Kew is a suburb and ward of Southport, a

seaside town A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, such as in the German ' ...

in Sefton,

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...

, England. It makes up the southeastern edge of the town, bordering Scarisbrick in West Lancashire. It is a

middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...

area of mostly modern development, and one of Southport's smallest suburbs.

History

The area was originally a 12-acre garden and zoological site in the 1880s, named after Kew Gardens in Surrey. Visitors to Southport would travel via horse tram to enjoy the gardens, pavilion and lake which had gondoliers. Parts of the lake and gardens still survive. Modern-day Kew is a mid-late 20th century housing estate close to the

Hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

which was built on Blowick Moss and also former playing fields. The roads are mainly named after horse racing venues.

Local amenities

The area is served by a number of 'out of town' shopping complexes, Kew retail park, and the Meols Cop retail park (not in Kew, but

Blowick Blowick is a suburb on the east side of the town of Southport, Merseyside, England. History and etymology Blowick is part of the ancient parish of North Meols and was formerly a detached settlement, on the northern fringe of what is now Southpor ...

) and a large

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...

. There is also a number of pubs, including Hickory's Smokehouse, The Richmond and The Old Duke. There is a school, Kew woods, the towns main

and Queenscourt Hospice. A Church dedicated to St Francis of Assisi can also be found in Kew.

Transport

Kew was served by Kew Gardens railway station on the Liverpool, Southport and Preston Junction Railway from 1 November 1887 to 26 September 1938. The nearest station is

Meols Cop Meols Cop () is a small area within the Blowick suburb, in the coastal town of Southport, Merseyside in north-western England. It is not a suburb or ward in its own right. It is not to be confused with Meols on the Wirral Peninsula. The two ca ...

on the

Manchester to Southport line Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

. Kew is also served by buses 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 popul ...

and

Ormskirk Ormskirk is a market town in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England, north of Liverpool, northwest of St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston. Ormskirk is known for its gingerbread. Geography and administr ...

References

Southport Towns and villages in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton {{Merseyside-geo-stub