Everything about Bootle totally explained
Bootle is a town within the
Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, in
Merseyside,
England. It is
4 miles (6.4 km) to the north of
Liverpool city centre, and has a total resident population of 77,640.
Historically part of
Lancashire, Bootle's economy has been around the docks and their associated industries for decades.
Geography and administration
Bootle, along with
Southport, is one of the two main administrative headquarters for the
Metropolitan Borough of Sefton. Bootle forms part of the
Liverpool Urban Area. Among Bootle's neighbouring districts are
Kirkdale to the south,
Walton to the east, with
Seaforth and
Litherland to the north. To the west contains the
Port of Liverpool running along side the
River Mersey.
The old civic centre of Bootle contains large
Victorian buildings such as the Town Hall and Municipal Baths. East of this centre is a sizeable area of large office blocks, to the west is the
Leeds and Liverpool Canal and large areas of
Docks lining the
River Mersey. To the north is the
New Strand Shopping Centre, which gained notoriety after the abduction and murder of two-year-old
James Bulger in
1993.
History
Etymology
Bootle derives from the Anglo Saxon
Bold or
Botle meaning a dwelling. It was recorded as
Boltelai in the
Domesday Book in 1086. By 1212 the spelling had been recorded as
Botle. The spellings
Botull,
Bothull and
Bothell are recorded in the 14th Century.
Resort
Bootle was originally a small
hamlet built near the 'sand hills' or dunes of the river estuary. The settlement began to grow as a bathing resort for wealthy residents of Liverpool in the early 19th century. Some remaining large villas which housed well-to-do commuters to
Liverpool are located in the area known locally as 'Bootle Village'.
Development
The
Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway arrived in the 1840s and Bootle experienced rapid growth. By the end of the 19th century
the docks had been constructed along the whole of the river front as far as Seaforth Sands to the north. The town became heavily industrialised. Bootle was incorporated as a
municipal borough in 1868 under the
Municipal Corporations Act 1835, and was granted the status of a
county borough by the
Local Government Act 1888 in 1889, becoming independent from the
administrative county of
Lancashire. During this time period it was sometimes formally known as
Bootle cum Linacre.
Orrell was added to the borough in 1905. There are still large areas of
Victorian terraced houses in Bootle, formerly occupied by dock workers. These are built in distinctive pressed red brick.
Bootle's Town Hall and other municipal buildings were erected in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. The population of the town swelled during this period, boosted by Irish immigration and the attraction of plentiful work on the docks. The wealth to pay for the splendour of the town hall and the gentrified 'Bootle Village' area was generated by these docks. The skilled workers lived in neat terrace houses in the east of the town, while the casual dock labourers lived in cramp, sqalid dwellings near the dockside. The activities in these streets led to the police classifying Bootle as 'Excpetionally rough' in an 1888 survey. It was probably around this time that Bootle was nicknamed 'Brutal Bootle'. Stories about three streets in particular caused great alarm. They were Raleigh Street, Dundas Street and Lyons Street. The latter was the scene of a crime dubbed 'The Teapot Murder' by local press and it was rumoured that women would settle their differences by stripping to the waste and fighting in the street. Lyons Street was so notorious that it literally 'died of shame' and was renamed Beresford Street shortly before the Great War.
Bootle was remarkable in other, more positive ways. It was the first borough to elect its own School Board, following the passage of Forster's Education Act of 1870. In 1872 Dr R J Sprakeling was appointed the first Medical Officer of Health, and was instrumental in improving sanitory conditions in the town. The Metropole Theatre on Stanley Road played host to stars such as music hall singer Marie Lloyd. The emporia in the Stanley Road and Strand Road areas of the town were filled with goods from all over the empire. Tree lined streets surrounded magnificent open spaces, such as Derby Park, North Park and South Park. Beautiful Roman Catholic and Anglican churches sprang up all over the town, and Welsh immigration brought with it non-conformist chapels and the temperance movement. Local societies thrived, including sports teams, scouts and musical groups. The Bootle May Day carnival, and the crowning of the 'May Queen' was real highlight of the social year. The town successfully fought against absorption by neighbouring Liverpool in 1903. This was a matter of some civic pride to the people who Bootle and the Latin motto of the town, 'Respice, Aspice, Prospice,' (the past, the present, the future) was emblazoned on school buildings, stationary, the local press, police uniforms and all manner of other places.
Second World War
The docks made Bootle a target for German bombers during the
Liverpool Blitz and approximately 90% of the houses in the town were damaged.
Situated immediatedly adjoining the City of Liverpool, and the site of numerous docks, Bootle had the distinction of being the most heavily-bombed
borough in the UK.
Bootle played an important role in the 'Battle of the Atlantic'. The famous u-boat hunter Captain Frederic John 'Johnny' Walker, would rest in the Mayor's Parlour of Bootle Town Hall. His ship, HMS Starling, sailed out of Bootle and the ship's bell and flags signalling the General Chase can still be seen in Bootle Town Hall's council chamber today.
Post-War
After
The Second World War large
social housing estates were built inland from the town centre, including the area of
Netherton, which was built on
New Town principles. The
Liverpool Overhead Railway and
Liverpool Tramways Company closure in the 1950s reduced Bootle's connection to Liverpool.
Bootle did share in the postwar boom. The centre of the town was redeveloped and the 'Bootle New Strand' shopping centre was opened in the late 1960s. At the same time, new offices were built in the town centre. The town lost it access to the beach when neighbouring Seaforth Sands was redeveloped in the early 1970s, but the Seaforth Container Port brought new jobs into the area.
The local authority, and other 'social' landlords, saw to it that new housing was built and older stock renovated. Bootle didn't go down the route of massive housing clearance, and many local communities remained intact.
The borough celebrated its centenary in 1968 and civic pride was much in evidence.
Decline
The docks declined in importance in the 1960s and 1970s, and Bootle suffered high unemployment and a declining population. The establishment of large office blocks housing government departments and the
National Girobank provided employment, but this was filled largely by
middle class people from outside the Liverpool area.
A further blow came in the early 1970s when local government reorganisation saw Bootle lose its borough status, to be absorbed into the new local authority of Sefton. While in the long run this was to be beneficial, the old borough being too small to support modern local government services, the town was robbed of its identity and few could muster any civic pride for the new creation.
More fundamental that political change was economic change. The very reason for Bootle's existence, the access to the Mersey, became almost irrelevant as the docks closed and the new container port required far fewer workers than the old docks had. This in turn affected practically every other industry in the town. The problems slowly gathered pace until Merseyside hit crisis point in the early 1980s.
Regeneration
Bootle is undergoing a massive regeneration project, which has already begun with the new
HSE buildings and the new-look Strand Road. Many old houses are being demolished to make way for new housing projects and lots of regeneration projects for existing properties and council buildings are to begin shortly.
A number of other development projects have recently been submitted for
planning permission and should commence development within Late 2006 or 2007 after being accepted. These include the significant
refurbishment of Oriel Road Station, promoted by
Merseytravel, the creation of a new block of apartments on the site of the Stella Maris building and a Lidl store on Stanley Road.
Walmart stores inc, owners of
Asda superstores have invested in building a new superstore on Strand Road.
It is perhaps in this new spirit of optimism, that banners have appeared, adorning the town centre with the Latin motto of the former borough: 'Respice, Aspice, Prospice.'
Transport
There are two railway stations served by frequent electric services from Liverpool to
Southport. These are
Oriel Road near the Victorian civic centre, and
New Strand, serving the Shopping Centre. A freight line, the
Bootle Branch, is still in use. Sefton has pushed for the reopening of the
North Mersey Branch.
The Bus Station is underneath the New Strand Shopping Centre.
Amenities
The town has a leisure centre located in the North Park area, which includes a modern
gym, swimming pool, and various indoor sports halls. The Bootle New Strand shopping centre contains many of the regular high street stores, combined with a smaller collection of local businesses. For entertainment there's a wide varienty of
public houses, snooker clubs and late night bars. There are also a number of restaurants.
Notable people
Many notable
footballers were born in Bootle.
Jamie Carragher,
Steve McManaman and
Roy Evans came to prominence playing for
Liverpool (with Evans later going on to become the club's manager) whilst
Alvin Martin is regarded as one of
West Ham's greatest ever players.
In the arts, Bootle has produced the actor
Craig Charles, the comedian
Tom O'Connor and early
rock and roll singer
Billy J. Kramer. The
BBC news and features presenter
Will Hanrahan, is originally from Bootle, and the poet and intellectual,
Mark Ford, has resided in the borough. The fashion retailer
George Davies was educated in Bootle.
James Bulger was snatched from his mother whilst shopping in Bootle.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Bootle'.
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