Skelmersdale

Skelmersdale, town (1991 pop. 42,611), Lancashire, NW England. Skelmersdale was designated one of the new towns in 1961 to alleviate overpopulation in Liverpool and the N Merseyside area. Its population is expected to grow to 80,000. Coal mining was once of great importance in the region; today, light industry is predominant. Modern housing is extensive within the town. Named Skjalmar's Dale by Scandinavians in the 10th cent., the area is mentioned in the Domesday Book.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

Skelmersdale

Skelmersdale is a town in West Lancashire, England. It lies on high-ground on the River Tawd, to the northeast of Liverpool, south-southwest of Preston and west-northwest of Manchester. As of 2006, Skelmersdale had a population of 38,813, down from 41,000 in 2004. The town is known locally as Skem. The first recorded use of the name Skelmersdale appears in the Domesday Book of 1066. It was under the rule of Uctred as part of the hundred of West Derby.

The urbanisation and development of Skelmersdale largely coincided with the Industrial Revolution. Industrial scale coal mining began in the early 1800s and continued to expand during that century to give rise to Skelmersdale as an important colliery village. By the late-19th century, Skelmersdale had acquired a reputation as "a particularly bare, unpleasing district" owing to its coal mines and brickworks.

Skelmersdale was designated as a new town in 1961.

History

Toponymy

Skelmersdale means "Skjaldmarr's valley", from the Old Norse personal name Skjaldmarr + probably Old Norse dalr (or Old English dæl) "dale, valley". The name was recorded as Skalmeresedel in 1136. One place-name book suggests that it may be of Celtic origin, with the place-names being in Celtic place-name order, i.e. "Element/personal name/word", rather than "Personal name/word/element", as with Old English place-names.

It is known locally as "Skem", with a further distinction being made between "Old Skem" (the area which was a small mining town prior to 1961) and the broader swathe of development which has now developed.

Early history

Until the creation of Skelmersdale Urban District Council at the end of the 19th century, the town was part of the Parish of Ormskirk in the West Derby hundred, an ancient subdivision of Lancashire, covering the south-west of the county.

Skelmersdale's population in 1851 was only 760, but 50 years later it had increased to 5,699. It was a busy coal mining town. Sadly, there were over 100 fatalities in Skelmersdale collieries from 1851 to 1900, according to the Reports of the Inspectors of Coal Mines, and an unknown number of serious injuries. In 1880 there were 14 Skelmersdale colleries - most of them closed in the 1920s and 30s.

The miners, many of whom were Welsh immigrants, brought with them their own brand of non-conformist Christianity. By the start of the 20th century there were at least six dissenting chapels in the town: two Wesleyan (Berry Street, closed in the 1920s, and Liverpool Road, closed 1969), an independent Methodist, a Primitive Methodist, a Congregational, and a Welsh Chapel (closed in 1963). Today, there is little to remind people that the town was ever associated with the once great Lancashire Coalfield. The River Tawd flows through Skelmersdale into a country park. The main country park is at Ashurst Beacon, a hillside location that is also home to a Golf Club.

New town

Skelmersdale was designated a New Town in 1961, designed to house overspill population from the north Merseyside conurbation. The town was the first in the second wave of designations.

Due to the arrival of a large number of former Liverpool residents, the town retains a strong association with Liverpool to which it is linked via the M58 motorway.

Skelmersdale endured mixed economic fortunes during the last three decades of the 20th century. With the economic downturn in the late 1970s large industrial employers left town en masse, resulting in an increase in crime, drug abuse and poverty. Today, however, West Lancashire has one of the lowest recorded crime rates in England.

2006 was to see a regeneration drive for the town coordinated through English Partnerships and the Northwest Regional Development Agency and publicly headed by the designer Wayne Hemingway. Among the proposals was a new central focus for the entertainment and commerce for the town in the evening.

Transport

Road

The layout of the town is unique for the oversized roundabouts (the largest of which is "Half Mile Island") and a complete absence of traffic lights. Skelmersdale's road system has improved with better signage, although visitors still frequently get lost.

The M58 motorway (Liverpool - Wigan Motorway) runs along the south of Skelmersdale from the nearby M6 motorway to the Switch Island interchange at Liverpool. The A570 and the A577 both provide connections.

The New Town areas of Skelmersdale have a road-naming system where "Road" and "Street" are rarely used and single-name roads are common, e.g. "Abbeywood", "Fairburn", "Thornwood". "Road", "Street", "Lane" and "Drive" do appear in road names, but only in the parts of the town (bordering on Ormskirk, St. Helens and Wigan) that pre-date the New Town development.

Roads in the industrial estates and the main roads in the town such as Gillibrands Road follow the usual naming conventions.

Rail

The nearest railway station is Upholland railway station on the Wigan Wallgate to Kirkby branch line (historically part of the Liverpool and Bury Railway line.) The Skelmersdale Branch previously connected Skelmersdale to Ormskirk and Rainford Junction. The rebuilding of a dedicated connection linking the town to Upholland has been proposed, which would result in the reopening of Skelmersdale railway station.

Education

Skelmersdale has a number of primary schools, and has three high schools. These are Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic High School an Engineering College, Lathom High School a Technology College and Glenburn Sports College.

Skelmersdale & Ormskirk College has a campus in the centre of the town. The college merged with Newcastle College in 2007 and was recently graded as 'outstanding' in a recent OFSTED inspection.

Skelmersdale also is home to a large public library whose facilities include free internet access and an extensive local history section.

Economy

Although consisting predominantly of housing estates, Skelmersdale's industry includes the Co-operative Bank (Skelmersdale's single largest employer), the cosmetic manufacturer Constance Carroll, a distribution centre for P&G, potato snacks from Walkers, the international headquarters and UK manufacturing centre of Turtle Wax and many others. Skelmersdale houses the corporate base and a distribution centre for Matalan, the discount clothing and homewares store. Skelmersdale is also home to Frederick's Dairies who make ice cream for Nestle and own several parlours across Lancashire.

Shopping centres

Skelmersdale's town centre is made up of The Concourse Shopping Centre, colloquially known as "The Conny", and an ASDA supermarket.

Sports

The town's football team, Skelmersdale United, plays in the Unibond Northern Premier League Division One North and was a FA Vase winner in 1971. One of its former players was Steve Heighway, who went on to play for Liverpool F.C. for many years.

The town is also host to a quite famous archery club, The Bowmen of Skelmersdale, whose members hold over 70 national records and Fourteen world records. The world records are held by three individuals from the same family.