| Burscough | |
Burscough town centre |
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Burscough
Burscough shown within Lancashire |
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| Population | 8,968 (Parish) (2001 Census)[1] |
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| OS grid reference | SD444118 |
| Parish | Burscough |
| District | West Lancashire |
| Shire county | Lancashire |
| Region | North West |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ORMSKIRK |
| Postcode district | L40 |
| Dialling code | 01704 |
| Police | Lancashire |
| Fire | Lancashire |
| Ambulance | North West |
| EU Parliament | North West England |
| UK Parliament | West Lancashire |
| List of places: UK • England • Lancashire | |
Burscough (pronounced /ˈbɜːrskoʊ/) is a village and civil parish within West Lancashire in North West England, to the north of both Ormskirk and Skelmersdale.
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Burscough developed originally as a two small farming villages (Burscough and Burscough Bridge) on a low ridge above the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, and has Viking roots — Burh-skogr = fortress in the woods. With constant development of new housing estates and apartments, Burscough's population has recently rapidly grown and the two communities have long since melded together. At the 2001 Census, the population of the parish stood at 8,968.[1]
There was an operational Fleet Air Arm air station RNAS Burscough (HMS Ringtail) located 1.5 statute miles to the SW of the town. This was active between September 1943 and May 1946.
Burscough has a number of primary schools, which are:
Burscough's high school is:
There is also a secondary school, Burscough Priory Science College (formerly Burscough Priory High School), and also a small public library. Shopping in the town is dominated by a large Tesco supermarket, however there remains some other smaller shops including a Spar and a Co-op, as well as local florists, barbers, etc. For many years there was an Ordnance Depot on the eastern edge of Burscough, but this has closed and the site has been redeveloped into housing.
On the 12th February 2011, a small retail and leisure development known as Burscough Wharf opened its doors to the public. Situated on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal, next to the southern bridge of the town centre, the development consists of approximately thirty units available for retail, leisure or office/studio space. Current businesses operating within the central square of Burscough Wharf consist of various independent arts, craft and hobby shops, food and drink outlets, including a traditional sweet shop, and health and beauty salons.[2]
The A59 trunk road and Leeds and Liverpool Canal pass through Burscough. The junction with the Rufford Branch of the Leeds Liverpool Canal is in Burscough. The town has two main railway stations: Burscough Junction, on the Liverpool to Preston line, was opened by the East Lancashire Railway on 2 April 1849, though the line now terminates at Ormskirk. Burscough Bridge, on the Southport to Manchester line, was opened by the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway on 9 April 1855. There is also a third station in Burscough, New Lane, which is a small halt on the same line as Burscough Bridge. These lines formerly had a junction known as the Burscough curves. The deletion of the curves prevents through train services between Ormskirk and Southport and Southport and Preston. The presence of the two stations is a sign of the two previous villages and their differing landowners. The Burscough Junction Station Crash occurred on 15 January 1880 on the Liverpool to Preston railway line.
The Windmill Farm Railway is a minimum gauge railway line located at the Windmill Animal Farm. The railway operates over a 1.1-mile (2 km) track at 15 in (381 mm) gauge, using locomotives previously from the Fairbourne Railway, since that line has regauged to a smaller gauge.[3]
Burscough Football Club play at Victoria Park. They won the FA Trophy in 2003 when they defeated conference side Tamworth in the final at Villa Park. In the 2005-06 FA Cup competition they beat league side Gillingham 3-2 at home in the first round. After winning the Northern Premier League in 2007,they were then relegated from the Conference North in the 2008-09 season and are once again competing in the NPL Premier Division.
Although the allotments in Burscough have been used since the construction of the Richmond Avenue housing estate, the need for a formal society was identified by the Parish Council in order to obtain further land for allotments in Burscough. Following a series of meetings a society was formed and the constitution agreed during a meeting on the 23rd November 2011. (See website: http://burscoughallotmentsociety.weebly.com/index.html)
There is a fishery in the town at Warper's Moss Lane which has four man-made lakes stocked with a wide variety of coarse fish, including carp to around 20 pounds (9.1 kg). Fishing is available on a day ticket.
Martin Mere is a large wildfowl reserve and visitor attraction on the edge of Burscough and is owned by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust. In 2006 Martin Mere featured in the BBC television programme Autumnwatch.
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