Seaforth is a district in the

Metropolitan Borough of Sefton The Metropolitan Borough of Sefton is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England. It was formed on Local Government Act 1972, 1 April 1974, by the amalgamation of the county boroughs of Bootle and Southport, the municipal borough of Crosby, ...

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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Historically 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 ...

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 ...

, it is north of

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 ...

, between

Bootle Bootle (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 51,394 in 2011; the wider Bootle (UK Parliament constituency), Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449. Histo ...

and Waterloo.

History

The name of Seaforth is thought to come from the

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 ...

''sæ-fjord'', ''sæ-ford'', "sea inlet". It was recorded as ''Safforde'' "sea ford" in 1128, suggesting Old English name origins. Another theory for the name of the area is that it was taken from

Seaforth House Seaforth House was a mansion in Seaforth, Merseyside England built in 1813 for Sir John Gladstone, father of William Ewart Gladstone who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom four times. Sir John had lived on Rodney Street, Liverpool and de ...

, named after

Francis Mackenzie, 1st Baron Seaforth Lieutenant-General Francis Humberston Mackenzie, 1st Baron Seaforth, (9 June 1754 – 11 January 1815) was a British politician, soldier, and botanist. He was Chief of the Highland Clan Mackenzie, as which he raised the renowned 78th (Highla ...

, who built the mansion in 1813 for his daughter and her husband, Sir John Gladstone, father of

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

, four times

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. A permanent military presence was established in the borough with the completion of

Seaforth Barracks Seaforth Barracks was a military installation at Seaforth in Merseyside. History The barracks were originally built as cavalry accommodation and were completed in 1882. Units of the Royal Garrison Artillery and Royal Field Artillery were also ...

in 1882.

Seaforth Dock Seaforth Dock (also known as the Royal Seaforth Dock) is a purpose-built dock and container terminal, on the River Mersey, England, at Seaforth, to the north of Liverpool. As part of the Port of Liverpool and Liverpool Freeport, it is operated ...

opened in 1972 and is the largest dock facility on the

River Mersey The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part ...

. It is part of the

Port of Liverpool The Port of Liverpool is the enclosed Dock (maritime), dock system that runs from Brunswick Dock in Liverpool to Seaforth Dock, Seaforth, Merseyside, Seaforth, on the east side of the River Mersey and the Great Float, Birkenhead Docks between ...

and Liverpool Freeport.

Governance

Seaforth joined

Crosby Crosby may refer to: Places ;Canada *Crosby, Ontario, part of the township of Rideau Lakes, Ontario *Crosby, Ontario, a neighbourhood in the city of Markham, Ontario ;England *Crosby, Cumbria *Crosby, Lincolnshire *Crosby, Merseyside ** Crosby (U ...

Municipal Borough Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...

in 1937, having previously been part of Waterloo with Seaforth

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 ...

. The whole of Crosby became part of the new

on 1 April 1974. From 1918 to 1950 Seaforth was within the Parliamentary constituency known as Waterloo, a safe seat for the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

, and then until 2010 within the

constituency, whose MP from 1997 to 2010 was

Claire Curtis-Thomas Claire Curtis-Thomas (formerly Curtis-Tansley; born 30 April 1958) is a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Crosby (UK Parliament constituency), Cr ...

, of the Labour Party. Prior to her election the Crosby seat was generally considered a Conservative Party stronghold, like its predecessor seat, with Tory MPs elected at every election, except for the 1981 Crosby by-election, when

Shirley Williams Shirley Vivian Teresa Brittain Williams, Baroness Williams of Crosby, (' Catlin; 27 July 1930 – 12 April 2021) was a British politician and academic. Originally a Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP), she served in the Labour cabinet from ...

of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...

was elected. As a result of boundary revisions for the 2010 general election, the Crosby constituency was abolished and Seaforth was included in the expanded

constituency, represented by the Labour MP Joe Benton. For elections to

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 ...

, Seaforth is within the

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

electoral ward and is represented by three councillors, all members of the Labour Party.

Geography

Seaforth is between Waterloo in the north,

Litherland Litherland is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside. It was an urban district, which included Seaforth and Ford. It neighbours Waterloo to the north, Seaforth to the west, and Bootle to the south and is approximately north ...

to the east,

to the south, and the River Mersey and the Port of Liverpool to the west. It is mainly an area of Victorian terraced housing.

Transport

Seaforth is served by Seaforth and Litherland railway station on the Liverpool to

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 ...

branch of

Merseyrail Merseyrail is a 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 and Wirral Line, which are dedicated electri ...

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, two ...

. Principal roads include the A565 and the A5036. .

Sport

Motorcycle speedway racing was staged at Seaforth Stadium in the late 1930s. Greyhound racing also took place until the 1960s

Notable people

* Ray Mia, Music producer & Capomaestro, Jacaranda Records * Roger Aindow, English former professional footballer *

Kenny Everett Kenny Everett (born Maurice James Christopher Cole; 25 December 1944 – 4 April 1995) was an English comedian, radio disc jockey and television presenter. After spells on pirate radio and Radio Luxembourg in the mid-1960s, he was one of the fi ...

, radio presenter and comedian, born in Seaforth *

, prime ministerLiverpool Echo
January 28, 2008. Retrieved 19 August 2011 * Edmund Knowles Muspratt (1833—1923), chemical industrialist *

Max Muspratt Sir Max Muspratt, 1st Baronet (3 February 1872 – 20 April 1934) was a British chemist and a politician in the city of Liverpool, England. Early life and education He was born at Seaforth Hall, Seaforth, Lancashire, the son of Edmund Knowles ...

(1872–1934), chemist & politician *

Julia Solly Julia Frances Solly (née Muspratt; 21 December 1862 – 1953) was a British suffragist, feminist and temperance activist. After her marriage, she moved to South Africa, where she became one of the most recognisable feminists in the Cape Colony. ...

(1862–1953), British-born South-African feminist *

Nessie Stewart-Brown Nessie Stewart-Brown JP (née Muspratt; 5 September 1864 – 7 April 1958) was a British suffragist and Liberal Party politician. Her name and picture is on the plinth of the statue of Millicent Fawcett in Parliament Square. Background Nessie M ...

(1864–1958), feminist

References

External links

Seaforth, ''Liverpool Echo''
{{Metropolitan Borough of Sefton Towns and villages in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton