Birkenhead

Birkenhead
Town
The former Birkenhead Town Hall and Wirral Museum, now council offices, committee rooms, and Register Office, in Hamilton Square
Birkenhead is located in Merseyside
Birkenhead
Birkenhead
Location within Merseyside
Area25.18 km2 (9.72 sq mi) [1]
Population88,818 (2011 Census)[1]
• Density3,527/km2 (9,130/sq mi)
DemonymBirkonian
OS grid referenceSJ324890
• London178 mi (286 km)[2] SE
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townBIRKENHEAD
Postcode districtCH41, CH42
Dialling code0151
ISO 3166 codeGB-WRL
PoliceMerseyside
FireMerseyside
AmbulanceNorth West
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Merseyside
53°23′35″N 3°00′50″W / 53.393°N 3.014°W / 53.393; -3.014

Birkenhead (/ˌbɜːrkənˈhɛd/) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; It was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 88,818.[1]

Birkenhead Priory and the Mersey Ferry were established in the 12th century. In the 19th century, Birkenhead expanded greatly as a consequence of the Industrial Revolution. Birkenhead Park and Hamilton Square were laid out as well as the first street tramway in Britain. The Mersey Railway connected Birkenhead and Liverpool with the world's first tunnel beneath a tidal estuary; the shipbuilding firm Cammell Laird and a seaport were established.

In the second half of the 20th century, the town suffered a significant period of decline, with containerisation causing a reduction in port activity. The Wirral Waters development is planned to regenerate much of the dockland.

  1. ^ a b c "Area: Birkenhead (Westminster Parliamentary Constituency)". Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  2. ^ "Coordinate Distance Calculator". boulter.com. Retrieved 6 March 2016.