Tarleton

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This article is about the village of Tarleton. For the British military officer, see Banastre Tarleton.

Tarleton
Tarleton Parish Church and Holy Trinity Primary School
Tarleton shown within Lancashire
Population	5,350 (Parish)
OS grid reference	SD445205
Parish	Tarleton
District	West Lancashire
Shire county	Lancashire
Region	North West
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	PRESTON
Postcode district	PR4
Dialling code	01772
Police	Lancashire
Fire	Lancashire
Ambulance	North West
European Parliament	North West England
UK Parliament	South Ribble
List of places: UK • England • Lancashire

Coordinates: 53°40′41″N 2°50′30″W / 53.678, -2.84168

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 and the village's name is said to be derived from an early Viking settlement known as Jarle's Town. Tarleton is also a civil parish within West Lancashire District Council. It is currently within the Parliamentary Constituency of South Ribble.

Mark Square shopping centre.

In the early 20th century, Tarleton had just three main 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 has two primary schools, a high school which also serves the surrounding villages in North Meols and also has a small public library.^[1] It 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 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 potatoes which are then distributed all over the United Kingdom.