West Kirby
West Kirby | ||
---|---|---|
Metropolitan county | ||
Country | England | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom | |
Post town | WIRRAL | |
Postcode district | CH48 | |
Dialling code | 0151 | |
ISO 3166 code | GB-WRL | |
UK Parliament | ||
West Kirby (/wɛst ˈkɜːrbi/) is a coastal town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. In the north west of the Wirral Peninsula and at the mouth of the River Dee, the town is contiguous with Hoylake and historically within Cheshire.
At the
History
The name West Kirby is of
The old village lay around
Civic history
West Kirby was a township and parish within the
On 1 April 1974, West Kirby was absorbed into the newly created Metropolitan Borough of Wirral as part of local government reorganisation in England and Wales. At that point, West Kirby ceased to be in Cheshire for administrative and ceremonial purposes and became part of the new metropolitan county of Merseyside.
In February 2008 plans were raised for a regeneration of the concourse sports and leisure centre including new retail space and controversially a
Geography
West Kirby lies at the north-western corner of the
Community
Schools
Secondary schools in the area are Calday Grange Grammar School on Caldy Hill, West Kirby Grammar School and Hilbre High School, which includes the WestWirralWorks City Learning Centre and West Kirby Residential School.[10]
Churches
St Bridget's Church is West Kirby's Church of England parish church, and the chancel of the present church dates from around 1320. St Andrew's Church is West Kirby's second Church of England church, originally built as a chapel of ease for St Bridget's, gaining its own parish in 1920.
St Agnes' Church is the local
Leisure
West Kirby Library is within West Kirby Concourse, and operated by the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. The West Kirby Museum, founded in 1892,[14] is adjacent to St Bridget's Church.
Parks, gardens and beach
The town itself contains
Sport
Water sports fans are warned to wear appropriate footwear while using the marine lake because of the presence of
The
Tennis tournaments have been held in Ashton Park. Here, players including John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Monica Seles and Pete Sampras have played in competition.[18]
West Kirby FC is the town's senior football club, which plays in the West Cheshire League and plays its matches at Marine Park, Greenbank Road. West Kirby Ladies FC was officially established in 2017 and also play their matches at Marine Park, as do West Kirby Ladies U18s who play in the Cheshire Women's and Youth League.[19][20] The town has one of the largest junior football clubs in the North West, with over 90 teams and 1,000 players at West Kirby United.[citation needed] The teams play at many venues across West Kirby, including Calday Grange Grammar School, Hilbre High School and Greenbank Road. There were initially two junior clubs in the town, West Kirby Panthers and West Kirby Wasps, until the two sections merged to create West Kirby United in July 2017. The junior clubs play in the Eastham League with a youth section who play as West Kirby United in the North West under-21 League.
West Kirby is also home to Hoylake Amateur Swimming Club who train at West Kirby Concourse.
Marine Lake
The Marine Lake is a large man-made coastal lake. The structure is large enough to hold sailing events, such as the Wilson Trophy,
Media
Local news and television programmes are provided by
Local radio stations are
The area's local newspapers are the Wirral Globe[27] and Liverpool Echo.
Transport
Railway
West Kirby railway station is the western terminus of Merseyrail's Wirral line. It facilitates return services to Birkenhead Hamilton Square and Liverpool Central; a change at Bidston provides a connection to Wrexham and North Wales.[28]
Roads
Grange Road, the main thoroughfare of West Kirby, is part of the A540 road. The B5141, starting at the Dee Lane junction with Grange Road, joins West Kirby with Caldy via Banks Road, Sandy Lane and Caldy Road.
Buses
The town is well served by bus routes. There are frequent connections to Birkenhead and Liverpool, provided by Arriva North West services 407 and 437; these run every 10–20 minutes. Stagecoach Merseyside also serve the town with connections along the coast on service 38. There is also a direct bus service 22 between West Kirby to Chester, via Heswall and Neston, that runs hourly from Monday to Saturday.[29]
Notable people
- Andrew Baddeley, English middle distance runner (1500 m), brought up in West Kirby and attended Calday Grange Grammar School.
- Margaret Brownlow, a herb farmer and garden designer was born here in 1916.[31]
- Paul Clark, co-artistic director of performance company Clod Ensemble, was born in West Kirby.
- Cyril Clarke (1907–2000), medical geneticist, died in West Kirby.
- James Bond actor, attended Hilbre High School and Calday Grange Grammar Schoolin West Kirby.
- Cyril Edward Gourley, recipient of the Victoria Cross, was a pupil at Calday Grange Grammar School and is buried in Grange Cemetery.
- Esther McVey, British Conservative politician
- Shirley Hughes, writer and illustrator, was brought up in West Kirby.
- Radio City.
- Glenda Jackson, actress and politician, attended West Kirby Grammar School.
- Foreign Secretary and Speaker of the House of Commons, lived in West Kirby.
- George Mallory, mountaineer, was schooled in West Kirby.
- Denys Rayner, recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross, was brought up in West Kirby.
- Bill Ryder-Jones, co-founded The Coral in West Kirby.
- Joanna Scanlan, actress and television writer, born in the town[32]
- David Sheppard, cricketer and Bishop of Liverpool, retired to West Kirby.
- lepidopterists, worked in West Kirby.
- Olaf Stapledon, science fiction author and philosopher, was a former resident.
See also
References
- ^ "Coordinate Distance Calculator". boulter.com. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
- ^ new online wirral app directory, Whats up Smartmedia, retrieved 16 June 2012
- ^ 2001 Census: West Kirby and Thurstaston Ward, Office for National Statistics, retrieved 28 January 2008
- ^ "West Kirby and Thurstaston ward 2011". Retrieved 1 June 2015.
- ^ ISBN 0-521-08247-1
- ISBN 0-7091-1660-8
- ^ WKSC History, West Kirby Sailing Club, archived from the original on 16 June 2008, retrieved 1 May 2008
- ^ a b Cheshire Towns & Parishes: West Kirby, GENUKI UK & Ireland Genealogy, retrieved 28 January 2008
- ^ "Wirral Council's Concourse Plans". West Kirby Renewal. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
- ^ "West Wirral Works – Stay Strong, Live Long". www.westwirralworks.co.uk.
- ^ "Home". St Agnes RC Church, West Kirby. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
- ^ "These five and twenty years" (PDF). West Kirby United Reformed Church. p. 10. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
- ^ "History". West Kirby Methodist Church. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
- ^ "History of the Museum". West Kirby Museum. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
- ^ Christiansen, Rex (Autumn 1977). "On the track of a country park". The Countryman. pp. 75–79.
- ^ "The History of Speed sailing – Outright Record" (PDF). International Windsurfing Association. n.d. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- ^ "West Kirby Lifeboat Station".
- ^ "Ashton Park tennis: 'Use them or lose them says coach'". Wirral Globe. Birkenhead. 13 September 2001. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
- ^ About. West Kirby Football Club. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
- ^ Thomas, Mark (6 March 2017). "West Kirby FC to launch a women's team for next season". West Kirby Today. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
- ^ Marine Lake West Kirby, Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, archived from the original on 26 March 2010, retrieved 16 March 2022
- ^ Catterall, Carrie (27 July 2009). "West Kirby Marine Lake to reopen after £750k improvements". Liverpool Daily Post. Archived from the original on 18 February 2012. Retrieved 16 March 2022 – via Wirral News.
- ^ "Full Freeview on the Winter Hill (Bolton, England) transmitter". UK Free TV. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
- ^ "Full Freeview on the Moel-Y-Parc (Flintshire, Wales) transmitter". UK Free TV. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
- ^ "Wirral Wave Radio". Retrieved 31 March 2024.
- ^ "North West Radio Stations". Retrieved 31 March 2024.
- ^ "Wirral Globe". British Papers. 17 October 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
- ^ "Timetables". Merseyrail. 10 December 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
- ^ "Stops in West Kirby". Bus Times. 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
- ^ Johnson, Mark (30 December 2011). "Former Liverpool FC boss Rafa Benitez gives additional financial donation to support Hillsborough families". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
- required.)
- ^ Deans, Jason (17 October 2014). "BBC's Getting on creators take lead with new series Puppy Love". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
Further reading
- Anon. (1951). Hoylake and West Kirby: Official Guide. Burrow. OCLC 810774865.
- Boumphrey, Ian; Boumphrey, Marilyn (1984). Yesterday's Wirral: West Kirby and Hoylake. Ian & Marilyn Boumphrey. OCLC 655410017.
- Brownbill, John (1928). West Kirby & Hilbre. Henry Young & Sons Ltd. OCLC 12996670.
- Mason, Barbara (1996). A Little Oasis: The Early History of Ashton Park, West Kirby. Countyvise Ltd. OCLC 39001850.
- Mortimer, William Williams (1847). The History of the Hundred of Wirral. London: Whittaker & Co. pp267-270.
- Myers, A.R. (1970). The Churches of West Kirby Parish. British Publishing. OCLC 315603499.
- O'Neill, Jim (2006). West Kirby to Hoylake. Nonsuch Publishing. OCLC 33046870.