| Skelmersdale | |
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  Skelmersdale shown within Lancashire |
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| Population | 38,813 |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| District | West Lancashire |
| Shire county | Lancashire |
| Region | North West |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | SKELMERSDALE |
| Postcode district | WN8 |
| Dialling code | 01695 |
| Police | Lancashire |
| Fire | Lancashire |
| Ambulance | North West |
| European Parliament | North West England |
| UK Parliament | West Lancashire |
| List of places: UK • England • Lancashire | |
Skelmersdale is a town in West Lancashire, England. Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea In Biology a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular Species; in Sociology The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using Latitude and Longitude The districts of England are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government West Lancashire is a local government district of Lancashire, England. Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties are one of the four levels of Subdivisions of England used for the purposes of Local government outside Greater London Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea The region, also known as the government office region, is currently the highest tier of local government sub-national entity of England, with only one North West England is one of the nine official Regions of England. Constituent country is a phrase used often by official institutions in contexts in which a country makes up a part of a larger entity or grouping England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland This list of sovereign states, alphabetically arranged gives an overview of States around the world with information on the extent of their Sovereignty. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system UK Postal codes are known as postcodes. UK postcodes are Alphanumeric. The, also known as the Wigan postcode area, is a group of postal districts in North West England that are sub-divisions of three Post towns It covers parts The UK Telephone numbering plan, also known as the National Telephone Numbering Plan, is the system used for assigning Telephone numbers in the United There are a number of law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom. Lancashire Constabulary is the Home Office police force responsible for policing the ceremonial county of Lancashire in the North West England The fire service in the United Kingdom operates under separate legislative and administrative arrangements in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and The Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service is the county-wide statutory emergency fire and rescue service for the Shire county of Lancashire The North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust was formed on 1 July 2006 as part of Health Minister Lord Warner's plans to reduce the number of NHS North West England is a Constituency of the European Parliament. This is a list of the 646 constituencies currently represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, as at the 2005 general election West Lancashire is a County constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom A Gazetteer of place names in the United Kingdom showing each place's County, Unitary authority or council area and its geographical coordinates List of places --> List of cities in the United Kingdom List of towns in England Lists of places This is a list of places within the ceremonial county boundaries of Lancashire, England. A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. West Lancashire is a local government district of Lancashire, England. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland As of 2006, it had a population of 38,813,[1] down from 41,000 in 2004. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Designated as a new town in 1961, Skelmersdale is situated 15 miles (24 km) south-southwest of the city of Preston. Below is a list of some of the new towns in the United Kingdom created under the various New Town Acts of the 20th century Preston ( ˈprɛstən is a city and local government district in Lancashire, England, located on the River Ribble. Coal mining was once of great importance in the region; today, light industry is predominant.
Contents |
History
Etymology
Skelmersdale means "Skjaldmarr's valley", from the Old Norse personal name Skjaldmarr + probably Old Norse dalr (or Old English dæl) "dale, valley". The name was recorded as Skalmeresedel in 1136. One place-name book suggests that it may be of Celtic origin, with the place-names being in Celtic place-name order, i. e. "Element/personal name/word", rather than "Personal name/word/element", as with Old English place-names.
It is known locally as "Skem",[2] with a further destinction being made between "Old Skem" (the area which was a small mining town prior to 1961) and the broader swathe of development which has now developed.
Early history
Until the creation of Skelmersdale Urban District Council at the end of the 19th century, the town was part of the Parish of Ormskirk in the West Derby hundred, an ancient subdivision of Lancashire, covering the south-west of the county. The hundred of West Derby (sometimes known as West Derbyshire) was an ancient division of the historic county of Lancashire, England
Skelmersdale's population in 1851 was only 760, but 50 years later it had increased to 5,699. It was a busy coal mining town. [3] Sadly, there were over 100 fatalities in Skelmersdale collieries from 1851 to 1900, according to the Reports of the Inspectors of Coal Mines, and an unknown number of serious injuries. In 1880 there were 14 Skelmersdale colleries - most of them closed in the 1920s and 30s.
The miners, many of whom were Welsh immigrants, brought with them their own brand of non-conformist Christianity. By the start of the 20th century there were at least six dissenting chapels in the town: two Wesleyan (Berry Street, closed in the 1920s, and Liverpool Road, closed 1969), an independent Methodist, a Primitive Methodist, a Congregational, and a Welsh Chapel (closed in 1963). Primitive Methodism was a major movement in English Methodism from about 1810 until the Methodist Union in 1932. Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently
Today, there is little to remind people that the town was ever associated with the once great Lancashire Coalfield. The River Tawd flows through Skelmersdale into a country park. The River Tawd flows through Skelmersdale and Lathom in West Lancashire. The main country park is at Ashurst Beacon, a hillside location that is also residence to a Golf Club.
New town
Skelmersdale was designated a New Town in 1961, designed to house overspill population from the north Merseyside conurbation. Below is a list of some of the new towns in the United Kingdom created under the various New Town Acts of the 20th century Merseyside is a Metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1365900 The town was the first in the second wave of designations.
Due to the arrival of a large number of former Liverpool residents, the town retains a strong association with Liverpool to which it is linked via the M58 motorway. Liverpool ( is a City and Metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary
Skelmersdale endured mixed economic fortunes during the last three decades of the 20th century. With the economic downturn in the late 1970s large industrial employers left town en masse, resulting in an increase in crime, drug abuse and poverty. Today, however, West Lancashire has one of the lowest recorded crime rates in England. West Lancashire is a local government district of Lancashire, England.
2006 was to see a regeneration drive for the town coordinated through English Partnerships and the Northwest Regional Development Agency and publicly headed by the designer Wayne Hemingway. English Partnerships (EP is the national regeneration agency for England, performing a similar role on a national level to that fulfilled by Regional Development Agencies Wayne Hemingway MBE (born 19 January 1961) is an English Fashion designer and co-founder of Red or Dead. [4] Among the proposals was a new central focus for the entertainment and commerce for the town in the evening. [2]
Transport
Road
The layout of the town is unique for the oversized roundabouts (the largest of which is "Half Mile Island") and a complete absence of traffic lights. The traffic light, also known as traffic signal, stop light, traffic lamp, stop-and-go lights, robot or semaphore, Skelmersdale's road system has improved with better signage, although visitors still frequently get lost.
The M58 motorway (Liverpool - Wigan Motorway) runs along the south of Skelmersdale from the nearby M6 motorway to the Switch Island interchange at Liverpool. The M58 is a Motorway in Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside, England. This article concerns the M6 motorway in England There are also M6 motorways in Russia (see Caspian Highway) Hungary (see M6 motorway Switch Island is a road junction south of Maghull and near Aintree in Merseyside, England on the Liverpool rural-urban fringe The A570 and the A577 both provide connections. The A570 is a Primary route in northern England, that runs from St Helens to Southport. List of A roads beginning with 5 in Great Britain starting north/east of the A5, west of the A6, south of the Solway Firth / Eden Estuary
The New Town areas of Skelmersdale have a road-naming system where "Road" and "Street" are rarely used and single-name roads are common, e. g. "Abbeywood", "Fairburn", "Thornwood". "Road", "Street", "Lane" and "Drive" do appear in road names, but only in the parts of the town (bordering on Ormskirk, St. Helens and Wigan) that pre-date the New Town development. Ormskirk is a Market town in West Lancashire, England. It is situated north of Liverpool, and southwest St Helens ( is a large town in Merseyside, England It is the largest settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens with a population of just over 100000 Wigan is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south of Preston, west-northwest of Manchester
Roads in the industrial estates and the main roads in the town such as Gillibrands Road follow the usual naming conventions.
Rail
The nearest railway station is Upholland railway station on the Wigan Wallgate to Kirkby branch line (historically part of the Liverpool and Bury Railway line. Upholland railway station serves the small town of Upholland in the southern Lancashire / Wigan boundary area Wigan Wallgate railway station is one of two main Railway stations serving the town of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. Kirkby railway station is situated in Kirkby, Merseyside, England. The Liverpool and Bury Railway was formed in 1845 and opened on 28 November 1848 [5]) The Skelmersdale Branch previously connected Skelmersdale to Ormskirk and Rainford Junction. The Skelmersdale Branch (SKE connected the Liverpool Ormskirk and Preston Railway at Ormskirk with Skelmersdale, Rainford Junction with the Ormskirk is a Market town in West Lancashire, England. It is situated north of Liverpool, and southwest The rebuilding of a dedicated connection linking the town to Upholland has been proposed, which would result in the reopening of Skelmersdale railway station. Upholland or Up Holland, as it is frequently spelt locally and on Ordnance Survey maps is a Civil parish and small town in West Lancashire, England Skelmersdale railway station was a station located on the Skelmersdale Branch at Skelmersdale, England.
Education
Skelmersdale has a number of primary schools, and has three high schools. These are Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic High School an Engineering College, Lathom High School a Technology College and Glenburn Sports College.
Skelmersdale also is home to a large public library whose facilities include free internet access and an extensive local history section. [6]
Economy
Although consisting predominantly of housing estates, Skelmersdale's industry includes the Co-operative Bank (Skelmersdale's single largest employer), the cosmetic manufacturer Constance Carroll, a distribution centre for P&G, potato snacks from Walkers, the international headquarters and UK manufacturing centre of Turtle Wax and many others. Procter & Gamble Co ( P&G,) is a Fortune 500, American global corporation based in Cincinnati Ohio, that manufactures a wide The potato is a Starchy Tuberous crop Vegetable from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae Skelmersdale houses the corporate base and a distribution centre for Matalan, the discount clothing and homewares store. Matalan is a clothing and homeware store in the United Kingdom. Clothing (also called clothes, accoutrements, accouterments, or habiliments) protects the Human body from extreme Weather Skelmersdale is also home to Frederick's Dairies who make ice cream for Nestle and own several parlours across Lancashire. Frederick's Dairies is an ice cream manufacturer that holds the license to make a number of branded Ice cream products and variations Nestlé is a multinational packaged food company founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea
Shopping centres
Skelmersdale's town centre is made up of The Concourse Shopping Centre,[7] colloquially known as "The Conny", and an ASDA supermarket. Asda is a United Kingdom Supermarket chain which retails food clothing and general merchandise
Sports
The town's football team, Skelmersdale United, plays in the Unibond Northern Premier League Division One North and was a FA Vase winner in 1971. Skelmersdale United FC are a club from Skelmersdale, West Lancashire competing in the Northern Premier League Division One North. League system When the FA announced the details of the restructuring a number of clubs complained that a 34 game season was too short The Football Association Challenge Vase is an annual football competition for teams playing in the lower regional leagues of England. One of its former players was Steve Heighway, who went on to play for Liverpool F.C. for many years. Stephen Derek Heighway (born 25 November 1947 is a former footballer who was part of the hugely successful Liverpool team of the 1970s Liverpool Football Club are an English professional Association football club based in Liverpool England.
The town is also host to a quite famous archery club, The Bowmen of Skelmersdale,[8] whose members hold over 70 national records and Fourteen world records. Archery is the practice of using a bow or Crossbow to shoot Arrows Archery has historically been used in Hunting and Combat and has The world records are held by three individuals from the same family.
References
- ^ "Great Britain" World Gazetteer
- ^ a b Ward, David. "Back to the drawing board", The Guardian, January 18, 2006. Events 350 - Generallus Magnentius deposes Roman Emperor Constans and proclaims himself Emperor Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Retrieved on May 12, 2008. Events 1191 - Richard I of England marries Berengaria of Navarre. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common
- ^ Pevsner, Nikolaus, Sir (2002) North Lancashire Yale University Press, New Haven ISBN 0-300-09617-8 p. 226;
- ^ welcome to skelmersdale vision > progress diary
- ^ "Disused Stations:Skelmersdale" Subterranea Britannica
- ^ Welcome to the Library and Information Service web site. Lancashire County Council. Retrieved on 2008-02-26. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 747 BC - Epoch (origin of Ptolemy 's Nabonassar Era 364 - Valentinian I is proclaimed
- ^ Welcome to The Concourse Shopping Centre, Located in Skelmersdale
- ^ Bowmen of Skelmersdale
Further reading
- Wilson, L. Hugh (1964) Skelmersdale new town planning proposals : report on basic plan prepared for the Skelmersdale Development Corporation by L. Hugh Wilson, Hugh Wilson & Lewis Womersley Chartered Architects & Town Planners, with a foreword by A. J. Kentish Barnes, Chairman of the Skelmersdale Development Corporation, Skelmersdale Development Corporation;
- Riley, Frank (1986) People in Need of a Future: A Survey of the Long-term Unemployed in Skelmersdale Ecumenical Centre, Northway, Skelmersdale;
External links
- Skelmersdale Heritage Society website
- Skelmersdale United FC Home Page
- Skelmersdale History
- Potential Rail Improvements in North Western England - Evidence presented to the Transport Select Committee, 2002-03
- Skelmersdale Advertiser
- Skelmersdale Champion
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