Bidston
| Bidston and St James | |
| — Village — | |
.JPG) St Oswald's Church |
|
  Bidston and St James |
|
| Population | 15,216 (2011 Census) |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | SJ284900 |
| – London | 181 mi (291 km)[1] SE |
| Metropolitan borough | Wirral |
| Metropolitan county | Merseyside |
| Region | North West |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | PRENTON |
| Postcode district | CH43 |
| Dialling code | 0151 |
| ISO 3166 code | GB-WRL |
| Police | Merseyside |
| Fire | Merseyside |
| Ambulance | North West |
| EU Parliament | North West England |
| UK Parliament | Birkenhead |
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Coordinates: 53°24′07″N 3°04′41″W / 53.402°N 3.078°W
Bidston is a suburb of Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, in the county of Merseyside. In modern days is a mixture of the well-preserved Bidston Village, Bidston Hill, the industrial estate Bidston Moss and a modern housing estate.
Administratively, it is also a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. Before local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974, it was part of the County Borough of Birkenhead, within the geographical county of Cheshire. At the 2001 Census, the population of Bidston was 10,446, consisting of 4,725 males and 5,721 females.[2] By the time of the 2011 Census the electoral ward was called Bidston and St. James. The total population of this ward at this Census was 15,216 of which 7,117 were males and 8,099 were female.[3]
Description
Located close to the M53 motorway, the village of Bidston is situated on a hill, with an elevation of approximately 60 metres above sea level.
History
The original parish of Bidston comprised Bidston, Moreton, Saughall Massie, Claughton and Birkenhead.[4] Bidston Hall was originally held by the heirs of Hamon de Massey.[4] The hall eventually passed to the Stanley family, after being purchased by John Stanley of Lathom on 24 June 1397.[4]
Government
Bidston is part of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in the metropolitan county of Merseyside. The village is part of the parliamentary constituency of Birkenhead. The current Member of Parliament is Frank Field, a Labour representative. He has been the MP since 1979 and currently holds a majority of 15,395.
The area is also part of a local government ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, this being Bidston and St. James Ward. Bidston is represented on Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council by three councillors. These are Jim Crabtree, Ann McLachlan and Harry Smith, who are all Labour councillors. Ann McLachlan is also the deputy leader of the council.[5] The most recent local elections took place on 3 May 2012.
| Confirmed candidates for United Kingdom local elections, 2012[6] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Independent | John BRACE | 82 | 0.84 | ||
| Labour | Jim CRABTREE | 1992 | 20.29 | ||
| Conservative | Peter James DAWSON | 179 | 1.82 | ||
| Green | Colin Edward DIGNAM-GILL | 85 | 0.87 | ||
| UKIP | Helen Frances ROMNES | 136 | 1.39 | ||
| Liberal Democrat | Roy John WOOD | 73 | 0.74 | ||
The electorate numbered 9.817, there was a turnout of 26% and the majority is 1,813.[7]
Landmarks and open spaces
Bidston Hill comprises 100 acres (0.40 km2) of heathland and woodland maintained by Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council as a nature reserve and public park. The land was purchased in stages from 1894 to 1908 by Birkenhead Corporation from local landowner Lord Vyner. It is the site of Bidston Windmill, built around 1800 and Bidston Observatory, owned by the Natural Environment Research Council. The hill also contains a number of ancient rock carvings, including that of a Sun Goddess thought to have been carved by the Norse-Irish around 1000 AD.[8]
Tam O'Shanter Cottage was believed to be built about 300 years ago. Its name derives from a stone carving of the poem Tam O'Shanter by Robert Burns, which adorns a wall on the site. In 1950, the building was recognised as having special historical interest for preservation. Despite two fires and threats of demolition in 1954 and 1975, the cottage was rebuilt and restored in the mid 1970s. Four acres around the cottage were developed as a city farm in 1986, known as the Tam O'Shanter Urban Farm.[9]
Opposite the cottage is Flaybrick Memorial Gardens, Birkenhead's first municipal cemetery.[10] The grounds encompass an arboretum and nature trails.
Bidston Moss was originally low-lying wetland marsh at the head of Wallasey Pool. In 1936 most of the land was given over to residential, commercial and industrial landfill. Since the cessation of waste disposal operations in 1995, Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority and the charitable trust Groundwork Wirral have undertaken environmental restoration works to landscape the site.[11]
Bidston Village has won title of Best Small Village several times at the Northwest In Bloom awards.[12]
Transport
The locality is served by Bidston railway station. Trains operate to Liverpool and West Kirby on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network and to Wrexham on the Borderlands Line.
Notable people
- Lewis Collins, English actor, born in Bidston.
- Elsie Kelly, English actress, lives in Bidston.
See also
References
- ↑ "Coordinate Distance Calculator". boulter.com. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
- ↑ 2001 Census: Bidston, Office for National Statistics, retrieved 2 July 2007
- ↑ "Ward population 2011". Retrieved 31 May 2015.
- 1 2 3 Randall 1984, pp. 60-66
- ↑ "Wirral Borough Council, Your Councillors by Ward", retrieved 7 February 2014
- ↑ "Election Result for 3 May 2012", Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, retrieved 7 February 2014
- ↑ "Wirral Borough Council, Election Result for Bidston and St. James ward on 3 May 2012", retrieved 7 February 2014
- ↑ "Bidston Hill", Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, archived from the original on 28 June 2008, retrieved 16 July 2010
- ↑ "Tam O'Shanter Urban Farm", Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, archived from the original on 9 January 2008, retrieved 16 July 2010
- ↑ "Flaybrick Memorial Gardens: History", retrieved 18 March 2008
- ↑ "Bidston Moss Vision Plan", Groundwork Wirral, retrieved 16 July 2010
- ↑ Manning, Craig (2 November 2015). "Bloomin' marvellous awards for Bidston village". Wirral Globe. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
Sources
Bibliography
- Mortimer, William Williams (1847). The History of the Hundred of Wirral. London: Whittaker & Co. pp201-205.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bidston, Birkenhead. |
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