Heysham ( ) is a coastal town 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, overlooking

Morecambe Bay Morecambe Bay is a large estuary in northwest England, just to the south of the Lake District National Park. It is the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom, covering a total area of . In 1974, the second larges ...

. It is a

ferry port A port is a maritime law, maritime facility comprising one or more Wharf, wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge Affreightment, cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can a ...

, with services to the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

and Ireland, and the site of two

nuclear power stations A nuclear power plant (NPP) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power stations, heat is used to generate steam that drives a steam turbine connected to a generator that produces elec ...

Demography

Administratively, Heysham is part of the Lancaster city district, with three wards: Heysham Central (with a population of 4,397, increasing to 4,478 at the 2011 Census), Heysham North (5,477 decreasing to 5,274 at the 2011 Census) and Heysham South (6,262; increasing to 7,264 at the 2011 Census). Together they had a population of 16,136 (2001 census), and 17,016 (2011 census). These include areas beyond the village of Heysham itself, which has a population of about 6,500.

History

Of historical interest are the stone-hewn graves in the ruins of the ancient St. Patrick's Chapel, close to St Peter's Church. They are thought to date from the 11th century, and are carved from solid rock. Local legend has it that

St Patrick Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints be ...

landed here after crossing from Ireland and established the chapel. However it has been established that the chapel was built around 300 years after Patrick's death. These stone graves appear on the cover of the

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

CD, ''

The Best of Black Sabbath ''The Best of Black Sabbath'' is a double CD compilation album by Black Sabbath released in 2000 on the Sanctuary Records label. Its 32 songs are presented chronologically from the band's first 11 albums, spanning the years 1970 to 1983. Black ...

''. The grounds of St Peter's Church contain many

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

and

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

remains, and the church itself contains a Viking hogback stone. The purpose of these strange stone sculptures is the subject of much debate; they are found mainly in

Northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

and also in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and a few areas of

Southern England Southern England, or the South of England, also known as the South, is an area of England consisting of its southernmost part, with cultural, economic and political differences from the Midlands and the North. Officially, the area includes G ...

with Viking links. Heysham also has one of only three sites in Britain and Ireland that contain a pre-Roman

labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the ...

carving; the others are at Tintagel, Cornwall and Hollywood, Co. Wicklow, Ireland. Lancaster Museum holds artefacts from the area such as stone axe and hammer heads, some weighing up to , dating back to the

New Stone Age The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

. Many of these artefacts and their original location suggest that this was an ancient burial ground, or barrow; the area is still known locally as "''The Barrows''". The Barrows are the only sea-cliffs in Lancashire and contain, in a relatively small area, woodland, open grassland, sandy beaches and deep

rock pool A tide pool or rock pool is a shallow pool of seawater that forms on the rocky intertidal shore. Many of these pools exist as separate bodies of water only at low tide. Many tide pool habitats are home to especially adaptable animals that ...

s. Heysham Heritage Centre is housed in the barn of a

Longhouse A longhouse or long house is a type of long, proportionately narrow, single-room building for communal dwelling. It has been built in various parts of the world including Asia, Europe, and North America. Many were built from timber and often rep ...

in Main Street. The building is owned by the

Heritage Trust for the North West Heritage Trust for the North West / Heritage Trust North West is a registered Building Preservation and Conservation Trusts in the UK, Building Preservation Trust, established in 1978 as a charity and company. Formerly known as the ''Lancashire ...

, who also own the cottage part of the longhouse, 22 Main Street. The Heritage Centre is run by volunteers, most of whom belong to Heysham Heritage Association.

Community

Heysham is the terminus of the Stanlow-Heysham

oil pipeline Pipeline transport is the long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas through a system of pipes—a pipeline—typically to a market area for consumption. The latest data from 2014 gives a total of slightly less than of pipeline in 120 countr ...

, and of a

gas pipeline Pipeline transport is the long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas through a system of pipes—a pipeline—typically to a market area for consumption. The latest data from 2014 gives a total of slightly less than of pipeline in 120 countr ...

that originates in Morecambe field in 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 ...

Industry and transport

Heysham Port Heysham Port is the port of Heysham, Lancashire, England. It is served by Heysham Port railway station. History In 1891, the Midland Railway gave notice of its intention to develop a harbour at Heysham and appointed consulting engineers James Ab ...

started operation in 1904. There is a ferry service to the

, as well as freight to Ireland and services for the eastern

and Morecambe Bay

gas field A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the presence ...

s. A

SeaCat Seacat may refer to: * Seacat missile, a short-range surface-to-air missile system * SeaCat (1992–2004), ferry company formerly operating from between Northern Ireland, Scotland and England * The Sea-Cat, an imaginary monster from Flann O'Brien's ...

service to

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

started in 1999. Some ferries connect with trains from

Heysham Port railway station Heysham Port is a railway station on the Morecambe Branch Line, which runs between and Heysham Port. The station, situated west of Lancaster, serves Heysham Port in Lancashire. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains. Hist ...

to Lancaster via the Morecambe Branch Line. Heysham oil refinery was located between Heysham and Middleton and operated from 1941 to 1976. The Bay Gateway dual carriageway opened in October 2016, connecting Heysham directly to the

M6 motorway The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 and the western end of the A14 at t ...

Notable people

The artist

J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbulen ...

visited Heysham in the 1790s when travelling throughout Britain. On a visit in August 1816,''In Turner's Footsteps, through the hills and dales of Northern England'': David Hill : John Murray 1984 he made sketches which formed the basis of his subsequent watercolour ''Heysham and Cumberland Mountains'' (

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

); it depicts the village with the Lakeland backdrop across Morecambe Bay. Professional footballer David Perkins was born in Heysham.

Gallery

File:Anglo-Saxon_Stone,_Heysham.jpg, Anglo-Saxon carved stone cross base File:St_Patrick's_Chapel,_Heysham.jpg,

St Patrick's Chapel ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy ...

File:Heysham Harbour, from entrance.jpg, Heysham Harbour File:Heysham NPP cropped.jpg,

Heysham nuclear power station Heysham nuclear power station is operated by EDF Energy in Heysham, Lancashire, England. The site is divided into two separately-managed nuclear power stations, Heysham 1 and Heysham 2, both with two reactors of the advanced gas-cooled reactor ...

File:Heysham Nature Reserve.jpg, Sunset across 'The Barrows' on Heysham Nature Reserve

References

External links

{{Authority control Villages in Lancashire Port cities and towns of the Irish Sea Populated coastal places in Lancashire Unparished areas in Lancashire Morecambe Bay Geography of the City of Lancaster