Tarleton

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This article is on the town of Tarleton, for the British military officer see Banastre Tarleton

Tarleton is an English village situated in the Lancashire marshlands near Southport, and to the south of Preston. The River Douglas runs through the village. The name is said to be derived from an early Viking settlement known as Jarle's Town. Tarleton is also a parish within West Lancashire District Council. It is currently within the Parliamentary Constituency of South Ribble.

Map sources for Tarleton at grid reference SD445205

In the early 20th Century, Tarleton had just three chief roads linking Preston with Southport; Becconsall and Croston; and the Meols with Tarleton. Recently, it has been significantly built up with new housing developments, but it is still a relatively quiet rural village. Mark Square, a shopping area at the centre of the village, has plans to be expanded to have 30 shops as well as a number of residential properties. Tarleton also has two primary schools, a high school which also serves the surrounding villages in North Meols and also is the home to a squadron of the Air Training Corps, 471 (Hesketh Bank and Tarleton) sqn, and a variety of sports clubs including cricket, football, rugby and badminton. Tarleton has several regularly attended Christian Churches within the area, including Hesketh Lane Chapel.

Tarleton has no railway station, but the former Preston to Southport line ran through nearby Hesketh Bank. The Rufford Branch of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal runs into the River Douglas at Tarleton Lock, which was served by a goods branch line on the railway.

Thanks to the excellent local soil of the former alluvial plain, the main economic activity in the village is agriculture, particularly the growing of lettuce and other vegetables which are then distributed all over the United Kingdom.