Ormskirk

Ormskirk is a market town in England, situated thirteen miles north of Liverpool and eighteen miles south of Preston. It lies on sloping ground on the side of a ridge, whose highest point is 254 feet above sea-level, at the centre of the West Lancashire Plain.^[1] Ormskirk is located in the district of West Lancashire and is the site of the headquarters of West Lancashire District Council. It is also home to Edge Hill University.

1 History
2 Transport
3 Local economy
4 Education
5 Notable connections
6 References
7 See also
8 External links

[edit] History

According to legend, Ormskirk was founded when Vikings, led by Orme, settled in the area. It is believed that Orme was, or later became, a Christian as he built a church, giving the town its name: Orme's Kirk.

The Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul is on the site of the original Kirk, and is the oldest building in the town. Its exact age is unknown; the building does contain some fragments of Norman architecture, but there is no reference to Ormskirk in the Domesday Book.

The Parish Church does have many connections with the Earls of Derby and the Stanley family. Many family members are buried in the church's Derby Chapel, including Thomas Stanley, the first Earl, who caused Richard III to lose his crown by changing sides at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, and the Royalist James Stanley, the seventh Earl, who was beheaded at Bolton in 1651 after the Civil War. His body is buried in one coffin and his head in a separate casket.

This is one of only three parish churches in England to have a tower and a spire, and is unique in that it has both at the same end of the building. (The other two are at Purton and Wanborough, both villages near Swindon, in Wiltshire). Legend has it that Orme had two sisters, one who wanted a tower and one who wanted a spire, and Orme built both to please both. Regrettably, the truth is not so romantic. The 'steeple' dates from the early fifteenth century, but the original blew down in 1731 and was rebuilt between 1790 and 1832. The large west tower was added to the church around 1548 to house the bells of nearby Burscough Priory following the dissolution of the monasteries. One of these bells can still be seen in the church.

An open market is held twice-weekly, on Thursdays and Saturdays, in the pedestrianised centre of Ormskirk. This is permitted by a Royal Charter that was granted by Edward I of England in 1286 to the monks at Burscough Priory.

[edit] Transport

The A59 is the main road, with Preston to the north and Liverpool to the south. The A570, from Southport, crosses the town from west to east and provides a link to the national motorway network at junction 3 of the M58, about three miles from the town centre.

The town's station is the northern terminus of Merseyrail, and the line continues through to Preston. This line was opened in 1846 as the Liverpool, Ormskirk and Preston Railway, which was bought by East Lancashire Railway.

The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway built the Skelmersdale Branch line to Skelmersdale and Rainford, which opened on 1 March 1858. Passenger services ended on 5 November 1956, goods to Rainford finished on 16 November 1961 and to Skelmersdale on 4 November 1963.

[edit] Local economy

There is a Tesco on Church Street and a Morrisons on Park Road. A new Marks & Spencers food store has also been opened. There is a small retail park with a McDonalds, an Argos catalogue store, and an Aldi supermarket. This shopping development is known as Two Saints in honour of the aforementioned Church. Ormskirk also has an indoor market situated on Moor Street. The Arriba bar now stands at the west end of the indoor market on the site of an earlier bar called the Brahms and Lizst, itself converted from Ormskirk's last cinema, The Pavilion.

[edit] Education

Ormskirk School (ages 11-18) is on Wigan Road in the east of the town. St Bede's Catholic High School (ages 11-16) is on St Anne's Road next to the A59 and Prescot Road, and conveniently opposite St Anne's church. Edge Hill University is on the A570 St Helens Road heading east. Skelmersdale & Ormskirk Colleges (further education) have a site in the town centre on Hants Lane.

[edit] Notable connections

Jon Culshaw, born
Duncan Ferguson, lives
James Hopwood Jeans, born, physicist, astronomer and mathematician
Nicholas Monsarrat, lived
Jonathan Pryce (Actor) and Stuart Maconie (Author, BBC DJ & TV Presenter) were students at Edge Hill (now Edge Hill University)
Tony Morley, born, England and Aston Villa footballer
Stephen Warnock, born, Liverpool footballer
Harold Wilson and Robert Kilroy Silk were both Members of Parliament for Ormskirk