97-483: The River Mersey ( / ˈ m ɜːr z i / ) is a major river in North West England . Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria . For centuries it has formed part of the boundary between the historic counties of Lancashire and Cheshire . The Mersey starts at the confluence of
194-608: A Ramsar site . Most of the conurbation on both sides of the estuary is known as Merseyside . The estuary narrows between Liverpool and Birkenhead , where it is constricted to a width of 0.7 miles (1.1 km), between Albert Dock in Liverpool and the Woodside ferry terminal in Birkenhead. On the Liverpool side, Liverpool Docks stretch for over 7.5 miles (12.1 km), the largest enclosed interconnected dock system in
291-583: A 30%+ Black British population. In contrast, the town of St. Helens in Merseyside, unusually for a city area, has a very low percentage of ethnic minorities with 98% identifying as White British. The City of Liverpool, over 800 years old, is one of the few places in Britain where ethnic minority populations can be traced back over dozens of generations: being the closest major city in England to Ireland, it
388-684: A population of 7,417,397 in 2021. It is the third-most-populated region in the United Kingdom, after the South East and Greater London . The largest settlements are Manchester and Liverpool . The official region consists of the following subdivisions : After abolition of the Greater Manchester and Merseyside County Councils in 1986, power was transferred to the metropolitan boroughs , making them equivalent to unitary authorities. In April 2011, Greater Manchester gained
485-511: A six-lane road connecting Runcorn's Central Expressway with Speke Road and Queensway in Widnes. The Mersey Ferry operates between Pier Head in Liverpool and Woodside in Birkenhead and Seacombe , and has become a tourist attraction offering cruises that provide an overview of the river and surrounding areas. Water quality in the Mersey was severely affected by industrialisation, and in 1985,
582-755: A top-tier administrative body in the form of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority , which means the 10 Greater Manchester boroughs are once again second-tier authorities. North West England is bounded to the east by the Pennines and to the west by the Irish Sea . The region extends from the Scottish Borders in the north to the West Midlands region in the south. To its southwest is North Wales . Amongst
679-445: A tourist attraction offering cruises that provide an overview of the river and surrounding areas. The Mersey Railway completed its tunnel through the estuary's underlying Triassic sandstone using manual labour in 1885. Intended as a pneumatic railway , the company opted for steam trains from its opening until it was electrified in 1903. The centre of the running tunnel is between 30 feet (9.1 m) and 70 feet (21.3 m) below
776-523: A variety of common organic pollutants, including polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) with concentrations which fall in the middle of the range of similarly industrial-urban river-estuaries. The distribution of individual PAH compounds suggests that the Mersey has contaminants mainly derived from combustion sources such as vehicle exhaust as well as coal burning. The distribution of the toxic heavy metal Mercury (Hg) has been assessed by measuring 203 sediments taken from shallow cores (0.4 – 1.6 m) extracted from both
873-554: Is 3 miles (4.8 km) across at its widest point near Ellesmere Port . The course of the river then turns northwards as the estuary narrows between Liverpool and Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula to the west, and empties into Liverpool Bay . In total the river flows 69 miles (111 km). Part of the Mersey Railway , a rail tunnel between Birkenhead and Liverpool opened in 1886. Two road tunnels pass under
970-680: Is formed from three tributaries : the River Etherow , the River Goyt and the River Tame . The modern accepted start of the Mersey is at the confluence of the Tame and Goyt, in central Stockport , Greater Manchester . However, older definitions, and many older maps, place its start a few miles up the Goyt at Compstall ; for example the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica states "It is formed by
1067-559: Is home to a significant ethnic Irish population, with the city being home to one of the first ever Afro-Caribbean communities in the UK, as well as the oldest Chinatown in Europe. The table below is not how many people belong to each ethnic group (e.g. a BBC News article in 2008 claimed there are over 25,000 ethnic Italians in Manchester alone whilst only 6,000 Italian-born people live in
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#17327720577981164-600: Is still predominant throughout the county, and stretches as far north as Furness in South Cumbria to parts of north Greater Manchester and Merseyside in the south of the region. The region boasts some of the most distinctive accents in the form of the Scouse accent, which originates from Liverpool and its surrounding areas, and the Manc accent, deriving from the central Manchester district. Both of these descend from
1261-653: The 2019 United Kingdom general election , the Labour Party won a plurality of seats in the North West. It is one of the two regions (along with Yorkshire and the Humber ) that were expected to hold a referendum on the establishment of an elected regional assembly . However, when the North East region of England rejected having an elected regional assembly in a referendum, further referendums were cancelled and
1358-456: The Indices of deprivation 2007 , the region has many more Lower Layer Super Output Areas in the 20% most deprived districts than the 20% least deprived council districts. Only North East England shows more indicators of deprivation than the North West, but the number of affluent areas in the North West is very similar to Yorkshire and the Humber . The most deprived local authority areas in
1455-538: The Industrial Revolution hundreds of thousands of Welsh people migrated to the North West of England to work in the coal mines. Parts with notably high populations with Welsh ancestry as a result of this include Liverpool , Chester , Skelmersdale , Widnes , Halewood , Wallasey , Ashton-in-Makerfield and Birkenhead . The Mixed Race population makes up 1.3% (93,800) of the region's population. There are 323,800 South Asians , making up 4.7% of
1552-735: The Liverpool City Region mayor announced cooperation between the City Region and K-water of South Korea , who built and operates the Sihwa Lake Tidal Power Station , in order to construct a similar operation on the River Mersey. The river gave its name to Merseybeat , developed by bands from Liverpool, notably the Beatles . In 1965 it was the subject of the top-ten hit single " Ferry Cross
1649-542: The Mersey Basin Campaign was established to improve water quality and encourage waterside regeneration. In 2009 it was announced that the river is "cleaner than at any time since the industrial revolution" and is "now considered one of the cleanest in the UK". The Mersey Valley Countryside Warden Service manages local nature reserves such as Chorlton Ees and Sale Water Park . The river gave its name to Merseybeat , developed by bands from Liverpool, notably
1746-509: The Mersey flat boats and drowned due to the weather conditions or poor craft maintenance, although many ordinary civilians perished too. Another ferry existed at Runcorn Gap and by today's safety standards was highly dangerous. Passengers had to traverse wooden planks over the mud flats to reach the ferry boats which themselves were often poorly maintained and leaking. Even the steps down to the river bank were described as "beautifully slippery". In
1843-547: The River Tame and River Goyt in Stockport . It flows westwards through south Manchester , then into the Manchester Ship Canal near Irlam Locks, becoming a part of the canal and maintaining its water levels. After 4 miles (6.4 km) it exits the canal, flowing towards Warrington where it widens. It then narrows as it passes between Runcorn and Widnes . The river widens into a large estuary , which
1940-628: The River Tweed , Scottish Borders ; the Battle of Maserfield in 642 at Forden , Powys (and not Oswestry , Shropshire ); and Brunanburh in 937 on the River Browney near Lanchester, County Durham (and not Bromborough in Cheshire / Merseyside ). This work aims to provide a blueprint for locating a range of battles fought during this early period of British history. He was elected
2037-669: The Scandinavian influence throughout the North West. Through the Middle Ages the dialects of the North West would have been considerably different from those spoken in the Midlands and south. It was only with the spread of literacy (particularly with the publication of the King James Bible ) that Standard English spread to the region. Even so, local dialects continued to be used and were relatively widespread until
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#17327720577982134-553: The Solway Coast , and almost all of the Forest of Bowland ). Weather in this part of England is typically classified as maritime, moist and temperate, with a moderate annual temperature range. Average annual precipitation in the UK typically ranges from approximately 800 mm to 1,400 mm. Temperatures are generally close to the national average. Cumbria usually experiences the most severe weather, with high precipitation in
2231-607: The Thelwall Viaduct . When the viaduct opened in 1963, it was the longest motorway bridge in England. A second viaduct alongside opened in 1995; northbound traffic uses the old viaduct and southbound the new. A new 6-lane bridge, the " Mersey Gateway ", between Runcorn and Widnes began its construction phase in May 2014 and opened just after midnight on 14 October 2017. At the same time the Silver Jubilee Bridge
2328-719: The University of Navarra since 1987. Breeze was born in 1954 and educated at Sir Roger Manwood's School , Emmanuel College, Cambridge (where he took a first in English in 1974 and in Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic in 1976, and his PhD in 1992), and at St John's College, Oxford (where he took a diploma in Celtic studies in 1978). In 1986, he worked as a scholar for the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies at
2425-658: The Woolston Eyes nature reserve, and on to Warrington . During the construction of the Manchester Ship Canal, the original course of the river through Wilderspool (which is north of Stockton Heath and Lower Walton) was diverted westward into a canalised section. Wilderspool Causeway remains the only remnant of the original eastern bank of the Mersey at this point in Warrington. Part of the original river channel became Warrington Dock (Walton Lock) in
2522-404: The electromagnet in 1825. Sydney Chapman , a mathematician from Eccles , in 1930 explained the ozone–oxygen cycle in the stratosphere , being the first to propose that atmospheric oxygen or ozone molecules absorb (harmful UVB and UVC) ultraviolet wavelengths of light in photolysis , to produce reactive single atoms which accumulate to form the ozone layer . Graphene was discovered at
2619-547: The 1997 article, Breeze has provided further publications on this topic. In 2015, he published "The Historical Arthur and Sixth-Century Scotland", which locates King Arthur 's battles from the 9th-century Historia Brittonum , placing them all in Scotland and Northern England, with the exception of Mount Badon in the year 493, located at a hillfort east of Braydon Forest , Wiltshire , but having nothing to do with Arthur. Using these identifications, he suggested that Arthur
2716-537: The 19th and 20th centuries. In modern times, English is the most spoken language in the North West, with a large percentage of the population fluent in it, and close to 100% conversational in it. To the north-east of the region, within the historic boundaries of Cumberland , the Cumbrian dialect is dominant. The historical county of Lancashire covered a vast amount of land, and the Lancashire dialect and accent
2813-461: The Beatles . In 1965 it was the subject of the top-ten hit single " Ferry Cross the Mersey " by Gerry and the Pacemakers . The name "Mersey" is derived from the Anglo-Saxon mǣres , 'of a boundary' and ēa , 'a river'. The Mersey was possibly the 'border river' between Mercia and Northumbria . Its Welsh name is Afon Merswy . Prior to Anglo-Saxon conquest of the region, the river
2910-634: The Conservatives four, whilst Lancashire is competitive between Labour and Conservative (8 seats each); the Labour seats in Lancashire are concentrated in the south of the county along the M65 . For the region, the Labour gained 3 seats; there was a 5.2% swing from Conservative to Labour. In the 2015 general election, Liverpool Walton was the safest seat in the UK, with a 72% majority, and in 2017 this
3007-475: The Conservatives have 20, and the Liberal Democrats have 1. The Lib Dems' North West seat is in south Cumbria; Labour dominates Greater Manchester, and the Conservatives' vote is concentrated in affluent suburban areas such as Cheadle , Hazel Grove and Altrincham and Sale West . Labour seats also predominate in Merseyside. In Cheshire the 2015 result was reversed, with Labour winning seven seats and
River Mersey - Misplaced Pages Continue
3104-535: The Howley Weir. Before construction of the ship canal, work to improve navigation on the Mersey included Woolston New Cut, bypassing a meander, and Howley Lock for craft to avoid the weir; the new cut and lock are still evident. The island formed between the weir and the lock is known locally as "Monkey Island". West of Warrington the river widens, and then narrows as it passes through the Runcorn Gap between
3201-691: The Lake District. Manchester, Liverpool, Lancaster, Blackburn and Preston are among the region's many English place names. In the 9th to the 11th centuries, Danes from the east and Norsemen from Ireland and Scotland began settling in the area. The North West is really the only area of England where Norse settlement was significant and their influence remains in the place names and dialect of the region. Elements like fell , thwaite and tarn , which are particularly common in Cumbria, are all Norse. The numerous Kirkbys and place names with "holm" and "dale" show
3298-502: The Lancashire dialect but have some distinctions from it, especially Scouse. The region's accents are among those referred to as ' Northern English '. Large immigrant populations in the North West result in the presence of significant immigrant languages. South Asian languages such as Urdu , Hindi and Punjabi are widespread, with the largest number of speakers residing in Preston , Blackburn and Manchester. The Chinese once made up
3395-622: The Mersey " by Gerry and the Pacemakers , and a musical film of the same name . The Liverpool poets published an anthology of their work, The Mersey Sound , in 1967. The river's stretch through Manchester is the main theme in the Stone Roses song "Mersey Paradise", included on the B-side of the 12" version of their 1989 hit " She Bangs the Drums ", and on their 1992 compilation album Turns into Stone . The Tall ships' fleet has visited
3492-595: The Mersey Narrows and North Wirral Foreshore, are also Ramsar sites . Capt. William Gill of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company , charted a safe, navigable channel (the Victoria Channel) through the treacherous uncharted waters of the estuary in 1836. Since the construction of the Manchester Ship Canal, large commercial vessels do not usually navigate the estuary beyond Garston on the north bank, or
3589-528: The Mersey on four occasions, first in 1984, then in 1992, 2008 and 2012. The traditional song " Leaving of Liverpool " mentions the river in its opening line. The Mersey is considered sacred by British Hindus , and worshipped in a similar way to the River Ganges . Festival of Immersion ceremonies are held annually on the river, in which clay figures representing the Hindu Lord Ganesha ,
3686-532: The Mersey's tributaries, the River Goyt and the River Bollin . Atlantic grey seals from Liverpool Bay occasionally venture into the estuary along with bottlenose dolphin and harbour porpoise . Otter tracks have been observed near Fiddlers Ferry. Other fish in the estuary include cod , whiting , dab , plaice and flounder . Spiny dogfish , mackerel and tope feed on shrimp and whitebait in
3783-410: The North West are as follows: Liverpool and Manchester are sometimes considered parts of a single large polynuclear metropolitan area , or megalopolis but are usually treated as separate metropolitan areas. In some studies, part of Wigan in Greater Manchester is considered part of the Liverpool metropolitan area. The North West of England has historically been held by the Labour Party . In
3880-582: The North West from around the 7th century AD, when the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria first appears to have made inroads west of the Pennines. The language at this time would have been the Northumbrian dialect of Old English . The high percentage of English place names in the region as a whole suggests English became almost ubiquitous over the coming centuries, particularly in the area south of
3977-476: The North West's population resides in Greater Manchester, 21.39% in Lancashire, 20.30% in Merseyside, 14.76% in Cheshire and 7.41% live in the largest county by area, Cumbria. According to 2009 Office for National Statistics estimates, 91.6% (6,323,300) of people in the region describe themselves as 'White': 88.4% (6,101,100) White British , 1.0% (67,200) White Irish and 2.2% (155,000) White Other . During
River Mersey - Misplaced Pages Continue
4074-529: The North West). The proportion of people residing in North West England born outside the UK was 11.7% in 2021, compared with 8.2% in 2011 and 5.1% in 2001. Below are the fifteen largest overseas-born groups in the region according to the 2021 census, alongside the two previous censuses: One in five of the population in the North West is Catholic , a result of large-scale Irish emigration in
4171-541: The Ship Canal is the canalised section of the River Irwell . The old course of the Mersey has been obliterated by the canal past Hollins Green to Rixton although the old river bed can be seen outside Irlam and at Warburton . At Rixton the River Bollin enters the canal from the south and the Mersey leaves the canal to the north, meandering through Woolston , where the ship canal company's dredgings have formed
4268-405: The UK and USA passes through the port making it one of the most successful in the world and known as the "Atlantic Gateway". Liverpool was the first UK port with radar assisted operations. The river empties into Liverpool Bay on the Irish Sea , after a total course of 69 miles (111 km). From 4 metres (13.1 ft) neap tide to 10 metres (32.8 ft) spring tide , the River Mersey has
4365-695: The UK in 2019, 31.23% voted for the Brexit Party, with Labour polling 21.91%, the Liberal Democrats 17.15% and the Green Party 12.48%. The Conservatives came fifth in the region with 7.55% of votes cast. The earliest known language spoken in the North West was a dialect of the Brythonic language spoken across much of Britain from at least the Iron Age up to the arrival of English in the first millennium AD. Fragments of this early language are seen in
4462-417: The University of Manchester in 2004 under Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov . At the Calico Printers' Association in Manchester in 1941, John Rex Whinfield and James Tennant Dickson discovered polyethylene terephthalate , known as PET, a common polyester compound found in plastic bottles and food, and also known as Terylene or Dacron. Cheslene and Crepes of Macclesfield discovered crimplene ,
4559-560: The better known of the North West's physiographical features are the Lake District and the Cheshire Plain . The highest point in North West England (and the highest peak in England) is Scafell Pike , Cumbria, at a height of 3,209 ft (978 m). Windermere is the largest natural lake in England, while Broad Crag Tarn on Broad Crag is England's highest lake. Wast Water is England's deepest lake, being 74 metres deep. A mix of rural and urban landscape, two large conurbations , centred on Liverpool and Manchester , occupy much of
4656-531: The controversial "Did a woman write the Four Branches of the Mabinogi?", proposing a woman composer for this leading literary work of British/ Welsh heritage. Breeze's theory rests on the unusual lack of warlike or fighting heroics compared to preceding literature; the high quantity of material on mothering, besides complex, in-depth portraits of Mabinogi women. This much has been supported or tolerated by some scholars, but there has been discussion regarding Breeze's preferred candidate Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd . Since
4753-485: The dark the ferry was particularly worrying as there were few or no lights and the journey was only undertaken on a "needs must" basis. Complaints about the appalling conditions were reported in the local and national press consistently for over 40 years. In the early 19th century steam operated ferries were introduced. The Mersey Ferry , managed and operated by Merseytravel , operates between Pier Head in Liverpool and Woodside in Birkenhead and Seacombe . It has become
4850-528: The dominant party in the region by seat count, with the Conservatives total now standing at 27. The Conservatives made two gains in Cheshire, three gains in Lancashire, five gains in Greater Manchester, notably including Andy Burnham 's former seat of Leigh. In the 2017 general election , the area was dominated by the Labour Party. Fifty-five per cent of the region's electorate voted Labour, 36.3% Conservative, 5.4% Liberal Democrat, 1.9% UKIP and 1.1% Greens; however, by number of parliamentary seats, Labour have 54,
4947-482: The elephant deity riding a mouse, are submerged in the river from a ferry boat. Followers throw flowers, pictures and coins into the river. From its lowest point, moving upstream, confluences and tributaries of the Mersey catchment include: North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of Cheshire , Cumbria , Greater Manchester , Lancashire and Merseyside . The North West had
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#17327720577985044-488: The entire length were recorded for the first time since industry began on the Mersey. In 2009 it was announced that the river is "cleaner than at any time since the industrial revolution" and is "now considered one of the cleanest [rivers] in the UK". Persistent organic and mercury (Hg) pollution contained within sediments of the Mersey estuary have been evaluated by British Geological Survey . Mersey river sediments from outer to inner estuary (Alfred Dock to Widnes) contain
5141-412: The estuary from Liverpool: the Queensway Tunnel opened in 1934 connecting the city to Birkenhead, and the Kingsway Tunnel , opened in 1971, to Wallasey . A road bridge, completed in 1961 and later named the Silver Jubilee Bridge , crosses between Runcorn and Widnes, adjacent to the Runcorn Railway Bridge which opened in 1868. A second road bridge, the Mersey Gateway , opened in October 2017, carrying
5238-528: The estuary. For ducks, the estuary is important to common shelducks and Eurasian teal . Waders include redshank , black-tailed godwit , dunlin , pintail and turnstone . The section of the estuary between Runcorn Railway Bridge and Bromborough , including Hale Duck Decoy and Mount Manisty , is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, the SSSI citation describing it as an "internationally important site for wildfowl". There are further SSSIs at New Ferry and Mersey Narrows. The Mersey Estuary, and
5335-426: The event has not returned. During the 1990s the festival was the largest event if its kind in Europe. In the 2010s the event attracted tens of thousands of people and included music stages and other waterside attractions alongside regattas, visiting vessels, and tall ships on the river. Notable musical artists who have performed at the event include Katie Melua , Shola Ama and Russell Watson . Captain David Hawker
5432-485: The existence of the atomic nucleus . Sir J. J. Thomson of Cheetham Hill discovered the electron (given its name in 1891 by George Johnstone Stoney ) in April 1897 and received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1906; his son George Paget Thomson would win the Nobel Prize for Physics 1937 for discovering electron diffraction (at the University of Aberdeen). John Dalton , from Cumbria and moved to Manchester, developed atomic theory . William Sturgeon of Lancashire invented
5529-526: The fabric that is now referred to as polyester. ICI Dyestuffs at Hexagon House , in Blackley in north Manchester, discovered Procion dyes. At the Winnington Laboratory on 27 March 1933, Eric Fawcett and Reginald Gibson discovered polythene in an ICI laboratory in Northwich, when reacting benzaldehyde with ethene at a pressure of 2,000 atmospheres ; the process was improved in 1935 by Michael Perrin . Andrew Breeze Andrew Breeze FRHistS FSA (born 1954), has been professor of philology at
5626-446: The inscriptions and place names of the Roman era. In some parts of the region, the Brythonic dialect developed into the medieval language known today as Cumbric , which continued to be spoken perhaps as late as the 12th century in the north of Cumbria. This early Celtic heritage remains today in place names such as Carlisle , Penrith and Eccles , and many river names such as Cocker , Kent and Eden . English may have been spoken in
5723-411: The junction of the Goyt and the Etherow a short distance below Marple in Cheshire on the first-named stream." The 1784 John Stockdale map shows the River Mersey extending to Mottram , and forming the boundary between Cheshire and Derbyshire . In the west of Stockport it flows at the base of a cliff below the road called Brinksway before reaching flat country. An early Ordnance Survey map indicates
5820-426: The largest minority in the region (as Liverpool has one of the oldest Chinese settlements in Europe), and still do to the far north where Chinese is spoken by small but significant communities. Since the enlargement of the EU, over one million Poles have immigrated to the UK, a large number of them settling in the North West. Places such as Crewe as well as larger cities make Polish written information available for
5917-466: The local minority populations. In the Eurostat Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS), North West is a level-1 NUTS region, coded "UKD", which (since 2015) is subdivided as follows: Population > 400,000 Population > 100,000 Population > 70,000 Population > 50,000 Population > 30,000 Population > 20,000 Population > 10,000 Population > 5,000 The five largest metropolitan areas in
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#17327720577986014-452: The locks into the ship canal at Eastham . Deep-water channels are maintained to both. Until the early 20th century, commercial traffic bound for further upstream carried cargo in large flat-bottomed sailing barges known as Mersey Flats to Howley Wharf in Warrington and (via the Sankey Canal ) to St Helens . Motor barges delivered to riverside factories at Warrington until at least the 1970s, but nowadays only pleasure craft and yachts use
6111-542: The main river and adjacent salt marshes. The average amount of Hg in the Mersey was found to be 2 mg/kg with the highest amounts of 5 mg/kg occurring below the surface at concentrations harmful to sediment dwelling biota. The vertical rise and fall in Hg pollution observed at four Mersey salt marshes indicated a decline in metal pollution since the 1980s. Salmon have returned to the river and have been seen jumping at Woolston and Howley Weirs between September and November. Salmon parr and smolt have been caught in
6208-400: The mainline between London and Liverpool. It had a cantilevered footway providing an alternative crossing to a ferry. In 1905 the now demolished Widnes-Runcorn Transporter Bridge opened and took cars and passengers via a cable car. The Silver Jubilee Bridge , completed in 1961, is immediately adjacent. East of Warrington, the M6 motorway crosses the river and the Manchester Ship Canal on
6305-406: The mountainous regions of the Lake District and Pennines. In winter, the most severe weather occurs in the more exposed and elevated areas of the North West, once again mainly the Lake District and Pennine areas. Source: Office for National Statistics Mid Year Population Estimates in 2008 North West England's population accounts for just over 13% of England's overall population. 37.86% of
6402-413: The nineteenth century as well as the high number of English recusants in Lancashire . Of the nine regions of England, the North West has the fourth-highest GVA per capita —the highest outside southern England. Despite this the region has above average multiple deprivation with wealth heavily concentrated on very affluent areas like rural Cheshire, rural Lancashire, and south Cumbria. As measured by
6499-437: The original forms "Meteia" and "Metantii" - from "met" meaning "cut" or "harvest" - with the likely meaning being that the Metantii were "reapers (of men), cutters-down (of enemies)", with the river Meteia meaning "reaping one" or "she that cuts down" (Breeze notes the possibility of a local deity associated with the river, but highlights that this is only a supposition based on known deities like Sulis and Aerfen ). The Mersey
6596-486: The population, and 1.1% Black (80,600). 0.6% of the population (39,900) are Chinese and 0.5% (36,500) of people belong to another ethnic group. North West England is a very diverse region, with Manchester and Liverpool amongst the most diverse cities in Europe. 19.4% of Blackburn with Darwen 's population are Muslim, the third-highest among all local authorities in the United Kingdom and the highest outside London. Areas such as Moss Side in Greater Manchester are home to
6693-408: The post and she had spent years studying a Mersey barrage in the 1980s. Taylor's Bank is a large sandbank extending out to sea on the north side of the channel entrance to the river on which many ships have come to grief over the years. Historically the lowest bridging point on the Mersey was at Warrington where there has been a bridge since medieval times. The first ferry across the estuary
6790-425: The proposals for elected regional assemblies in England put on hold. The regional leaders' forum, 4NW is based on Waterside Drive in Wigan . The former North West England European Parliament constituency had the same boundaries as the Region. Ten English regions were established by the government in 1994. At that time, Merseyside , which already had its own Government Office, formerly the Merseyside Task Force,
6887-519: The public, to much controversy. Other immigrant languages with a presence in the North West are Spanish, mainly amongst the Latin American communities in Liverpool and Manchester , as well as various other Eastern European and Asian languages. The most taught languages in schools across the North West are English, French and Spanish. German and Italian are available at more senior levels and, in cities such as Manchester and Liverpool, even Urdu and Mandarin are being taught to help maintain links between
6984-416: The region (based on specific wards within those borough areas) are, in descending order—Liverpool, Manchester, Knowsley, Blackpool, Salford, Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Rochdale, Barrow-in-Furness, Halton, Hyndburn, Oldham, Pendle, St Helens, Preston, Bolton, Tameside, Wirral, Wigan, Copeland, Sefton, and Rossendale. In 2007 when Cheshire still had district councils, the least deprived council districts in
7081-399: The region by council district, in descending order, were—Congleton, Ribble Valley, Macclesfield, and South Lakeland. These areas have Conservative MPs, except South Lakeland has a Lib Dem and Labour MPs. At county level, before it was split into two, Cheshire was the least deprived, followed by Trafford, and by Warrington and Stockport. In March 2011, the overall unemployment claimant count
7178-634: The river as fish such as perch , barbel , grayling , carp , roach , chub , trout , pike , bream and dace have been caught. Warrington Anglers Association have fishing rights on a large stretch of the River through most of Warrington. Prince Albert Angling Society also have a small stretch near Rixton. The river has also faced problems regarding the poaching of fish despite a strict 'catch and release' policy imposed on anglers for ecological reasons which applies to most UK waterways. The Mersey River Festival, rebranded in 2018 as ‘River Festival Liverpool’,
7275-736: The river bed. The railway is now part of the Merseyrail network. Two road tunnels pass under the estuary from Liverpool. By road, the Queensway Tunnel opened in 1934 connecting the city to Birkenhead, and the Kingsway Tunnel , opened in 1971, connects with Wallasey . Further upstream, the Runcorn Railway Bridge over the river at Runcorn Gap was built in the 1860s for the London and North Western Railway on
7372-495: The river between Stockport and Carrington. Liverpool Sailing Club located at Garston Coastal Park on the north bank of the estuary has a 1000 feet slipway giving access to river for water sports. The wooded suburban stretch of the river from above Howley Weir to Woolston is also used for recreational and competitive rowing, operated from the Warrington Rowing Club. Angling has become popular on some stretches of
7469-489: The river widens into a large estuary , which is 3 miles (4.8 km) wide at its widest point near Ellesmere Port . The course of the river then heads north, with Liverpool to the east and the Wirral Peninsula to the west. The Manchester Ship Canal enters the river at Eastham Locks . The eastern part of the estuary is much affected by silting, and part of it is marked on modern maps as dry land rather than tidal. The wetlands are of importance to wildlife, and are listed as
7566-542: The same work that they were fought against Anglo-Saxons, and that there is no textual justification for separating Badon from the other battles. Breeze's British Battles 493–937: Mount Badon to Brunanburh was published in 2020 by Anthem Press. As well as reaffirming the Wiltshire site for the 493 battle, it gives new locations for various early conflicts. Amongst them are those of Arthur in 536–7 in southern Scotland and northern England; Degsastan in 603 near Dawyck , on
7663-565: The school of Celtic Studies. He is married with six children. Besides numerous research papers on the philology of many Celtic languages, he is the author of Medieval Welsh Literature (1997) and The Origins of the "Four Branches of the Mabinogi" (2009). He is also co-author with Richard Coates of Celtic Voices, English Places (2000). Breeze has written about Mabinogi studies, and The Mabinogion research, especially addressing historical and political parallels. In 1997 he published
7760-516: The second highest tidal range in Britain – second only to the River Severn . The narrows in the river estuary between Dingle Point on the Liverpool banks to New Brighton on the Wirral, forces water to flow faster creating a deep channel along the section of river. For 200 years an admiral was appointed as a conservator to ensure the river remained navigable. Mary Kendrick was the first woman to
7857-415: The ship canal, a lock bypassing Howley Weir allowed navigation further upstream via a straight "cut" avoiding a meander around Woolston. The Mersey Valley Countryside Warden Service manages local nature reserves such as Chorlton Ees and Sale Water Park recreational sites and provides an educational service along the Mersey from Manchester to the Manchester Ship Canal. It is possible to canoe on parts of
7954-494: The ship canal. In the 1960s, the former river channel was filled. The area is now Wilderspool Causeway Park. At the western end of the canalised section in Warrington is the old entrance to the former Runcorn to Latchford Canal . This waterway was abandoned with the construction of the ship canal. It was constructed because the Mersey is tidal from Howley Weir in Warrington. The canal let river traffic reach Warrington during low tides. During high spring tides, water levels often top
8051-691: The south of the region. The north of the region, comprising Cumbria and northern Lancashire, is largely rural, as is the far south which encompasses parts of the Cheshire Plain and Peak District. The region includes parts of three National parks (all of the Lake District , and small parts of the Peak District and the Yorkshire Dales ) and three areas of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (all of Arnside and Silverdale and
8148-547: The spring at Red Hole on the border of Cheshire and Yorkshire at the head of one of the Etherow's longest headwaters, as being the Source of the River Mersey . From Central Stockport the river flows through or past Heaton Mersey , Didsbury , Northenden , Chorlton-cum-Hardy , Stretford , Sale , Ashton on Mersey , Urmston and Flixton , where it flows into the Manchester Ship Canal just south of Irlam Locks. At this point
8245-647: The towns of Runcorn and Widnes , in Halton . The Manchester Ship Canal passes through the gap to the south of the river. The gap is bridged by the Silver Jubilee Bridge and Runcorn Railway Bridge . Another crossing, the Mersey Gateway road bridge opened in October 2017, and is situated about 1 mile upstream from the Runcorn Gap where the river is considerably wider. From the Runcorn Gap,
8342-427: The upper estuary and the tidal river where a number of sailing clubs are based. On most high tides, seagoing yachts with masts raised can navigate as far upstream as Fiddlers Ferry – about 3.1 mi (5.0 km) downstream of Warrington – where there is a small marina accessed via a river lock. Although river craft can continue upstream to Howley Weir, there are no landing or mooring facilities. Before construction of
8439-492: The wooden paddle steamer Elizabeth in 1815. Docks were developed along with a shipbuilding industry , flour milling and soap manufacture on the river's Cheshire bank. Seaforth Dock , a freeport on the Liverpool side of the estuary where it meets Liverpool Bay, opened in 1971. The dock deals with around 500,000 containers, over 1.2 million tonnes of oil, over 2.5 million tonnes of grain and animal feed, 452,000 tonnes of wood per year. About 25% of all container traffic between
8536-417: The world. American author Herman Melville described Liverpool Docks as being comparable to the pyramids in the vast scale of their construction. The docks were built out into the river bed. The Mersey Docks and Harbour Board used granite from a quarry it owned in Scotland for construction of the quays. Birkenhead grew quickly in the 19th century following the introduction of steamships , the earliest being
8633-617: Was 4.2% for the region. Inside the region the highest was Liverpool with 6.8%, followed by Knowsley on 6.3%, Halton with 5.5% and Rochdale with 5.1%. The lowest claimant count is in Eden (Cumbria) and Ribble Valley (Lancashire) each with 1.3%, followed by South Lakeland with 1.4%. In the 2019 general election , the Conservatives gained ten seats, from the Labour Party, with no other seats changing hands. Labour held 42 of their 52 seats, albeit many with slimmed down majorities. They remain
8730-534: Was a Briton from the Kingdom of Strathclyde who fought other Britons, rather than Anglo-Saxons . Other scholars have questioned his findings, which they consider are based on coincidental resemblances between place-names. Nicholas Higham comments that it is difficult to justify identifying Arthur as the leader in northern battles listed in the Historia Brittonum while rejecting the implication in
8827-553: Was almost certainly known by a Celtic name - recorded by Ptolemy as "Seteia" (as the Southern border of the Brittonic " Setantii " tribe). "Seteia" and "Setantii" both lack clear Celtic roots, leading some to suggest that this was likely a corruption of the actual name. Some, including David Parsons, have suggested the original forms "Segeia" and "Segantii" - based on the root "sego" meaning "strong". Andrew Breeze instead suggests
8924-500: Was an annual event held on the river Mersey during a weekend in May or June between 1981 and 2019 to celebrate Liverpool's maritime tradition. Originally organised by the Merseyside Development Corporation , the festival was later overseen by Liverpool City Council and Culture Liverpool. The last event was planned to take place between the 8 and 10 May 2020, but was cancelled due to COVID . As of 2024,
9021-447: Was closed to undergo maintenance for approximately 6–12 months, but will remain open to pedestrians and cyclists. The new bridge uses tolls and the existing Silver Jubilee Bridge will also be tolled. Water quality in the Mersey was severely affected by industrialisation, and in 1985, the Mersey Basin Campaign was established to improve water quality and encourage waterside regeneration. In 2002, oxygen levels that could support fish along
9118-400: Was introduced in medieval times by monks from Birkenhead Priory . They transported travellers or accommodated them at the priory in bad weather. Countless people died on the River Mersey until the advent of safe passage via bridges and tunnels. Many of these deaths were of people who earned their living on the river, either as mariners or dock workers. The majority of mariners to die worked on
9215-718: Was regarded as a separate region. In 1998, Merseyside was merged into the North West region. This action was controversial in some quarters. Regional Government Offices were abolished in April 2011 by the Coalition Government. Sir Ernest Marsden (of Blackburn) and Hans Geiger conducted the Geiger–Marsden experiment at the University of Manchester in 1909, where the Geiger counter was invented, which demonstrated
9312-454: Was repeated with a 77% majority for Dan Carden (Labour), when an astonishing 85.7% of the electorate voted for him (the Conservatives came second with 8.6%). In the by-election of 2012 , Manchester Central has the record for the lowest turnout in the UK—18%. Gwyneth Dunwoody , for Crewe and Nantwich, was the longest serving female MP until her death in 2008. In the final European Elections in
9409-610: Was the Mersey River Festival's official artist from the late 1990s until the last event in 2019. The painter attended annually to capture on paper the boats, attractions, visitors, and events as they unfolded. Proposals continue for the construction of the Mersey Barrage , a tidal scheme to generate electricity and create another crossing of the river. Very high spring tides can generate a tidal bore from Hale as far upstream as Warrington. On 7 December 2022,
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