The
town was founded in 1792 when William Sutton opened
a hotel. The hotel was built on a site, which is nowadays
at the junction of Lord Street and Duke Street. It is
this area that the first houses in Southport were built
and from this time, groups of dwellings arose between
Birkdale and Churchtown. One of the groups became known
as 'South Hawes'.
The name 'South-port' first appeared in 1798. Records
say that a small stream (nicknamed the 'River Nile')
found its way onto the beach near Sutton's Hotel. The
sea ran up some distance inland, forming an estuary.
Tradition speaks of a 'fine bay of eleven fathoms of
water within half a mile from the shore, where vessels
occasionally lay securely at anchor.' To the local fishermen
and farmers of that time, it was a port. It is not surprising
that the new village lying South of the 'Domesday Book'
village of Churchtown should have been re-named 'Southport'
- a name which is retained, and as it is written at
present, since 1826.
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte |
|
It's a little
known fact that Prince
Louis Napoleon (Louis-Napoléon
Bonaparte) lived on Lord Street from May
1846 before becoming Emperor of France in 1851.
Just a year
later, no doubt inspired by his stay in the
town, he set his Prefect of the Seine, Baron
George Haussman, to work redesigning the city
of Paris.
Much of
the medieval centre of Paris was replaced with
broad tree-lined boulevards, covered walkways
and arcades, just like Lord Street.
In
1848, a rail service became available from Liverpool
to the town. Visitors travelled previously by canal
and road. Then, from 1853, people could go by train
to the resort from Manchester (via Wigan) and the lovely
seaside town attracted thousands of workers from the
Lancashire mill towns.
The
Victorian era has left the town with a glorious legacy
- the spaciousness of Southport, the parks and gardens
and wide tree-lined streets. Lord Street, one of Britain's
finest boulevards, is the main shopping thoroughfares
- straight and wide for almost a mile. Along one side
are shops with Victorian glass topped canopies and on
the opposite sides are gardens, fountains and classical
buildings.
Today,
Southport has developed into a large town with smaller
villages such as Birkdale, Ainsdale, Hillside and Churchtown.
The town is in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton. There
are 5 local authorities, which together make the larger
region of Merseyside in the North West of England.
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|
| Southport's significant dates |
| 1792 |
Southport
'christened' by William (Duke) Sutton and Dr. Miles
Barton of Ormskirk |
| 1821 |
Christ
Church on Lord Street, consecrated |
| 1825 |
Act
of Parliament signed by King George IV by authority
of which Lord Street was named |
| 1840 |
The
'Old Duke' William Sutton dies on May 26th |
| 1848 |
Railway
opened between Southport (Portland Street Station) and
Waterloo |
| 1853 |
Town
Hall opened, June 1st |
| 1860 |
Pier
opened |
| 1867 |
First
Municipal elections, Dr. Peter Wood, first Mayor |
| 1868 |
Hesketh
Park opened (gift of Rev'd Charles.Hesketh) |
| 1869 |
Marshside
calamity when, in dense fog, seven fishermen were drowned |
| 1886 |
Lifeboat
disaster in which 27 men died after the barque "Mexico"
ran aground, two lifeboats capsized in the storm |
| 1898 |
Southport
Centenary festivities |
| 1898 |
Rt.Hon.
Lord Curzon, MP, appointed Viceroy of India |
| 1904 |
Statue
of Queen Victoria unveiled |
| 1905 |
Southport
created a County Borough |
| 1992 |
Bi-Centenary
celebrations |
|
