Ainsdale is an area of
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England.
Southport lies on the Iris ...
in
Merseyside
Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wi ...
, England, situated three miles south of the centre of Southport. Originally in the
Historic
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
County of
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...
, at the
2001 Census it had a population of 12,723.
By the time of the 2011 census, only figures for
Ainsdale (ward)
Ainsdale is a Metropolitan Borough of Sefton ward in the Southport Parliamentary constituency that covers the localities of Ainsdale and Woodvale in the town of Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton ...
were available.
It makes up the southern edge of the town, separated from neighbouring
Formby
Formby is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 22,419 at the 2011 Census.
Historically in Lancashire, three manors are recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 under "Fo ...
by
RAF Woodvale. The village and roads leading to the beach are middle class areas, with some new modern developments around the station, including the addition of the private estate Village Row in 2006, and the Belway estate in 2013.
History
Prior to 1600
Ainsdale was listed in the ''
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...
'' as ''Einulvesdel''. Deriving from
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...
name ''Einulfsdalr'', this apparently was the valley occupied by a Scandinavian by the name of Einulf.
1600-Present
Ainsdale formed part of Sir Cuthbert Halsall of Halsall's estates during the early part of the 1600s. After financial difficulties the land containing Ainsdale (then ''Aynsdale'') had to be sold. In 1634 the ownership was passed to Robert Blundell. The lands were passed from generation to generation within the Blundell family and remained in their ownership until the mid-1900s.
Throughout the 1800s Ainsdale remained an
agricultural community. Prior to the
British Agricultural Revolution
The British Agricultural Revolution, or Second Agricultural Revolution, was an unprecedented increase in agricultural production in Britain arising from increases in labour and land productivity between the mid-17th and late 19th centuries. Agric ...
fields and farms in the locality were small and land was enclosed. The
1841 Census listed 176 inhabitants in 33 houses with occupations of farmer, agricultural labourers and
servants
A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...
.
Ainsdale railway station opened in 1848. A second station was opened in 1901. It was originally named Seaside, being renamed
Ainsdale Beach in 1912. It closed in 1952. The route of the line it was on now forms the Coastal Road from Woodvale to Southport. The row of houses over the road from the Sands Hotel were originally railway staff cottages for that line.
Ainsdale became part of the
County Borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent te ...
of
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England.
Southport lies on the Iris ...
in 1912 after being part of
Birkdale
Birkdale is an area of Southport, within the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, though historically in Lancashire, in the north-west of England. The area is located on the Irish Sea coast, approximately a mile away from the centre of S ...
Urban District
Urban district may refer to:
* District
* Urban area
* Quarter (urban subdivision)
* Neighbourhood
Specific subdivisions in some countries:
* Urban districts of Denmark
* Urban districts of Germany
* Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...
, though it remained a separate
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...
to Southport until 1925. Although now in the administrative county of Merseyside it is still in the County Palatine of Lancashire.
Land speed record
On 16 March 1926, Sir
Henry Segrave
Sir Henry O'Neal de Hane Segrave (22 September 1896 – 13 June 1930) was an early British pioneer in land speed and water speed records. Segrave, who set three land and one water record, was the first person to hold both titles simultaneous ...
set his first
land speed record
The land speed record (or absolute land speed record) is the highest speed achieved by a person using a vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C ("Special Vehicles") flying start regula ...
of using ''Ladybird'', a 4-litre
Sunbeam Tiger
The Sunbeam Tiger is a high-performance V8 version of the British Rootes Group's Sunbeam Alpine roadster, designed in part by American car designer and racing driver Carroll Shelby and produced from 1964 until 1967. Shelby had carried out a ...
on Ainsdale beach. This record was broken a month later by
J.G. Parry-Thomas
John Godfrey Parry-Thomas (6 April 1884 – 3 March 1927) was a Welsh engineer and motor-racing driver who at one time held the land speed record. He was the first driver to be killed in pursuit of the land speed record.
Early life and ed ...
driving
Babs Babs or BABS may refer to:
People
* Nickname of Barbara Windsor (1937-2020), British actress
* Babs McMillan, Australian actress
* Babs Olusanmokun, American actor
* Babs Reingold, American artist
* Babs Fafunwa (1923-2010), Nigerian educationist ...
, a custom-built car with a 27-litre V12
Liberty
Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom.
In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
aero engine.
Governance
The area of Ainsdale, together with the adjoining settlement of
Woodvale, and a significant part of Birkdale, forms a single electoral ward named
Ainsdale
Ainsdale is an area of Southport in Merseyside, England, situated three miles south of the centre of Southport. Originally in the Historic counties of England, Historic County of Lancashire, at the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census it had a ...
, it is currently represented by three councillors on
Sefton Council
Sefton Council is the governing body for the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in the county of Merseyside, north-western England. The council was under no overall control from the 1980s until 2012 when the Labour Party took control. It is a cons ...
.
For
parliamentary elections, the ward is part of the
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England.
Southport lies on the Iris ...
constituency, currently represented by the Conservative
MP,
Damien Moore
Damien Moore (born 26 April 1980) is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Southport and a former Councillor on Preston City Council. He was elected in the 2017 general election with a majority of 2, ...
, who was elected at the
2019 United Kingdom general election.
Landmarks
Ainsdale Mill, built circa 1800 on the site of an earlier wooden mill, was an impressive - and functional - landmark until its closure in 1965 and later demolition. A branch railway line from Ainsdale railway station served the corn mill during its operating years. The original Ainsdale timber post windmill served both Ainsdale and
Birkdale
Birkdale is an area of Southport, within the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, though historically in Lancashire, in the north-west of England. The area is located on the Irish Sea coast, approximately a mile away from the centre of S ...
and is mentioned in 1631 as being ‘in the possession of Cuthbert Rimmer’, in a lease from Robert Blundell.
Ainsdale boating lake, along with the beach itself, were popular tourist attractions, and thus Lakeside Hotel (now known as ''The Sands'') was built to accommodate those wishing to stay in the area. However, a large campsite was also well populated in the busiest periods of the year.
In the
village green
A village green is a common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for gathering cattle t ...
there is a war memorial that commemorates the lives of forty-four Ainsdale residents killed as a result of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.The War Memorial was totally refurbished by the Ainsdale Civic Society in 2012 when some missing names of those Ainsdale men killed in action in WW1 and extra plaques were inset on the Memorial to accommodate those lost from WW2 and Afghanistan. It took two years of research and fundraising to complete the second part of the project to restore the monument to its former glory. Space has been left on the memorial for additional names; however, they hope it never needs to be filled.
Transport
The locality is served by
Ainsdale railway station, which is situated on the
Northern Line
The Northern line is a London Underground line that runs from North London to South London. It is printed in black on the Tube map. The Northern line is unique on the Underground network in having two different routes through central London, tw ...
of the
Merseyrail
Merseyrail is a Urban rail in the United Kingdom, commuter rail network serving the Liverpool City Region and adjacent areas of Cheshire and Lancashire. Merseyrail operates 66 railway stations across two lines – the Northern Line (Merseyrail ...
network, linking Southport to
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
. Trains operate every 15 minutes in each direction from early morning to late evening from Monday to Saturday and every 30 minutes on Sundays.
Frequent bus services passing through Ainsdale are provided by
, including:
• 44/44A Crossens - Formby
• 47 Crossens - Liverpool
20 minutes weekday daytime, less frequent evenings
• 49 Crossens - Woodvale 12 minutes daytime, half-hourly evenings, slightly less frequent daytime on Sundays
Additional services provided by Stagecoach Preston-Tarleton-Banks-Southport-Birkdale-Ainsdale-Formby-Crosby-Bootle X2 route half-hourly weekday daytimes, Sundays, restricted in evenings, early finish Sundays.
Recreation and sports
Sport in Ainsdale is represented in various streams such as football, cricket, bowls, pool and chess. The village is also the home of the famous Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club.
The football section of Ainsdale Sports and Social Club namely Southport & Ainsdale Amateurs AFC host teams from Under 6 up to Under 18 and Open Age Teams. The senior first team play in the Premier Division of the Mid Lancashire League.
Ainsdale Cricket Club play in the successful Liverpool Competition. The club also has three All weather 3G pitches as part of its set up.
Ainsdale is also home to Hillside Lawn Tennis Club who play in the Southport Tennis League.
Every year at the start of July, Ainsdale Horticultural Society hold
village show This popular local event showcases local growers produce in an
horticultural
Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...
competition and hosts many other events by local people.
Ainsdale beach is designated by
Sefton Council
Sefton Council is the governing body for the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in the county of Merseyside, north-western England. The council was under no overall control from the 1980s until 2012 when the Labour Party took control. It is a cons ...
as a kite beach where
kitesurfing
Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, or snow surface. It combines aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and wak ...
and land-based kite traction activities are allowed.
The
Sefton coastal path and the
Trans Pennine Trail
The Trans Pennine Trail is a long-distance path running from coast to coast across Northern England entirely on surfaced paths and using only gentle gradients (it runs largely along disused railway lines and canal towpaths). It forms part of ...
both pass through Ainsdale. A number of waymarked nature trails are also accessible from the town. These trails allow access to the Ainsdale Sand Dunes, designated as one of the
national nature reserves in England
National nature reserves in England are designated by Natural England as key places for wildlife and natural features in England. They were established to protect the most significant areas of habitat and of geological formations. NNRs are managed ...
. This
nature reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...
also comprises part of a
Ramsar Ramsar may refer to:
* Places so named:
** Ramsar, Mazandaran, city in Iran
** Ramsar, Rajasthan, village in India
* Eponyms of the Iranian city:
** Ramsar Convention concerning wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran
** Ramsar site, wetland listed in ...
site.
Notable people
*Actor
Anthony Quayle
Sir John Anthony Quayle (7 September 1913 – 20 October 1989) was a British actor and theatre director. He was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his supporting role as Thomas Wolsey in the film '' Anne of the Thousand Days'' (1969 ...
.
*Actress
Sophie Abelson
Sophie Abelson is an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of Cherry Clay in the BBC soap opera '' Doctors'' from 2009 to 2012. For her role as Cherry, she received a nomination for the British Soap Award for Best Newcomer.
Lif ...
*Actor/Broadcaster
Wilfred Pickles
Wilfred Pickles, OBE (13 October 1904 – 27 March 1978) was an English actor and radio presenter.
Early life and personal life
Pickles was born in Halifax in the West Riding of Yorkshire. He moved to Southport, Lancashire, with his family ...
*Actor
Clarence Blakiston
References
External links
Ainsdale PagesWest Coast Kitesurf Club - AOSKC*
{{Metropolitan Borough of Sefton
Towns and villages in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton
Southport
Beaches of Merseyside