Bickerstaffe is a village and

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 ...

in the

West Lancashire West Lancashire is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. The council is based in Ormskirk, and the largest town in the borough is Skelmersdale. At the 2011 Census, the population of the borough was 110,68 ...

district 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 ...

, England. According to the 2001 Census the population of the civil parish was 1,196, reducing to 1,180 at the 2011 census, although the population of the electoral ward, which includes

Lathom South Lathom South is a civil parish in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England, situated near the towns of Ormskirk and Skelmersdale. The parish council was established in 2007, and the area, which includes the hamlets of Blaguegate and ...

, was slightly greater at 2,013, reducing to 1,988 at the 2011 census. The village is near junction 3 of the M58 motorway, and is about four miles west of

Skelmersdale Skelmersdale is a town in Lancashire, England, on the River Tawd, west of Wigan, northeast of Liverpool and southwest of Preston. In 2006, it had a population of 38,813. The town is known locally as Skem . While the first record of the tow ...

History

Its name may come from Anglo-Saxon ''bïcera stæþ'' = "the

beekeeper A beekeeper is a person who keeps honey bees. Beekeepers are also called honey farmers, apiarists, or less commonly, apiculturists (both from the Latin '' apis'', bee; cf. apiary). The term beekeeper refers to a person who keeps honey bees i ...

s' landing-place". The moated site of the original Bickerstaffe Hall is situated about south-west of the present building. A trapezoidal island with maximum dimensions of around is surrounded by a partially infilled moat between about wide and up to deep. The current hall may date to 1667 and was built for a member of the Stanley family, however it was re-built or heavily modified in 1772. Bickerstaffe Stocks are one of the

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

structures of historical importance in the village. In the seventeenth century, Bickerstaffe was an important local centre of the

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...

in West Lancashire. The parish church is dedicated to the Holy Trinity. Being built in 1843, and then extended in 1860, with a bell tower and spire to the west. It was designed by architect

Sydney Smirke Sydney Smirke (20 December 1797 – 8 December 1877) was a British architect. Smirke who was born in London, England as the fifth son of painter Robert Smirke and his wife, Elizabeth Russell. He was the younger brother of Sir Robert Smirke ...

, with multiple examples of fine masonry. Such as the carved angles above the doorway, as well as royal heads carved into the accent stones either side of each of the northern and western windows. Until October 1936 Bickerstaffe Colliery was located just south of M6 junction 3. 2012 saw the start of United Utilities £63m scheme at Bickerstaffe Water Treatment works to reduce the reliance of the local water supply on the River Dee. That initiative comes in two parts: drilling new boreholes to find new water sources, and extending Bickerstaffe Water Treatment Works to cope with the rising demand for water.

Sport

The grounds of Bickerstaffe AFC are at Hall Lane next to Bickerstaffe C.E school.

Culture

Public houses and restaurants in the area include The Stanley Gate, The Sandpipers and Quattros. An annual music festival
Bickerstock
takes place in the summer season, featuring local and international artists, and drawing in increasingly large crowds.

Notable people

* Nicholas Atherton

References

External links