Hesketh Bank is a small agricultural village in

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 Lancashi ...

, England. It lies to the north-east of the town 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 Irish ...

on the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

of the

River Ribble The River Ribble runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire in Northern England. It starts close to the Ribblehead Viaduct in North Yorkshire, and is one of the few that start in the Yorkshire Dales and flow westwards towards the Irish Sea (t ...

. The area falls under West Lancashire Borough Council for administrative purposes, and Hesketh-with-Becconsall Parish Council for parochial matters. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 4,041. It is in the

South Ribble South Ribble is a borough in the county of Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Leyland. The population, at the 2011 Census, was 109,057. Notable towns and villages include Walton le Dale, Bamber Bridge, Leyland and Penwortham. It ...

parliamentary constituency.

Etymology

''Hesketh'' was first recorded in 1288 as ''Heschath''. The name is derived either from

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

''hest shei'' meaning "race course", or from a plural of the

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

''hesg'', meaning "sedges".

History

Due to its geographical location, close to the cities of Preston and

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 popul ...

, the village suffered during the Second World War. Stray bombs hit the old church in 1943, and landed along Becconsall Lane, causing extensive damage to the housing there.

Landmarks

The village has some architectural gems such as

Becconsall Old Church Becconsall Old Church is a redundant church in the village of Hesketh Bank, Lancashire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building, and is in the care of the Churches Conser ...

which was hit by bomb shrapnel during World War II, All Saints Church on Station Road replaced the old church and is of some architectural significance as is the Becconsall Public House, which shut in June 2009. It has now been redeveloped as housing, keeping the name alive as Becconsall Gardens. The

West Lancashire Light Railway The West Lancashire Light Railway (WLLR) is a narrow gauge railway that operates at Hesketh Bank, situated between Preston and Southport in North West England. The distance between the stations on the railway is , though track extends eastwar ...

is a

narrow gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...

that is located in Hesketh Bank.

Geography

Hesketh Bank lies just to the north of the larger village of

Tarleton Tarleton is a village and civil parish in the borough of West Lancashire, Lancashire, England. It situated in the Lancashire mosslands approximately 10 miles north east of Southport, approximately 10 miles south west of Preston, approximately ...

and the village of Banks (

North Meols North Meols is a civil parish and electoral ward in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England. The parish covers the village of Banks and the hamlet of Hundred End. The population of the parish/ward at the 2011 census was 4,146. His ...

Economy

Booths Store Hesketh Bank Underconstruction April 2010

Due to the village's position on the

West Lancashire Coastal Plain The West Lancashire Coastal Plain is a large area in the south west of Lancashire, England. The plain stretches from the Rimrose Valley in Seaforth, near Liverpool on the Mersey, to the south, to Preston on the Ribble, to the north. To the e ...

it has a rich soil, suitable for the farming of flowers and vegetables - this is still the main economic activity in the area. A

Booths Booths is a chain of high-end supermarkets in Northern England. Most of its branches are in Lancashire, but there are also branches in Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire. It has been described as the "Wait ...

supermarket opened on 11 November 2010.

Transport

The village is located just off the A59 Preston to

road and the A565 Southport Road has meant it has also developed as a commuter town.

Hesketh Bank railway station Hesketh Bank railway station was a railway station on the West Lancashire Railway (WLR) in North West England, which served the village of Hesketh Bank. The station, originally known as 'Hesketh Bank and Tarleton', opened on 20 February 1878 a ...

was once a stop on the

West Lancashire Railway The West Lancashire Railway (WLR) ran northeast from Southport to Preston in northwest England. History Construction was started by Samuel Swire the Mayor of Southport, on 19 April 1873. It opened on 15 September 1882. A branch was constructe ...

, which ran between Preston and Southport. The railway opened in 1878 was closed almost a century later, in 1964. The station site is now occupied by a housing estate.

Leisure

The village is home to football, cricket, badminton and

crown green bowls Crown green bowls (or crown green) is a code of bowls played outdoors on a grass or artificial turf surface known as a bowling green. The sport's name is derived from the intentionally convex or uneven nature of the bowling green which is traditi ...

clubs, the Hesketh Bank Silver Band and the

References

External links

Hesketh Bank commercial websiteHesketh-with-Becconsall Parish council website
{{authority control Villages in Lancashire Geography of the Borough of West Lancashire Populated coastal places in Lancashire