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Template:GBthumb Skelmersdale is a new town, (although, in reality, it is far from new) and is, by far, the largest town in the district of West Lancashire. As of 2006, it had a population of 38,813 down from 41,000 in 2004.

Place-name meaning

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Skelmersdale means "Skjaldmarr's valley", from the Old Norse personal name Skjaldmarr + 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 destinction 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.

Origin

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 (Liverpool Road (closed 1969) and Berry Street (closed in the 1920s)), an independent Methodist, a Primitive Methodist (see Primitive Methodism) , a Congregational (see Congregationalist polity), 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 residence to a Golf Club.

New town

Skelmersdale became a designated new town in 1961, the first in the second wave of designations .

Due to the arrival of a large number of former Liverpool council house tenants, the town retains a strong association with Liverpool to which it is linked via the vastly underused 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. Furthermore, 90% of the district's planned economic expansion is to be targeted at the town, no doubt a consequence of its road infrastructure - no point in the town is more than five minutes away from the motorway system.

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

Roads and transport

The layout of the town is unique for the oversized roundabouts (the largest of which is "Half Mile Island") and the distinct lack of road crossings - there are no traffic lights whatsoever. Skelmersdale's road system has improved with better signage, although visitors still frequently get lost.

The M58 motorway (Liverpool - Wigan Motorway) runs beside Skelmersdale from the nearby M6 motorway to the Switch Island interchange. It is said that the M58 motorway is one of the most under-used motorways in the UK. The A570 and the A577 both provide connections. Skelmersdale is renowned for having a very large roundabout.

Skelmersdale has a road-naming system, where "Road" and "Street" are rarely used, and single-name roads are common, e.g. "Ashburn", instead of "Ashburn Road". "Road", "Street", "Lane" and "Drive" do appear, but on the outer periphery of Skelmersdale (bordering on Ormskirk, St. Helens, Pimbo, Higher End and Wigan areas these road/street-name elements are far more common than single-name roads, which are used on new housing estates.

Rail

The nearest railway station is Up Holland 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 Up Holland has been proposed, which would result in the reopening of Skelmersdale railway station.

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.

Sports

The town's football team, Skelmersdale United plays in the North West Counties Football League 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 about 60 national records and ten world records. The world records are held by three individuals from the same family.

References

• Wilson, L. Hugh (1964) Skelmersdale new town planning proposals : report on basic plan prepared for the Skelmersdale Development Corporation by L. Hugh Wilson, Hugh Wilson & Lewis Womersley Chartered Architects & Town Planners, with a foreword by A.J. Kentish Barnes, Chairman of the Skelmersdale Development Corporation, Skelmersdale Development Corporation;
• Riley, Frank (1986) People in Need of a Future: A Survey of the Long-term Unemployed in Skelmersdale Ecumenical Centre, Northway, Skelmersdale;

Notes

1. "Great Britain" World Gazetteer
2. ^ http://society.guardian.co.uk/societyguardian/story/0,7843,1688251,00.html Ward, David (18 January 18 2006) "Back to the drawing board" Guardian Manchester, UK];
3. Pevsner, Nikolaus, Sir (2002) North Lancashire Yale University Press, New Haven ISBN 0-300-09617-8 p. 226;
4. "Disused Stations:Skelmersdale" Subterranea Britannica
5. "Bowmen of Skelmersdale";

External links

• Skelmersdale Heritage Society website
• Skelmersdale United FC Home Page
• Skelmersdale History
• Potential Rail Improvements in North Western England - Evidence presented to the Transport Select Committee, 2002-03
• Skelmersdale Advertiser
• Skelmersdale Champion
• Bowmen of Skelmersdale

53°32′N 2°48′W / 53.533°N 2.800°W / 53.533; -2.800

• New towns in the United Kingdom
• Towns in Lancashire