BOOTLE

'Bootle' is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, in Merseyside, England. It is 4 miles (6.4 km) to the north of Liverpool city centre, and has a total resident population of 59,123.
Historically part of Lancashire, Bootle's economy has been around the docks and their associated industries for decades.

Contents

Geography and administration

Civic history

Town Centre

History

Etymology

Resort

Port

Second World War

Post-War

Decline

Regeneration

Transport

Amenities

Notable people

References

External links

Geography and administration

Bootle, along with Southport, is one of the two main administrative headquarters for the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton. Bootle forms part of the Liverpool Urban Area.

Civic history

A combined Liverpool and Bootle Constabulary was formed in 1967 but in 1974, when county boroughs were abolished, Bootle combined with towns further up the coast to form the metropolitan borough of Sefton, rather than be annexed by Liverpool, as had been suggested, for example by the Redcliffe-Maud Report. The new metropolitan borough was part of the metropolitan county of Merseyside.

Town Centre

The old civic centre of the town contains impressive Victorian buildings such as the Town Hall and Municipal Baths. East of this center is a sizeable area of large office blocks: to the west are the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and large areas of Docks lining the River Mersey. To the north is the New Strand Shopping Centre, which gained notoriety after the abduction and murder of two-year-old James Bulger in 1993.

History

Etymology

Bootle derives from Old English ''botl'' 'building', although ''what'' building referred to exactly is unknown as of now. It was recorded as ''Boltelai'' in the Domesday Book in 1086.

Resort

Bootle was originally a small hamlet built near the 'sand hills' or dunes of the river estuary. The settlement began to grow as a bathing resort for wealthy residents of Liverpool in the early 19th century. Some remaining large villas which housed well-to-do commuters to Liverpool are located in the area known locally as 'Bootle Village'.

Port

The Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway arrived in the 1840s and Bootle experienced rapid growth. By the end of the 19th century the docks had been constructed along the whole of the river front as far as Seaforth Sands to the north. The town became heavily industrialised. Bootle was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1868 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, and was granted the status of a county borough by the Local Government Act 1888 in 1889, becoming independent from the administrative county of Lancashire. During this time period it was sometimes formally known as ''Bootle cum Linacre''. Orrell Park was added to the borough in 1905. There are still large areas of Victorian terraced houses in Bootle, formerly occupied by dock workers. These are built in distinctive pressed red brick.

Second World War

The docks made Bootle a target for German bombers during the Liverpool Blitz and approximately 90% of the houses in the town were damaged. Situated immediatedly adjoining the City of Liverpool, and the site of numerous docks, Bootle had the distinction of being the most heavily-bombed borough in the UK.[1].

Post-War

After The Second World War large social housing estates were built inland from the town centre, including the area of Netherton which was built on New Town principles. The Liverpool Overhead Railway and Liverpool Tramways Company closure in the 50s reduced Bootle's connection to Liverpool.

Decline

The docks declined in importance in the 1960s and 1970s, and Bootle suffered high unemployment and a declining population. The establishment of large office blocks housing government departments and the National Girobank provided employment, but this was filled largely by middle class people from outside the town.

Regeneration

Bootle is undergoing a massive regeneration project, which has already begun with the new HSE buildings and the new-look Strand Road. Many old houses are being demolished to make way for new housing projects and lots of regeneration projects for existing properties and council buildings are to begin shortly.
A number of other development projects have recently been submitted for planning permission and should commence development within Late 2006 or 2007 after being accepted. These include the significant refurbishment of Oriel Road Station, promoted by Merseytravel, the creation of a new block of apartments on the site of the Stella Maris building and a Lidl store on Stanley Road. Walmart stores inc, owners of Asda superstores have invested in building a new superstore on Strand Road.

Transport

There are two railway stations served by frequent electric services from Liverpool to Southport. These are Oriel Road near the Victorian civic centre, and New Strand, serving the Shopping Centre. A freight line, the Bootle Branch, is still in use. Sefton has pushed for the reopening of the North Mersey Branch.
The Bus Station is underneath the New Strand Shopping Centre.

Amenities

The town has a leisure centre located in the North Park area, which includes a modern gym, swimming pool, and various indoor sports halls. The Bootle New Strand shopping centre contains many of the regular high street stores, combined with a smaller collection of local businesses. For entertainment there is a wide varienty of public houses, snooker clubs and late night bars. There are also a number of restaurants.

Notable people

★ Tom Baker, of ''Doctor Who'' fame, born in Fountains Road, Bootle

★ Will Hanrahan, a BBC news and features presenter (Watchdog, Good Morning). Particularly notable for reporting from the Rwandan Civil War. Currently producing an eclectic mix of programmes, factual entertainment programmes for ITV and Sky one (Star Lives, Vorderman's Brain Game), and most recently produced a documentary marking the 10th anniversary of the Dublane massacre. Born in Netherton and schooled at St. Benet's and St. Mary's College in Crosby.

★ Ste McNally: (born Stephen Patrick McNally, on 4 July 1978, in Bootle) electric guitar and vocals for pop group BBMac

★ Jamie Carragher (born January 28, 1978 in Knowsley Road, Bootle, Sefton) is an English international footballer. He currently plays his club football, where he is vice-captain, at Liverpool F.C.., where he was taken on as a trainee youngster and wears the number 23 shirt. He plays almost always on the back line, most of the time at centre-half, though he has been featured in a variety of positions.

★ Steve McManaman (born February 11, 1972 in Bootle, England) was a famous English footballer of the 1990s and early 2000s who played as a midfielder in a career that spanned two of European football's biggest club sides in Liverpool and Manchester City.

★ Tom O'Connor (born October 31, 1939 in Bootle) is a British comedian. He is best known for presenting game shows such as Crosswits and Gambit. His TV break came when he appeared on The Comedians. During the 1970s and 1980's he was one of the most popular faces on British TV.

★ George Davies (born 1941, in Bootle) is a British fashion retailer who founded 'Next' in the 1980s and 'George at Asda' in the 1990s. Subsequently, he has also produced the successful Per Una fashion collection, launched in September 2001 at Marks & Spencer stores.

★ Alvin Martin (born July 29, 1958 in Bootle) is one of West Ham United's all-time greats, a true professional respected by fans and players alike. Alvin was rejected by his local club Everton before joining West Ham United straight from school

★ Roy Evans (born Bootle, 4th October 1948) was a Liverpool player who eventually rose through the coaching ranks to become team manager.

★ Craig Charles (born Bootle, July 11, 1964) is a British actor, poet and radio and television presenter. He is best known for playing Dave Lister in Red Dwarf. The character, Lister, lost his virginity at Bootle Municipal Golf Course, and once appeared naked onstage at the Bootle-players' amateur production of "The Importance Of Being Earnest".

★ Nick Dougherty born in Bootle on 24 May 1982) is an English golfer. He is a protégé of Nick Faldo and had an exceptional amateur career with numerous tournament wins including the 1999 World Boys Championship and three in Faldo Junior Series events. He was a member of the victorious Great Britain and Ireland 2001 Walker Cup team.

★

★ Billy J. Kramer was born Billy Ashton the youngest of seven children and lived in Hankey Drive in Bootle. He and his band "The Dakotas" played the Hamburg clubs at the same time as "The Beatles". There first hit was the "Lennon and McCartney" composition "Do You Want To Know A Secret" which reached No2 in May 1963. He had two number one hits with "Bad To Me" and "Little Children"

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★ Mark Ford the poet and intellectual is one of the more famous residents of Bootle; the family home there owing to his father's past manufacturing interests, long since abandoned.

References

External links