Birkdale
Encyclopedia
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 the centre of its now parent town. From 1894 to 1912, Birkdale and the adjoining suburb/village of Ainsdale
were administered by Birkdale Urban District
Council before becoming part of the county borough
of Southport. Until 1 April 1974, Birkdale lay in the traditional borders of the county of Lancashire
. As of the 2001 Census, it had a population of 12,265.
Birkdale also inspired the name for a new urban mixed use community twelve miles north of Charlotte, North Carolina in Huntersville, North Carolina called Birkdale Village
.
words, birki meaning "birch-copse" and dalr meaning "dale" or "valley".
constituency for elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom
, it is currently represented by the Liberal Democrat
MP
, John Pugh
.
For elections to Sefton Council Birkdale
acts as a single electoral ward, it currently has three councillors, their names are Iain Brodie - Browne, Richard Hands, and Simon Shaw, all are members of the Liberal Democrats
.
and Edwardian
houses; many of the houses have not yet been broken up into individual flats, and still house families. The area is almost entirely residential, with mainly semi-detached houses as the norm. In the summer of 2003, the average property price was £149,550 (just under £10,000 less than the national average). This has risen to £200,844 in July 2005, more than £20,000 over the national mix-adjusted national average house price. The area has become a popular area with footballers from local Merseyside or Lancashire clubs.
The village centre (still commonly referred to as Birkdale Village) is on Liverpool Road and features a variety of (mostly local) shops. Birkdale railway station
is situated on the Northern Line
of the Merseyrail
network, that links Southport to Liverpool
.
. It was last played at the Royal Birkdale
golf
course in July 2008. To lesser fame, the home ground of the Southport and Birkdale Cricket Club on Trafalgar Road is used for county level cricket
matches approximately once a year. Southport and Birkdale squash
club, also play here and are in the North West Counties Squash League. Red Rum
the legendary racehorse who was trained by Ginger McCain
had his stables in Upper Aughton Road in Birkdale, while a horse named after the village took part and finished tenth in the 2002 Grand National
. The largest junior football club in Southport, Birkdale United AFC, played a crucial part in the footballing education of famous Premiership footballers such as Jack Rodwell
, Dominic Matteo
, Shaun Teale
and Paul Dalglish
on their way, still has its home in the village and boasts teams for boys from the age of 6 and girls from the age of 7 through to open age teams. The club was also presented the FA's highest accolade in January 2008, being the only FA Charter Community Club in Southport.
, which has around 1200 pupils including sixth form, Birkdale High School which is for boys, and Greenbank High School
(in the part of Birkdale known as Hillside) for girls.
(to Southport, Formby and Liverpool), Cumfybus
, and Stagecoach
(to Liverpool and Preston). Birkdale has two stations, Birkdale
and Hillside
which are on the Northern Line
of the Merseyrail
network.
was born in Birkdale in 1906.
Marcus Morris was vicar of St James' Church, Lulworth Road, in the 1940s and 50s.
Richard Corbett
MEP lived in Birkdale until the age of 8 and attended Farnborough Road School.
Everton F.C Midfielder Jack Rodwell
is from Birkdale, as is comedian Lee Mack
. Booker Prize-winning novelist James Gordon Farrell
was evacuated to Birkdale during WW2.
Conurbation
A conurbation is a region comprising a number of cities, large towns, and other urban areas that, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban and industrially developed area...
of the town of Southport
Southport
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...
, within the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, 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...
, though historically in 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...
, in the north-west of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The village is located 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, approximately a mile away from the centre of its now parent town. From 1894 to 1912, Birkdale and the adjoining suburb/village of 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:...
were administered by Birkdale Urban District
Urban 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. Until 1 April 1974, Birkdale lay in the traditional borders of the county 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...
. As of the 2001 Census, it had a population of 12,265.
Birkdale also inspired the name for a new urban mixed use community twelve miles north of Charlotte, North Carolina in Huntersville, North Carolina called Birkdale Village
Birkdale Village
Birkdale Village is a new urban mixed use community twelve miles north of Charlotte, North Carolina in Huntersville, North Carolina. It has numerous restaurants, stores, cafes, apartments, townhomes, and houses...
.
Etymology
Birkdale probably takes its name from two Old NorseOld Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
words, birki meaning "birch-copse" and dalr meaning "dale" or "valley".
Governance
Birkdale is part of the SouthportSouthport (UK Parliament constituency)
Southport is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
constituency for elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
, it is currently represented by the Liberal Democrat
Liberal 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...
MP
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...
.
For elections to Sefton Council Birkdale
Birkdale (ward)
Birkdale is a Metropolitan Borough of Sefton ward in the Southport Parliamentary constituency that covers the eastern part of the localities of Birkdale and Hillside in the town of Southport.-Councillors:-Elections of the 2010s:...
acts as a single electoral ward, it currently has three councillors, their names are Iain Brodie - Browne, Richard Hands, and Simon Shaw, all are members of the Liberal Democrats
Liberal 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...
.
Demography
On the whole it is a wealthy area featuring many large VictorianVictorian 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 Edwardian
Edwardian period
The Edwardian era or Edwardian period in the United Kingdom is the period covering the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910.The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 and the succession of her son Edward marked the end of the Victorian era...
houses; many of the houses have not yet been broken up into individual flats, and still house families. The area is almost entirely residential, with mainly semi-detached houses as the norm. In the summer of 2003, the average property price was £149,550 (just under £10,000 less than the national average). This has risen to £200,844 in July 2005, more than £20,000 over the national mix-adjusted national average house price. The area has become a popular area with footballers from local Merseyside or Lancashire clubs.
The village centre (still commonly referred to as Birkdale Village) is on Liverpool Road and features a variety of (mostly local) shops. Birkdale railway station
Birkdale railway station
Birkdale railway station serves the Birkdale suburb of Southport, England. The station is located on the Southport branch of the Merseyrail network's Northern Line.-History:...
is situated on the Northern Line
Northern Line (Merseyrail)
The Northern Line is one of the two commuter rail lines operated by Merseyrail in Merseyside, England. The other line is the Wirral Line. A third line of the Merseyrail Network, the City Line, is not owned or operated by Merseyrail, although funded by Merseytravel.The Northern Line passes...
of 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, that links Southport to 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...
.
Sport
Despite its small size, Birkdale receives a great deal of sporting attention once every few years as it plays host to The Open ChampionshipThe 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...
. It was last played at the Royal Birkdale
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...
golf
Golf
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....
course in July 2008. To lesser fame, the home ground of the Southport and Birkdale Cricket Club on Trafalgar Road is used for county level cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
matches approximately once a year. Southport and Birkdale squash
Squash (sport)
Squash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball...
club, also play here and are in the North West Counties Squash League. Red Rum
Red Rum
Red 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...
the legendary racehorse who was trained by Ginger McCain
Ginger McCain
Donald "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...
had his stables in Upper Aughton Road in Birkdale, while a horse named after the village took part and finished tenth in the 2002 Grand National
2002 Grand National
The 2002 Grand National was the 155th official renewal of the world-famous Grand National steeplechase that took place at Aintree near Liverpool, England, at 3:45pm BST on 6 April 2002....
. The largest junior football club in Southport, Birkdale United AFC, played a crucial part in the footballing education of famous Premiership footballers such as Jack Rodwell
Jack Rodwell
Jack 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 :...
, Dominic Matteo
Dominic Matteo
Dominic Matteo is a former Scottish footballer and a Scottish national football team international. He has played most recently as a defender for Stoke City, but spent most of his career at Liverpool and Leeds United.-Club career:...
, Shaun Teale
Shaun Teale
Shaun Teale is a former English professional footballer. He is perhaps most famous for being in the League Cup winning team of Aston Villa in 1994.-Playing career:...
and Paul Dalglish
Paul Dalglish
Paul Kenneth Dalglish is a Scottish former professional football player and manager.-Playing career:Dalglish, son of former Scotland international Kenny Dalglish, was born in Glasgow though spent his childhood in Liverpool where his father managed Liverpool F.C...
on their way, still has its home in the village and boasts teams for boys from the age of 6 and girls from the age of 7 through to open age teams. The club was also presented the FA's highest accolade in January 2008, being the only FA Charter Community Club in Southport.
Education
Birkdale has three secondary schools, Christ the King Catholic High SchoolChrist 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 has around 1200 pupils including sixth form, Birkdale High School which is for boys, and Greenbank High School
Greenbank 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:...
(in the part of Birkdale known as Hillside) for girls.
Transport
Birkdale is served by frequent buses run by ArrivaArriva
Arriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...
(to Southport, Formby and Liverpool), Cumfybus
Cumfybus
Cumfybus Ltd is a bus operating company based in Southport in Merseyside, England. Its operations were small scale throughout the 1990s, but it has expanded significantly since its incorporation as a limited company in 2002, and as of 2010 has a fleet of nearly 100 buses.-Fleet:The Optare Solo...
, and Stagecoach
Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group plc is an international transport group operating buses, trains, trams, express coaches and ferries. The group was founded in 1980 by the current chairman, Sir Brian Souter, his sister, Ann Gloag, and her former husband Robin...
(to Liverpool and Preston). Birkdale has two stations, Birkdale
Birkdale railway station
Birkdale railway station serves the Birkdale suburb of Southport, England. The station is located on the Southport branch of the Merseyrail network's Northern Line.-History:...
and Hillside
Hillside railway station
Hillside railway station serves the southern half of the Birkdale area of Southport, England. It is located on the Southport branch of the Merseyrail network's Northern Line....
which are on the Northern Line
Northern Line (Merseyrail)
The Northern Line is one of the two commuter rail lines operated by Merseyrail in Merseyside, England. The other line is the Wirral Line. A third line of the Merseyrail Network, the City Line, is not owned or operated by Merseyrail, although funded by Merseytravel.The Northern Line passes...
of 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.
Famous people
A. J. P. TaylorA. J. P. Taylor
Alan 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:...
was born in Birkdale in 1906.
Marcus Morris was vicar of St James' Church, Lulworth Road, in the 1940s and 50s.
Richard Corbett
Richard Corbett
Richard Corbett was a Member of the European Parliament for the Labour Party for Yorkshire and the Humber, serving between 1996 and 2009...
MEP lived in Birkdale until the age of 8 and attended Farnborough Road School.
Everton F.C Midfielder Jack Rodwell
Jack Rodwell
Jack 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 :...
is from Birkdale, as is comedian Lee Mack
Lee Mack
Lee 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...
. Booker Prize-winning novelist James Gordon Farrell
James Gordon Farrell
James Gordon Farrell , known as J.G. Farrell, was a Liverpool-born novelist of Irish descent. Farrell gained prominence for his historical fiction, most notably his Empire Trilogy , dealing with the political and human consequences of British colonial rule...
was evacuated to Birkdale during WW2.