| Country: | England |
| Type: | Town |
| Coordinates: | 53.487°N -3.034°W |
| Official Name: | Crosby |
| Label Position: | left |
| Population: | 50,044 |
| Population Ref: | (2011 census)[1] |
| Metropolitan Borough: | Sefton |
| Region: | North West England |
| Metropolitan County: | Merseyside |
| Constituency Westminster: | Bootle |
| Constituency Westminster1: | Sefton Central |
| Post Town: | LIVERPOOL |
| Postcode District: | L23 |
| Postcode Area: | L |
| Dial Code: | 0151 |
| Os Grid Reference: | SJ320999 |
| Parts Type: | Districts of the town |
| P4: | Little Crosby (Village) |
| P6: | Waterloo |
| Static Image Name: | Crown Buildings, Crosby - geograph.org.uk - 72158.jpg |
| Static Image Caption: | Crown Buildings, Crosby |
Crosby is a coastal town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historically in Lancashire, it is north of Bootle, south of Southport and Formby, and west of Netherton. It abuts the areas of Blundellsands to the north and Waterloo to the south. It is approximately 6 miles (9.6 km) north of Liverpool City Centre.
The town has Viking roots in common with the other -by suffixed settlements of Formby to the north and Kirkby to the east. Crosby was known as Krossabyr[2] in Old Norse, meaning "village with the cross".[3] The settlement was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Crosebi, and by the year 1212 had become Crosseby. Local people are known as Crosbeians and were referred to as such in the local press but the term is little used today.
The opening of the Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway in 1848 resulted in the growth of Crosby as a suburb of Liverpool.
Crosby formed part of the Crosby parliamentary constituency from 1950 until 2010. The Member of Parliament (MP) for Crosby from 1997 until 2010 was Claire Curtis-Thomas, a member of the Labour Party; prior to her election the seat was generally considered to be a safe Conservative Party stronghold with Tory MPs elected at every election barring the 1981 Crosby by-election where Shirley Williams of the Social Democratic Party was elected to represent the constituency. As a result of boundary revisions for the 2010 general election the Crosby constituency was abolished and Crosby town was divided between two constituencies, with the two electoral wards of South Crosby, Church and Victoria, containing the urbanised bulk of the town which includes the areas of Great Crosby, Waterloo and Seaforth, being absorbed into the expanded Bootle constituency, represented by the Labour MP Peter Dowd, and the two electoral wards of northern Crosby, Blundellsands and Manor, which contains residential suburban areas such as, Blundellsands, Brighton-Le-Sands, Little Crosby, Thornton, and Hightown, forming part of the new Sefton Central constituency represented by Bill Esterson, also a Labour MP.
Crosby became part of the municipal borough of Crosby in 1937 by the merger of the urban districts of Great Crosby and Waterloo with Seaforth, both in the administrative county of Lancashire. This borough was succeeded by the new Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside on 1 April 1974.
For elections to Sefton Council Crosby is covered by a range of council wards as detailed above: the Victoria ward, covers Great Crosby and North Waterloo, and is represented by three councillors. They are now all Labour Party councillors Michael Roche, Leslie Byrom CBE FRCIS, and Jan Grace.
Crosby, Merseyside is twinned with Capri, Italy.
Crosby as an area was composed of a string of settlements along the Irish Sea coast. These areas were part of the urban districts of Great Crosby and Waterloo with Seaforth and the Municipal Borough of Crosby before it too was abolished and became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton. These areas are:
| Crosby compared | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 UK census | Crosby[4] | Sefton (borough)[5] | England | |
| Total population | 51,789 | 282,958 | 49,138,831 | |
| White | 98.4% | 98.4% | 91.0% | |
| Asian | 0.5% | 0.4% | 4.6% | |
| Black | 0.1% | 0.2% | 2.3% | |
Independent schools in the area include Merchant Taylors' Boys School, Merchant Taylors' Girls' School, St Mary's College and Streatham Arts School. There are also several comprehensive schools, including Chesterfield High School, Holy Family Catholic High School, St. Michael's Church of England High School (formerly Manor High Secondary School) and Sacred Heart Catholic College (formerly Sacred Heart Catholic High School, formerly Seafield Grammar School).Primary schools include Forefield Junior school Great Crosby Catholic school
Crosby Beach is home to Antony Gormley's art installation Another Place. The sea views were described in the 19th century by a First Lord of the Admiralty as second only to the Bay of Naples.[12] Crosby's environs include several miles of beach, a marina, a number of parks and a large area of woodland known as Ince Woods. Crosby is home to a now closed Carnegie Library built with donations from the American steel magnate Andrew Carnegie. Distinctive buildings in Crosby Village include the Art Nouveau-inspired Crown Buildings and ten pubs – The Crows Nest, The Birkey, The George, Blues Bar, Frankies, Stamps, Corkscrew, Hampsons and Suburb 24.
In recent years Crosby has featured in The Sunday Times "Best Places to Live" list.[13] [14]
Crosby is also home to Rossett Park Stadium home of Marine A.F.C. who play their football in the Northern Premier League Premier Division. It has a capacity of 2,250 (400 Seated) and is famous for hosting Tottenham Hotspur F.C. in the FA Cup 3rd round in January 2021.
Crosby is served by the railway stations of Hall Road, Blundellsands and Crosby, and Waterloo, on the Northern Line of the region's commuter rail network, Merseyrail. Trains run between and via . Bus services run by Arriva and Stagecoach link the town to Liverpool, Southport and Preston.
Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC North West and ITV Granada. The local television station TalkLiverpool also broadcasts to the area. Television signals are received from the Winter Hill TV transmitter. [15]
Local radio stations are BBC Radio Merseyside, Heart North West, Capital Liverpool, Hits Radio Liverpool, Smooth North West and Greatest Hits Radio Liverpool & The North West.
The town is served by the local newspaper, Liverpool Echo (and also formerly the Crosby Herald). [16]
Marine AFC (association football) and Waterloo RUFC (rugby union) are both based in the area.
Crosby is also home to Crosby Swimming Club, a member of the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA). Who are also in m and d division one and headed by head coach Lee Martin and supported by many other experienced coaches such as Nigel Forshaw, Damien Lyons and Ben Gilbertson
The Northern Club, a multi-sport club featuring cricket, hockey, crown green bowls, squash, racketball and snooker, is situated in the Moor Park area of Crosby. Near Thornton.
Crosby Marina is the home of Crosby Sailing Club and is open to all dinghy sailors of any ability or experience. The marina is also a venue for the Crosby Scout and Guide Marina Club, who offer dinghy and kayak sailing to local youngsters.
Blundellsands Bridge Club, affiliated to the English Bridge Union, provides facilities for learning and playing Rubber Bridge and Duplicate Bridge.
Crosby Table Tennis Club is also based in Crosby High School. They compete in the Liverpool and Southport Table Tennis League Systems.
Crosby is home to Open qualifying venue and the 9th oldest golf club in England - West Lancashire Golf Club