Wallasey | |
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Town | |
Wallasey Town Hall |
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Wallasey shown within Merseyside | |
Population | 60,284 (2011 Census) |
OS grid reference | SJ293923 |
• London | 181 mi (291 km) SE |
Metropolitan borough | |
Metropolitan county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | WALLASEY |
Postcode district | CH44, CH45 |
Dialling code | 0151 |
ISO 3166 code | GB-WRL |
Police | Merseyside |
Fire | Merseyside |
Ambulance | North West |
EU Parliament | North West England |
UK Parliament | |
Wallasey (/ˈwɒləsi/) is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England, on the mouth of the River Mersey, at the northeastern corner of the Wirral Peninsula. According to the 2001 Census, the town had a total resident population of 58,710. At the 2011 Census the population of the Wallasey ward, which covers a much smaller area, was counted as being 14,996.
The name of Wallasey originates from the Germanic word Walha, meaning stranger or foreigner, which is also the origin of the name Wales. The suffix “-ey” denotes an island or area of dry land. Originally the higher ground now occupied by Wallasey was separated from the rest of Wirral by the creek known as Wallasey Pool (which later became the docks), the marshy areas of Bidston Moss and Leasowe, and sand dunes along the coast.
Historically in Cheshire, the area was sparsely populated before the 19th century. Horse races organised for the Earls of Derby on the sands at Leasowe in the 16th and 17th centuries are regarded as forerunners of the modern Derby.
Old maps show that the main centre and parish church (St Hilary’s) were located at what is now called Wallasey Village, and there were smaller hamlets at Liscard, Poulton and Seacombe, from where there were occasional ferries across the Mersey. There was also a mill (at Mill Lane), and from the mid-18th century a gunpowder store or magazine at Rock Point, located well away from the built-up areas.