Bidston

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Bidston and St James
St Oswald's Church, Bidston (1).JPG
St Oswald's Church
Bidston and St James is located in Merseyside
Bidston and St James
Bidston and St James
 Bidston and St James shown within Merseyside
Population 15,216 (2011 Census)
OS grid reference SJ284900
Metropolitan borough Wirral
Metropolitan county Merseyside
Region North West
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town PRENTON
Postcode district CH43
Dialling code 0151
Police Merseyside
Fire Merseyside
Ambulance North West
EU Parliament North West England
UK Parliament Birkenhead
List of places
UK
England
Merseyside

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Bidston is a suburb of Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, in the county of Merseyside. In modern days is a mixture of the well-preserved Bidston Village, Bidston Hill, the industrial estate Bidston Moss and a modern housing estate.

Administratively, it is also a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. Before local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974, it was part of the County Borough of Birkenhead, within the geographical county of Cheshire. At the 2001 Census, the population of Bidston was 10,446, consisting of 4,725 males and 5,721 females.[1] By the time of the 2011 Census the electoral ward was called Bidston and St. James. The total population of this ward at this Census was 15,216 of which 7,117 were males and 8,099 were female.[2]

Description

Located close to the M53 motorway, the village of Bidston is situated on a hill, with an elevation of approximately 60 metres above sea level.

Government

Bidston is part of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in the metropolitan county of Merseyside. The village is part of the parliamentary constituency of Birkenhead. The current Member of Parliament is Frank Field, a Labour representative. He has been the MP since 1979 and currently holds a majority of 15,395.

The area is also part of a local government ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, this being Bidston and St. James Ward. Bidston is represented on Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council by three councillors. These are Jim Crabtree, Ann McLachlan and Harry Smith, who are all Labour councillors. Ann McLachlan is also the deputy leader of the council.[3] The most recent local elections took place on 3 May 2012.

Confirmed candidates for United Kingdom local elections, 2012[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent John BRACE 82 0.84
Labour Jim CRABTREE 1992 20.29
Conservative Peter James DAWSON 179 1.82
Green Colin Edward DIGNAM-GILL 85 0.87
UKIP Helen Frances ROMNES 136 1.39
Liberal Democrat Roy John WOOD 73 0.74

The electorate numbered 9.817, there was a turnout of 26% and the majority is 1,813.[5]

Landmarks and open spaces

Bidston Observatory

Bidston Hill comprises 100 acres (0.40 km2) of heathland and woodland maintained by Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council as a nature reserve and public park. The land was purchased in stages from 1894 to 1908 by Birkenhead Corporation from local landowner Lord Vyner. It is the site of Bidston Windmill, built around 1800 and Bidston Observatory, owned by the Natural Environment Research Council. The hill also contains a number of ancient rock carvings, including that of a Sun Goddess thought to have been carved by the Norse-Irish around 1000 AD.[6]

Tam O'Shanter Cottage was believed to be built about 300 years ago. Its name derives from a stone carving of the poem Tam O'Shanter by Robert Burns, which adorns a wall on the site. In 1950, the building was recognised as having special historical interest for preservation. Despite two fires and threats of demolition in 1954 and 1975, the cottage was rebuilt and restored in the mid 1970s. Four acres around the cottage were developed as a city farm in 1986, known as the Tam O'Shanter Urban Farm.[7]

Opposite the cottage is Flaybrick Memorial Gardens, Birkenhead's first municipal cemetery.[8] The grounds encompass an arboretum and nature trails.

Bidston Moss was originally low-lying wetland marsh at the head of Wallasey Pool. In 1936 most of the land was given over to residential, commercial and industrial landfill. Since the cessation of waste disposal operations in 1995, Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority and the charitable trust Groundwork Wirral have undertaken environmental restoration works to landscape the site.[9]

Bidston Village has won title of Best Small Village several times at the Northwest In Bloom awards.[10]

Transport

The locality is served by Bidston railway station. Trains operate to Liverpool and West Kirby on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network and to Wrexham on the Borderlands Line.

Notable people

See also

References

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Bibliography

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External links

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