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, 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 1974, Birkdale lay in the traditional borders of the county of Lancashire. As of the 2001 census, it had a population of 12,265.^[1] 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.

Etymology

Birkdale probably takes its name from two Old Norse words, birki meaning "birch-copse" and dalr meaning "dale" or "valley". ^{[2] [3]}

Demography

On the whole it is a wealthy area featuring many large Victorian 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.

Sport

Despite its small size, Birkdale receives a great deal of sporting attention once every few years as it plays host to The Open Championship. 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. Birkdale United AFC, a junior football club which has set future top-flight footballers such as Dominic Matteo, Shaun Teale and Paul Dalglish on their way, still has its home in the village and boasts teams for boys and girls of all ages.

Education

Birkdale has three secondary schools, Christ the King Catholic High School, which has around 1200 pupils through sixth form, Birkdale High School which is for boys, and Greenbank High School (in the part of Birkdale known as Hillside) for girls.

Transport

Birkdale is served by frequent buses run by Arriva (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.

Famous people

A. J. P. Taylor was born in Birkdale in 1906. Marcus Morris was vicar of St James' Church, Lulworth Road, in the 1940s and 50s.

References

External links

• Royal Birkdale Golf Club
• Open Golf Tournament Information
• Birkdale United AFC