Wigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south-west of Bolton, north of Warrington and west-northwest of Manchester. Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town of Wigan had a total...
, Bolton, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and Manchester Airport.
The Liverpool line was originally built by the Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway
Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway
The Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway received parliamentary authorization on 2 July 1847 and opened between Southport and Liverpool Waterloo on 24 July 1848.-LC&SR later operations:...
in 1848 and is now included into the Merseyrail
Merseyrail
Merseyrail is a train operating company and commuter rail network in the United Kingdom, centred on Liverpool, Merseyside. The network is predominantly electric with diesel trains running on the City Line. Two City Line branches are currently being electrified on the overhead wire AC system with...
network. It was followed on 9 April 1855 by 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...
with a line to Manchester via Wigan
Wigan
Wigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south-west of Bolton, north of Warrington and west-northwest of Manchester. Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town of Wigan had a total...
.
Formerly, Southport was also served by two further railway lines:-
- From 1882, the West Lancashire RailwayWest Lancashire RailwayThe West Lancashire Railway ran northeast from Southport to Preston in northwest England.-History:Construction was started by Samuel Swire the Mayor of Southport, on 19 April 1873....
operated from Southport Derby Road station to Preston Fishergate Hill. This line was shut in 1964, and nowadays, Southport and Preston are linked only by the (largely dual-carriageway) A565 and A59 roads.
- In 1884, another line from Southport to Liverpool was opened:- the Cheshire Lines CommitteeCheshire Lines CommitteeThe Cheshire Lines Committee was the second largest joint railway in Great Britain, with 143 route miles. Despite its name, approximately 55% of its system was in Lancashire. In its publicity material it was often styled as the Cheshire Lines Railway...
's Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension RailwaySouthport & Cheshire Lines Extension RailwayThe Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension Railway is a now-disused railway line in Merseyside, England. It was built by the Cheshire Lines Committee, extending the North Liverpool Extension Line to Southport in 1884. Passenger services ended 7 January 1952 and goods six months later...
extended the CLC's North Liverpool Extension LineNorth Liverpool Extension LineThe North Liverpool Extension Line is a now-disused railway line in Liverpool, England. The line was to be the eastern section of the Merseyrail Outer Loop...
from Liverpool CentralLiverpool Central railway stationLiverpool Central railway station is a railway station in Liverpool, England, and forms the central hub of the Merseyrail network, being on both the Northern Line and the Wirral Line. In the years 2008/09, Liverpool Central station was shown to be the busiest station in Liverpool, despite being...
to Southport Lord StreetSouthport Lord Street railway stationSouthport Lord Street was a railway station located in Southport, Merseyside.Southport Lord Street railway station opened on 1 September, 1884, as the Southport & Cheshire Lines Extension Railway's northern terminus, which ran from Aintree Central in the northern suburbs of Liverpool...
. The West Lancashire Railway sponsored the Liverpool, Southport and Preston Junction RailwayLiverpool, Southport and Preston Junction RailwayThe 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 ....
to provide a connection to the CLC line, joining it at Altcar and Hillhouse. These lines ultimately proved uncompetitive, and the Southport services were withdrawn in 1952.
In July 1897, both the West Lancashire and the Liverpool, Southport and Preston Junction Railways were absorbed into the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways...
(L&Y). The L&Y had a large terminus at Southport Chapel Street and could see no sense in operating two termini at very close proximity. In 1901, the L&Y completed a remodeling of the approach lines to Central to allow trains to divert onto the Manchester to Southport line and into Southport Chapel Street Station. Southport Central was closed to passengers and it became a goods depot eventually amalgamating with Chapel Street depot. It survived intact well into the 1970s.
On Southport Pier
Southport Pier
Southport Pier is a Grade II listed structure in Southport, Merseyside, England. At 1,216 yards it is the second longest in Great Britain after Southend Pier...
can be found the Southport Pier Tramway
Southport Pier Tramway
The Southport Pier Tramway is a tramway in the English seaside resort of Southport. It runs the length of Southport Pier, providing public passenger transport to the pier head.-History:...
which transports passengers from the Promenade to the pier head over 3600 feet (1,097.3 m) on a gauge.
Education
The town possesses a variety of academic institutions, both private and state-funded. The prestigious all-girls Greenbank High SchoolGreenbank High School
Greenbank High School is an all-girls secondary comprehensive school located in Hillside, Southport, Merseyside, England, with specialism as a Language College.It has been judged as Outstanding school by Ofsted in November 2010.-Admissions:...
is situated next to the Royal Birkdale Golf Club, and consistently achieves high grades. It offers pupils a wide-range of subjects, particularly languages, and has educated some of the country's most esteemed talent, including the actress, Miranda Richardson
Miranda Richardson
Miranda Jane Richardson is an English stage, film and television actor. She has been nominated for two Academy Awards, and has won two Golden Globes and a BAFTA during her career....
. The male equivalent (also situated in Birkdale) is the all-boys' Birkdale High School, also known for its academic success. The school has taught a few football stars, including Huddersfield captain Peter Clarke, Everton star Jack Rodwell, and Jake Bidwell
Jake Bidwell
Jake Brian Bidwell is an English footballer who plays for Brentford, on loan from Everton as a defender.-Career:Bidwell made his reserve team debut in April 2009...
, the youngest player to play for Everton in a European competitions.
There are several other high schools prominent in the town, including Stanley High School
Stanley High School
Stanley High School is a High School for students aged 11–16 in the resort town of Southport, Merseyside in North West England. It has been a designated specialist Sports College since 2003.- Academic success :...
, which is a specialist Sports College, Meols Cop High School
Meols Cop High School
Meols Cop High School is a secondary school located in Southport, Merseyside, England. The school has recently become a specialist sports college....
, and Christ the King
Christ the King Catholic High School
Christ the King Catholic High School and 6th Form College, is a large Roman Catholic secondary school located in Birkdale, Southport. The school was originally built to be temporary, however it is still standing after many years and has approximately 1200 pupils ranging from 11 years old to 18...
which is the highest achieving high school in Southport.
Churchtown Primary School is among the ten biggest primary schools in the country, with nearly 900 pupils, and was described by OFSTED
Ofsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ....
in February 2010 as "outstanding" (grade 1).
Independent schools
The town has one Independent School, called Sunnymede School, which is in BirkdaleBirkdale
Birkdale is a village and district in the southern part of the conurbation of the town of Southport, within the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, though historically in Lancashire, in the north-west of England. The village is located on the Irish Sea coast, approximately a mile away from...
. In the past the town had more independent schools which included Tower Dene, which was situated on Cambridge Road. The school closed due to lack of pupils and funding in 2002 and now one of the Victorian houses that housed the school has since been turned into apartments, the other is now a nursery. Kingswood College (originally St Wyburn's) is now housed outside Southport at Scarisbrick Hall
Scarisbrick Hall
Scarisbrick Hall is a country house situated just to the south-east of the village of Scarisbrick in Lancashire, England.-History:Scarisbrick Hall was the ancestral home of the Scarisbrick family and dates back to the time of King Stephen . The Scarisbrick family lived on the site from 1238 until...
, but it takes many pupils from the town. Brighthelmston School (girls) and University School (boys) are long closed.
Further education
The town has two Further educationFurther education
Further education is a term mainly used in connection with education in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is post-compulsory education , that is distinct from the education offered in universities...
colleges: Southport College
Southport College
Southport College is a further education college located in Southport, Merseyside, England....
that is situated near to the town centre and 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:...
which is on Scarisbrick New Road in the Blowick
Blowick
-History and etymology:Blowick is part of the ancient parish of North Meols and was formerly a detached settlement, on the northern fringe of what is now Southport....
area of the town.
Southport College
Southport College
Southport College is a further education college located in Southport, Merseyside, England....
offers a wide range of subjects and courses that are available to meet a range of students with different abilities. The college does not offer a wide range of A-Level courses as they used to when they first opened as Southport Technical College. Courses at the college include Diplomas
14–19 Diploma
The Diploma is a composite qualification in England launched in September 2008. Its development was announced in the 14–19 Education and Skills White Paper of March 2005...
, NVQs, BTEC
Business And Technology Education Council (BTEC)
The Business and Technology Education Council is the British body which awards vocational qualifications. Such qualifications are commonly referred to as "BTECs"....
s and Access course
Access course
The Access to Higher Education Diploma is a qualification which prepares students - usually mature students, although the minimum age to be able to study for an access diploma is actually nineteen - for study as an undergraduate at university...
s. In addition, Southport College offers some higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
courses in conjunction with the University of Central Lancashire
University of Central Lancashire
The University of Central Lancashire is a university based in Preston, Lancashire, England.The university has its roots in The Institution For The Diffusion Of Useful Knowledge which was founded in 1828. In 1992 it was granted University status by the Privy Council...
, Edge Hill University
Edge Hill University
Edge Hill University is situated in Ormskirk, Lancashire, England. It has three faculties: Education, Health and Social Care, and Arts and Sciences.- History :...
and Liverpool John Moores University
Liverpool John Moores University
Liverpool John Moores University is a British 'modern' university located in the city of Liverpool, England. The university is named after John Moores and was previously called Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts and later Liverpool Polytechnic before gaining university status in 1992, thus...
.
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:...
(KGV) offers both A-Level and Business And Technology Education Council courses and the college requires higher GCSE grades in order to be accepted onto the course desired. From September 2009 the college started to offer the internationally accepted International Baccalaureate Diploma
IB Diploma Programme
The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme is a two-year educational programme for students aged 16–19that provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry into higher education, and is recognised by universities worldwide. It was developed in the early to mid-1960s in Geneva by...
. KGV is the only college in the area to offer this qualification. From September 2011 the college will stop offering the qualification, this is due to reductions in funding and lack of uptake, with only 10 students enrolling for the course in 2010.
Currently, the college is the best performing state funded college in an 18-mile radius of KGV. For the fourth year running, KGV achieved the highest point score per student for state education in Sefton for A levels and their equivalent advanced level courses. The college has also been described by OFSTED
Ofsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ....
as "outstanding" (grade 1).
It originally opened as King George V Sixth Form College in 1979, and replaced the former King George V Grammar School for Boys, which occupied the same site from 1926 until its demolition in stages during the 1980s as the College was fully opened.
Football
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...
who play in the 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...
, the 5th tier of English football after winning the Conference North
Conference North
The Conference North also known as Blue Square Bet North for sponsorship reasons, is a division of the Football Conference in England, taking its place immediately below the Conference National. Along with Conference South it is at Step 2 of the National League System and the sixth overall tier of...
season of 2009-10. They have played at the 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...
ground since 1905.
Southport is also home to Birkdale United, one of the largest junior football clubs in the north west, boasting both a boys' and girls' sections, as well as male and female adult teams. It is also the only FA Charter Standard Community Club in Sefton. The youngest boys' team are Under 7s, with the girls being Under 9s. The club has been the foundations for many professional footballers, including Dominic Matteo, Shaun Teale, Paul Dalglish, Jack Rodwell and Clint Hill.
Rugby
Southport is also home to a rugby union club, Southport RUFC, who play at the Recreational Ground on Waterloo Road, Hillside.The junior section of Southport RUFC are known as the Southport Sharks, and have sides that range from 7 years old upwards. They also play on the same grounds, and train every Sunday 10am-12noon.
Golf
The town is probably best known for golfGolf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
; the Royal Birkdale Golf Club
Royal Birkdale Golf Club
Royal Birkdale Golf Club is a golf course in the town of Southport, England, and is one of the clubs in the Open Championship rotation for both men and women. The club has hosted the men's championship nine times since 1954, most recently in July 2008, and has hosted the women's tournament five...
situated in the dunes to the south of the town is one of the venues on The Open Championship
The Open Championship
The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...
rotation and has hosted two Ryder Cup
Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is jointly administered by the PGA of America and the PGA European Tour, and is contested every two years, the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe...
s. Nearby Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club
Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club
Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club is situated near the Merseyside towns of Southport and Ainsdale on the north west coast of England, not far north of the city of Liverpool. It has a single 18-hole course set amongst ranges of tall sandhills and smaller sand dunes.It was founded in 1906 and hosted...
is also a two time Ryder Cup venue and Hillside Golf Club
Hillside Golf Club
Hillside Golf Club is located near Southport, England. It lies almost side by side with the Royal Birkdale course, amid a stretch of sandhills, and the quality of the individual holes is such that golfers may find it difficult to separate the two...
hosts many major events as well as being a final open qualifying course. Many smaller links courses, such as Hesketh Golf Links
Hesketh Golf Links
Hesketh Golf Links is a 14.6 hectare Site of special scientific interest situated 2km north-east of Southport town centre. The site was notified in 1989 due to its biological features, in particular focusing on the presence of the nationally rare Sand lizard .-References:*...
, also surround the town.
Kite surfing
Henry Segrave
-External links:* * * * *...
set a world land speed record
Land speed record
The land speed record is the highest speed achieved by a wheeled vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C flying start regulations are used, officiated by regional or national organizations under the auspices of the Fédération...
of 152.33 mi/h on the beach, driving the Sunbeam Tiger
Sunbeam Tiger (1925)
The Sunbeam Tiger was a racing car of the 1920s, built by Sunbeam of Wolverhampton. It was the last car to be competitive both as a land speed record holder, and as a circuit-racing car.- Design and engine :...
. His association is largely forgotten locally, but is commemorated by the name of a public house on Lord Street.
Water
Marine Lake lies nestled between the town centre and the sea and is used for a variety of water-sports including water-skiing, sailing and rowing. The lake is home to the West Lancashire Yacht Club and Southport Sailing Club, both of which organise dinghyDinghy
A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed for use as a ship's boat by a larger vessel. It is a loanword from either Bengali or Urdu. The term can also refer to small racing yachts or recreational open sailing boats. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor,...
racing. The annual Southport 24 Hour Race, organised by the West Lancashire Yacht Club, is an endurance race of national standing, with an average turnout of 60 to 80 boats. In 2006, the event marked its 40th anniversary.
Water polo
Southport Water Polo Team train on a Monday night and have won numerous tournaments and competitions throughout the years.Cycling
The flat and scenic route alongside the beach is very popular with cyclists, and is the start of the Trans Pennine TrailTrans Pennine Trail
The Trans Pennine Trail is a long distance path running from coast to coast across northern England entirely on surfaced paths and using only gentle gradients ....
, a cycle route
National Cycle Network
The National Cycle Network is a network of cycle routes in the United Kingdom.The National Cycle Network was created by the charity Sustrans , and aided by a £42.5 million National Lottery grant. In 2005 it was used for over 230 million trips.Many routes hope to minimise contact with motor...
running across the north of the country to Selby
Selby
Selby is a town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Situated south of the city of York, along the course of the River Ouse, Selby is the largest and, with a population of 13,012, most populous settlement of the wider Selby local government district.Historically a part of the West Riding...
in North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
, through Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
and on to Hornsea
Hornsea
Hornsea is a small seaside resort, town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England at the eastern end of the Trans Pennine Trail.-Overview:According to the 2001 UK Census, Hornsea parish had a population of 8,243....
on the east coast.
In June 2008, Cycling England announced Southport as one of the 11 new cycling towns. These 11 towns shared £47 million from the government to be spent solely on cycling schemes in the towns. Southport’s Cycling Towns programme aims to encourage tourism and leisure cycling, create regeneration opportunities and significantly increase cycling to school.
There are now many cycle lanes in Southport and more are planned, to encourage cycling in the town.
Notable people
- Sophie AbelsonSophie AbelsonSophie Abelson is an English stage and television actress. She currently plays Cherry Malone in the BBC Birmingham's daytime soap opera, Doctors.-Early life:Born in Southport, Merseyside, ever since she was a child she wanted to be an actress...
, actress - Harold AckroydHarold AckroydHarold Ackroyd VC, MC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
VCVictoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
MCMilitary CrossThe Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
, recipient of the Victoria CrossVictoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
in World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918... - Jean AlexanderJean AlexanderJean Alexander is a BAFTA Nominated English television actress. She is best known to British television viewers as Hilda Ogden on the soap opera Coronation Street, a role she played from 1964–1987 and also as Auntie Wainwright on the longest running sitcom Last of the Summer Wine from 1988 to 2010...
, actress - Marc AlmondMarc AlmondMarc Almond is an English singer-songwriter and musician, who originally found fame as half of the seminal synthpop/New Wave duo Soft Cell...
, lead singer of Soft CellSoft CellSoft Cell are an English synthpop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. They consist of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball. The duo is most widely known for their 1981 worldwide hit version of "Tainted Love" and platinum debut Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret... - Michael ArlenMichael ArlenMichael Arlen , original name Dikran Kouyoumdjian, was an Armenian essayist, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and scriptwriter, who had his greatest successes in the 1920s while living and writing in England...
, author and playwright - Robin AskwithRobin AskwithRobin Askwith , is an English film actor, most famous for his role as Timmy Lea in the Confessions... sex comedies.-Confessions...:...
, actor - Gavin BlythGavin BlythGavin John Blyth was a British television producer and journalist. He was well known for being series producer of Emmerdale from January 2009 until his death. Beginning his career in 2002, he joined Emmerdale in 2003 as a writer...
, journalist and ex-EmmerdaleEmmerdaleEmmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...
producer - Lucy M. BostonLucy M. BostonLucy M. Boston was an English children's writer. She is best known for the six books in the Green Knowe series .-Biography:Boston was born in Southport in Lancashire in 1892 and died in 1990...
, author and patchwork quilt maker - Dora BryanDora BryanDora May Bryan OBE is an English actress of stage, film and television.-Early life:Bryan was born as Dora May Broadbent in Southport, Lancashire, England. Her father was a salesman and she attended Hathershaw County Primary School in Oldham, Lancashire...
, actress - Jon BurtonJon BurtonJonathan Burton was born in Winchester, Hampshire in 1969 and moved to Lancashire when he was six years old. Mary Burton [now Braithwaite] and John Burton, his parents, raised him and David in Parbold village, Lancashire and Jonathan moved 15 miles to Southport when he left home.His younger...
, founder of Traveller's TalesTraveller's TalesTraveller's Tales is an English software house founded in 1989 and fully established in 1990 and based in Knutsford, Cheshire.It is part of the TT Games group—after the merger of publisher Giant Interactive and the developer Traveller's Tales—along with TT Games Publishing... - Richard CorbettRichard CorbettRichard Corbett was a Member of the European Parliament for the Labour Party for Yorkshire and the Humber, serving between 1996 and 2009...
, MEP - John CulshawJohn CulshawJohn Royds Culshaw OBE was a pioneering English classical record producer for Decca Records. He recorded a wide range of music, but is best known for masterminding the first studio recording of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, begun in 1958.Largely self-educated musically, Culshaw worked for...
, record producer - Lord FearnRonnie Fearn, Baron FearnRonald Cyril Fearn, Baron Fearn OBE is a British politician and Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords.He was educated at King George V Grammar School, Southport and had a career in banking. He is also a Sefton Metropolitan Borough councilor and a former Merseyside county councilor...
, politician - Paul GardnerPaul Gardner (footballer)Paul Gardner is an English former professional footballer. He played as a right-back.Gardner began his career with Allan Brown's Blackpool in 1976...
, footballer - Alan GrovesAlan GrovesAlan Groves was an English professional footballer. He played as a midfielder.Groves joined hometown club Southport from Blowick in December 1968 and went on to play for Chester, Shrewsbury Town and AFC Bournemouth before beginning a long spell with Oldham Athletic in February 1974...
, footballer - Francesca HalsallFrancesca HalsallFrancesca Jean Halsall is a British freestyle and butterfly swimmer.Halsall was the youngest member of the Team England swim squad at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne where she won silver medals in the 4×100 m freestyle and 4×100 m medley relays.She was a member of the European...
, swimmer - Ollie HalsallOllie HalsallPeter John 'Ollie' Halsall was a left-handed guitarist and is best known for his role in The Rutles, the bands Patto, Timebox and Boxer, and for his contribution to the music of Kevin Ayers. He is also notable as one of the few players of the vibraphone in rock music...
, guitarist - Frank Hampson, artist, creator of Dan DareDan DareDan Dare is a British science fiction comic hero, created by illustrator Frank Hampson who also wrote the first stories, that is, the Venus and Red Moon stories, and a complete storyline for Operation Saturn...
- Anthony HoldenAnthony HoldenAnthony Holden is an English writer, broadcaster and critic, particularly known as a biographer of artists including Shakespeare, Tchaikovsky, Leigh Hunt, Lorenzo da Ponte and Laurence Olivier, and of members of the British Royal family, notably Charles, Prince of Wales...
, writer - Sophie HowardSophie HowardSophie Howard is an English glamour model from Southport, England. She appears regularly on Page Three and in men's magazines, such as Maxim, Nuts and Loaded. In August 2005, Howard was voted 73rd in the FHM UK "100 Sexiest Women" poll. In the 2006 poll, she rose to 68th place.- Biography :Howard...
, glamour model - Jennifer KendalJennifer KendalJennifer Kapoor - born Jennifer Kendal - was a British actress who married Shashi Kapoor of the Kapoor family.-Childhood:Jennifer Kendal was born in Southport, England, but spent much of her youth in India...
, Indian and British actress and theatre personality, wife of famous Indian actor Shashi KapoorShashi KapoorShashi Kapoor , born Balbir-Raj Prithviraj Kapoor on 18 March 1938 in Calcutta , is an award-winning Indian film actor and film producer. He has also been film director and assistant director in Hindi Films. He is a member of the Kapoor family, a film dynasty in India's Bollywood cinema... - Liz KesslerLiz KesslerLiz Kessler is a British author of children's books, most notably a series about a half-mermaid called Emily Windsnap.- Biography :Liz Kessler lives in St Ives, Cornwall...
, author - Tony JordanTony JordanTony Jordan is a British television writer. He was listed as the number 1 television screen writer in the UK by Broadcast magazine and among British Broadcastings Top 20 in The Stage ., He currently resides in Hertfordshire, UK.For many years, he was lead writer and series consultant for BBC One...
, writer - Andrew LancelAndrew LancelAndrew Lancel is an English actor. He is best known for his current role as Frank Foster in the long-running ITV soap opera Coronation Street, and formerly in his role as DI Neil Manson in The Bill.-Biography:...
actor - David LonsdaleDavid LonsdaleDavid Lonsdale is an English actor. Until 2010 Lonsdale played David Stockwell in the long running television series Heartbeat. He also played Peter Barlow in Coronation Street in 1986 and appeared in a minor role as a repo man in the 1997 feature film The Full Monty...
, actor - Lee MackLee MackLee Gordon McKillop is an English stand-up comedian and actor, known by the stage name Lee Mack. He is well known in the United Kingdom for writing and starring in the sitcom Not Going Out, for being a team captain on Would I Lie to You? and for hosting Lee Mack's All Star Cast.-Personal life:Mack...
, comedian - Ginger McCainGinger McCainDonald "Ginger" McCain was an English National Hunt trainer, perhaps best known for training the legendary horse Red Rum. A successful trainer who won many races, he trained Red Rum on Crosby beach near Liverpool...
, racehorse trainer - Neil McDermottNeil McDermottNeil McDermott is a British stage and television actor who is best known for portraying Ryan Malloy in the BBC television soap opera EastEnders from April 2009 until 2011.-Career:...
, actor - David MitchellDavid Mitchell (author)David Stephen Mitchell is an English novelist. He has written five novels, two of which were shortlisted for the Booker Prize.- Biography :...
, author - Johnny MitchellJohnny MitchellJohnny Mitchell, Jr. is a former professional American football tight end in the National Football League for the New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys...
, American football player - Rev. Marcus Morris, creator of the EagleEagle (comic)Eagle was a seminal British children's comic, first published from 1950 to 1969, and then in a relaunched format from 1982 to 1994. It was founded by Marcus Morris, an Anglican vicar from Lancashire. Morris edited a parish magazine called The Anvil, but felt that the church was not communicating...
comic - Olly Peacock, drummer for the band Gomez (also from Southport)
- Anthony QuayleAnthony QuayleSir John Anthony Quayle, CBE was an English actor and director.-Early life:Quayle was born in Ainsdale, Southport, in Lancashire to a Manx family....
, actor - Arthur RichardsonArthur Herbert Lindsay RichardsonArthur Herbert Lindsay Richardson VC was a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
, VCVictoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories.... - Miranda RichardsonMiranda RichardsonMiranda Jane Richardson is an English stage, film and television actor. She has been nominated for two Academy Awards, and has won two Golden Globes and a BAFTA during her career....
, actress - Jimmy RimmerJimmy RimmerJohn James "Jimmy" Rimmer is an English former footballer who played as a goalkeeper in the Football League for Manchester United, Swansea City, Arsenal and Aston Villa. He was capped once for England....
, footballer - Michael RimmerMichael RimmerMichael Alan Rimmer is an English middle-distance runner. He was born in Southport. Originally a member of Southport Waterloo AC, he defected to rivals Liverpool Pembroke Sefton, who he still now races with. He also attended Christ The King catholic high school and broke numerous records in school...
, 800m athlete - William RimmerWilliam Rimmer (music)William Rimmer was a Lancashire composer and conductor of brass band music who was particularly well-known for his marches.Rimmer was born in Southport in 1862 into a musical family. His father was bandmaster of the Lancashire Volunteer Rifles and encouraged both Rimmer and his brother Robert in...
, composer and conductor - Jack RodwellJack RodwellJack Christian Rodwell is an English footballer who plays for Everton as a midfielder. Rodwell has represented his country at all levels from Under-16 to the senior team.- Club career :...
, footballer - Tony RodwellTony RodwellAnthony "Tony" Rodwell is an English former professional footballer. His preferred position was on the right wing....
, footballer - Adrian Scott StokesAdrian Scott StokesCharles Adrian Scott Stokes RA was an English landscape painter. Born in Southport, Lancashire, he became a cotton broker in Liverpool, where his artistic talent was noticed by John Herbert RA, who advised him to submit his drawings to the Royal Academy. He entered the Royal Academy Schools in...
, painter - Leonard StokesLeonard StokesLeonard Aloysius Scott Stokes was an English architect.Leonard Stokes was born in Southport in 1858. He trained in London and travelled in Germany and Italy. Most of his designs were for Roman Catholic buildings, including churches, convents and schools. His first outstanding work was the...
, architect - A. J. P. TaylorA. J. P. TaylorAlan John Percivale Taylor, FBA was a British historian of the 20th century and renowned academic who became well known to millions through his popular television lectures.-Early life:...
, historian - Marcus WareingMarcus WareingMarcus Wareing , is an English chef, currently Chef Patron of "Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley" in Knightsbridge, and previously the Grill Room at the Savoy Hotel on the Strand....
, chef - Edmund WhittakerE. T. WhittakerEdmund Taylor Whittaker FRS FRSE was an English mathematician who contributed widely to applied mathematics, mathematical physics and the theory of special functions. He had a particular interest in numerical analysis, but also worked on celestial mechanics and the history of physics...
, mathematician
Famous animals and entities
- Red RumRed RumRed Rum was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse who achieved an unmatched historic treble when he won the Grand National in 1973, 1974 and 1977, and also came second in the two intervening years...
, record breaking racehorse and three time winner of the AintreeAintree RacecourseAintree Racecourse is a racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England.It was served by Aintree Racecourse railway station until the station closed in the 1960s....
Grand NationalGrand NationalThe Grand National is a world-famous National Hunt horse race which is held annually at Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, England. It is a handicap chase run over a distance of four miles and 856 yards , with horses jumping thirty fences over two circuits of Aintree's National Course...
. - EagleEagle (comic)Eagle was a seminal British children's comic, first published from 1950 to 1969, and then in a relaunched format from 1982 to 1994. It was founded by Marcus Morris, an Anglican vicar from Lancashire. Morris edited a parish magazine called The Anvil, but felt that the church was not communicating...
, a comic for boys, was started in Southport.
Newspapers
The town's media consists of two rival newspaper groups, and two radio stations. The independently owned 'Champion' newspaper is a free weekly paper and Trinity MirrorTrinity Mirror
Trinity Mirror plc is a large British newspaper and magazine publisher. It is Britain's biggest newspaper group, publishing 240 regional papers as well as the national Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and People, and the Scottish Sunday Mail and Daily Record. Its headquarters are at Canary Wharf in...
's 'Sefton & West Lancs Media Mix' titles The Mid-week Visiter and The Southport Visiter (now out on a Thursday) are free and paid-for respectively. The town also falls within the circulation areas of three regional hard copy newspapers; The Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
The Liverpool Echo is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Saturday, and is Liverpool's evening newspaper while its sister paper, the Liverpool Daily Post, is the morning paper...
, The Liverpool Daily Post
Liverpool Daily Post
The Liverpool Daily Post is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Friday and is published in Merseyside, Cheshire, and North Wales editions, and is a morning paper...
and The Lancashire Evening Post
Lancashire Evening Post
The Lancashire Evening Post is a daily newspaper based in Fulwood, a suburb of the city of Preston, Lancashire, England. According to the British Library, its first edition was published on 18 October 1886...
. Southport is also covered by several local and regional magazines, like Lancashire Life
Lancashire Life
Lancashire Life is a British Regional magazine, first published in 1947, devoted to the English county palatine of Lancashire. The magazine covers lifestyle topics including motoring, property, food, art and everyday life in the county.-Circulation:...
. The local Ranger
Park ranger
A park ranger or forest ranger is a person entrusted with protecting and preserving parklands – national, state, provincial, or local parks. Different countries use different names for the position. Ranger is the favored term in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Within the United...
Service, which is part of Sefton MBC, runs a quarterly free magazine called Coastlines.
Old Southport newspapers now out of print are as follows: Independent 1861-1920s; Liverpool & Southport News 1861–1872; Southport News (West Lancs) 1881–1885; Southport Standard 1885–1899; Southport Guardian 1882–1930; Southport Journal 1904–1932; Southport Star; Southport Advertiser.
The area also has many online media sites, including the UK's First online newspaper
Online newspaper
An online newspaper, also known as a web newspaper, is a newspaper that exists on the World Wide Web or Internet, either separately or as an online version of a printed periodical....
, the Southport Reporter
Southport Reporter
Southport Reporter is an online newspaper started by Patrick Trollope, is not only seen as a newspaper but also as the UK's first online-only regional newspaper. It is based in Southport on Merseyside, and was quickly recognised by the National Union of Journalists as well as other media groups,...
, as well as Internet forums (chat forums) and blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
sites.
Broadcasting
The town's commercial radio station Dune 107.9 (renamed from 107.9 Dune FMDune FM
Dune 107.9 is a radio channel which broadcasts from Southport, covering the town and the surrounding borough of Sefton as well as a large part of neighbouring West Lancashire.- Origins :...
in October 2008). On a regional level Southport is covered by several local and regional radio stations, including BBC Radio Merseyside
BBC Radio Merseyside
BBC Radio Merseyside is the BBC Local Radio service for the English metropolitan county of Merseyside and north Cheshire. It was the third BBC local radio station to launch on 22 November 1967 initially serving the south west of historic Lancashire....
, BBC Radio Lancashire
BBC Radio Lancashire
BBC Radio Lancashire is the BBC Local Radio service for the county of Lancashire, in North West England. It began as BBC Radio Blackburn on 26 January 1971 on 96.4FM, then adding 854 kHz AM in 1972 and changing to its current name on 4 July 1981...
, Radio City 96.7
Radio City 96.7
Radio City 96.7 is a British Independent Local Radio station, based in Liverpool, that serves Merseyside, Cheshire and North Wales...
, City Talk 105.9
City Talk 105.9
City Talk 105.9 is a commercial radio station in Liverpool, England. The station was awarded a licence by Ofcom on 9 November 2006 and the station launched on 28 January 2008. City Talk is a sister station to the existing Bauer Radio-owned Radio City and Magic 1548, and the stations share studio...
, and 97.4 Rock FM
97.4 Rock FM
97.4 Rock FM is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to Lancashire, North West England and some parts of North Wales. Its output is mainly contemporary pop and current chart hits. The station is owned & operated by Bauer Radio and forms part of Bauer's Place Network of stations...
.
Southport is situated within the television regions of 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...
North West and ITV's
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
.
Useful history books
- The Sands Of Times, an introduction to the Sand Dunes of the Sefton Coast Line, written by Philip H. Smith. ISBN 1-902700-03-1
- New Ainsdale, a book about the seaside suburb of Southport covering from 1850 to 2000. Written by Harry Foster of the Birkdale and Ainsdale Historical Research Society. ISBN 0-9510905-5-0
- New Birkdale – The Growth of a Lancashire Seaside Suburb 1850–1912, by Harry Foster, 1995. Published by Birkdale and Ainsdale Historical Research Society. ISBN 0-9510905-1-8
- Viking Mersey, written by Stephen Harding. ISBN 1901231-34-8
- Southport A Pictorial History, a book by local author Harry Foster. ISBN 0-85033-966-9
- Local Newspapers, holds newspaper title names from 1750—1920. ISBN 0-907099-46-7
- Britain's First Lifeboat Station, written by Yorke, Barbara and Reginald, published by Alt Press. ISBN 0-9508155-0-0
- Pleasureland Memories, A history of Southport's amusement park, by Stephen Copnall (2005), Skelter Publishing. ISBN 0-9544573-3-1
- What The Butler Saw – And All That, a pictorial history of Southport pier, by Harold Brough. ISBN 0-9554780-0-6
- Southport Stories and Landscapes, by David Lewis (2005). Breedon Publishing. ISBN 1-85983-467-1
- Thatch, Towers and Colonnades – The story of architecture in Southport, by Cedric Greenwood (1971, reprinted 1990). Carnegie Publishing. ISBN 0-948789-64-6
- An Illustrated Survey of Railway Stations Between Southport & Liverpool 1848–1986, by Rob Gell (1986). Heyday Publishing Company, ISBN 0-947562-04-4.
- North Meols and Southport – a History, by Peter Aughton (1988). Published by Carnegie Press ISBN 0-948789-17-4
- The Sandgrounders: The Complete League History of Southport F. C., by Michael Braham and Geoff Wilde (Palatine Books, 1995). ISBN 10-1874181144
- The Complete Non-League History of Southport Football Club 1978–2008, by Trust in Yellow (Legends Publishing, 2008). ISBN 978-1-906796-01-3