| Bebington | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Bebington Location withinMerseyside | |
| Population | 57,600 (Built up area, 2021)[1] 15,215 (Ward, 2021)[2] |
| OS grid reference | SJ333841 |
| • London | 176 mi (283 km)[3] SE |
| Metropolitan borough | |
| Metropolitan county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WIRRAL |
| Postcode district | CH63 |
| Dialling code | 0151 |
| ISO 3166 code | GB-WRL |
| Police | Merseyside |
| Fire | Merseyside |
| Ambulance | North West |
| UK Parliament | |
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Bebington (/ˈbɛbɪŋtən/) is a town in theMetropolitan Borough of Wirral, inMerseyside, England.Historically part ofCheshire, it is 5 miles (8 km) south ofLiverpool, close to theRiver Mersey on the eastern side of theWirral Peninsula. Nearby towns includeBirkenhead andWallasey to the north-northwest, andHeswall to the west-southwest.
Bebington was anancient parish, which included the two villages ofLower Bebington around the parish church ofSt Andrew's andHigher Bebington to the west, as well as several other surrounding hamlets. Following the2021 census, theOffice for National Statistics defined a Bebington built up area which had a population of 57,600.[1] TheBebington electoral ward covers a much smaller area around the original village centres of Higher Bebington and Lower Bebington. Some definitions of Bebington include adjoining areas such asPort Sunlight (an early planned factory town),New Ferry,Spital andStoreton. The formerMunicipal Borough of Bebington, alocal authority between 1937 and 1974, also included within its boundariesBromborough,Eastham,Raby,Thornton Hough andBrimstage, which now fall within the electoral wards of Bromborough, Eastham andClatterbridge.[4]
According to a 2015 study commissioned byRoyal Mail from the Centre for Economic and Business Research, Bebington's postcode area, CH63, is the most desirable in England in which to live and work. The study found that the area had "the ideal balance" of housing close to places of work, good schools and high employment.[5]
The name Bebington is derived from the Anglo-Saxon meaning the "Village of Bebba", probably a Saxon chief or landowner.[6]
The area is thought to be the site of the "Birth of England" at theBattle of Brunanburh in 937,[7]an English victory by the army of Æthelstan, King of England, and his brother Edmund over the combined armies ofOlaf Guthfrithson, King of Dublin,Constantine II, King of Alba, andOwain ap Dyfnwal, King of the Cumbrians. Though relatively little known today, it was called "the greatest single battle in Anglo-Saxon history before Hastings." Michael Livingston claimed that Brunanburh marks "the moment when Englishness came of age." The Brackenwoodgolf course was cited in 2004 as the most likely site for the Battle ofBrunanburh.[7]Mention of the battle is made in dozens of sources, in Old English, Latin, Irish, Welsh, Anglo-Norman and Middle English, and there are many later accounts or responses to the battle. A contemporary record of the battle is found in the Old English poem Battle of Brunanburh, preserved in theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle.
TheChurch of St. Andrew, on a site occupied sinceSaxon times, dates from the 14th and 16th centuries.[8]
In 1801, Bebington was a small country hamlet with a population of only 273, situated on the main road connecting Chester and Birkenhead, and then via ferry to Liverpool. Up to 30 horse-drawn coaches would pass by each day. By 1840, the Birkenhead to Chester railway was running and in 1844 the New Chester Road opened and Bebington lost its coaching traffic.[6]
In 1838, the footprints of anarchosaur later called theChirotherium storetonese were found in a sandstone bed at Storeton Quarry. Examples can be seen at theLiverpool Museum and at Christ Church within the parish of Higher Bebington. Also a small example can be seen at Higher Bebington Junior School, in their reception area.
Stone quarried at Bebington was used for the construction ofBirkenhead Town Hall, some of the villas aroundBirkenhead andRock Parks and most famously of all theEmpire State Building in New York City. The stone is considered to be a high quality sandstone which is creamy in appearance. The quarries were eventually filled in with debris removed during the construction of the twoMersey Tunnels.
Mayer Hall, in Lower Bebington village, was formerly an art gallery built by Bebington philanthropistJoseph Mayer,[9] a noted antiquarian, whose collection of Anglo-Saxon antiquaries helped in the development of British archaeology. He made Pennant House his home. It is still a community resource and boasts many of its original features.
Bebington is on the eastern side of the Wirral Peninsula, approximately 10 km (6.2 mi) south-south-east of theIrish Sea atNew Brighton, about 7.5 km (4.7 mi) east-north-east of theDee Estuary atGayton and less than 2 km (1.2 mi) west-north-west of theRiver Mersey atNew Ferry. The area is situated at an elevation of between 20–60 m (66–197 ft) above sea level.[10]
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There is one main tier of local government covering Bebington, atmetropolitan borough level:Wirral Council. The council is a member of theLiverpool City Region Combined Authority, which is led by the directly-electedMayor of the Liverpool City Region.
Bebington was anancient parish in theWirral Hundred of Cheshire. The parish was subdivided into fivetownships, called Higher Bebington, Lower Bebington,Poulton cum Spital,Storeton, andTranmere. The original parish church,St Andrew's, is at Lower Bebington.[11] From the 17th century onwards, parishes were gradually given various civil functions under thepoor laws, in addition to their original ecclesiastical functions. In some cases, including Bebington, the civil functions were exercised by each township separately rather than the parish as a whole. In 1866, the legal definition of 'parish' was changed to be the areas used for administering the poor laws, and so each township became a separatecivil parish.[12]
Local government districts, each governed by an elected local board, were established in 1859 for Higher Bebington,[13] in 1860 for Tranmere,[14] and in 1863 for Lower Bebington.[15] The Tranmere district was abolished in 1877 and its area incorporated into the borough of Birkenhead.[16] Port Sunlight was developed from 1888 on land within the Lower Bebington district.[17]
Local government districts were reconstituted asurban districts under theLocal Government Act 1894. Lower Bebington Urban District Council bought Pennant House to serve as its headquarters in 1901, using the adjoining Mayer Hall as its council chamber.[18]
The three urban districts of Lower Bebington, Higher Bebington and neighbouringBromborough to the south were merged into a single Bebington and Bromborough Urban District in 1922.[19] The urban district was renamed Bebington in 1933, when its territory was also significantly enlarged to take in the neighbouring parishes of Storeton, Poulton cum Spital,Brimstage,Thornton Hough,Raby, andEastham. The urban district council was granted acoat of arms in 1934.[20] Bebington Urban District was raised to the status of amunicipal borough in 1937.[21][22]
A new Town Hall was built opposite Pennant House in 1955 as one of the first phases of a wider civic centre.[23] The borough council continued to meet at Mayer Hall until a new council chamber was completed in 1971 as one of the later phases of the civic centre complex, forming part of the same building as Bebington Central Library.[24][25]
The borough of Bebington was abolished in 1974 under theLocal Government Act 1972. The area became part of theMetropolitan Borough of Wirral in the new county ofMerseyside.[26]
Bebington contains ten main schools;Wirral Grammar School for Boys,Wirral Grammar School for Girls,St John Plessington Catholic College, St John's Junior and Infant Schools, Higher Bebington Junior School,Co-op Academy Bebington, Brackenwood Junior School, Stanton Road Primary School, St Andrew's Primary School, Town Lane Infants School, Church Drive Primary School.
The Oval Sports Centre was used in the film,Chariots of Fire, to portray the 1924Colombes Olympic Stadium in Paris.[27]
In March 1942 after a successful ‘Warship Week’ National Savings campaignHMS Sabre (H18) was adopted by the civil community of Bebington, Cheshire, the same month she was detached for escort of the Russian Convoy PQ 13 during its initial stage of passage to Iceland in the Northwest Approaches.
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