Coastal village in Lancashire, England
Human settlement in England
Heysham
(
HEE
-sh?m
) is a coastal village in the
Lancaster
district of
Lancashire
, England, overlooking
Morecambe Bay
. It is a
ferry port
, with services to the
Isle of Man
and Ireland, and the site of two
nuclear power stations
.
History
[
edit
]
Of historical interest are the stone-hewn graves in the ruins of the ancient
St. Patrick's Chapel
, close to
St Peter's Church
. They are thought to date from the 11th century, and are carved from solid rock. Local legend has it that
St Patrick
landed here after crossing from Ireland and established the chapel. However it has been established that the chapel was built around 300 years after Patrick's death. These stone graves appear on the cover of the
Black Sabbath
CD,
The Best of Black Sabbath
.
The grounds of St Peter's Church contain many
Saxon
and
Viking
remains, and the church itself contains a Viking
hogback stone
. The purpose of these strange stone sculptures is the subject of much debate; they are found mainly in
Northern England
and also in
Scotland
,
Wales
,
Ireland
and a few areas of
Southern England
with Viking links. Four figures on the hogback have been interpreted by scholars as the four dwarfs who hold up the sky in
Nordic mythology
,
Norðri, Suðri, Austri and Vestri
, although this is debated.
[1]
Heysham also has one of only three sites in Britain and Ireland that contain a pre-Roman
labyrinth
carving; the others are at Tintagel, Cornwall and Hollywood, Co. Wicklow, Ireland.
[2]
[3]
Lancaster Museum holds artefacts from the area such as stone axe and hammer heads, some weighing up to 4 kg (9 lb), dating back to the
New Stone Age
. Many of these artefacts and their original location suggest that this was an ancient burial ground, or
barrow
; the area is still known locally as "
The Barrows
". The Barrows are the only sea-cliffs in Lancashire and contain, in a relatively small area, woodland, open grassland, sandy beaches and deep
rock pools
.
Heysham Heritage Centre is housed in the barn of a
Longhouse
in Main Street. The building is owned by the
Heritage Trust for the North West
, who also own the cottage part of the longhouse, 22 Main Street. The Heritage Centre is run by volunteers, most of whom belong to Heysham Heritage Association.
[4]
Demography and governance
[
edit
]
Administratively, Heysham is part of the
City of Lancaster
district and has three wards: Heysham Central (with a population of 4,397 in 2001,
[5]
increasing to 4,478 at the 2011 Census),
[6]
Heysham North (5,477 in 2001,
[7]
decreasing to 5,274 at the 2011 Census)
[8]
and Heysham South (6,262 in 2001,
[9]
increasing to 7,264 at the 2011 Census).
[10]
Together they had a population of 16,136 (2001 census), and 17,016 (2011 census). These include areas beyond the village of Heysham itself, which has a population of about 6,500.
Heysham North ward is within the area covered by Morecambe Town Council.
[11]
[12]
From 1899 to 1928, Heysham was administered by Heysham Urban District Council,
[13]
from 1928 to 1974 by
Morecambe and Heysham Municipal Borough Council
,
[14]
and since 1974 by
Lancaster City Council
.
Heysham is the terminus of the Stanlow-Heysham
oil pipeline
, and of a
gas pipeline
that originates in Morecambe field in the
Irish Sea
.
[15]
Industry and transport
[
edit
]
Heysham Port
started operation in 1904. There is a ferry service to the
Isle of Man
, as well as freight to Ireland and services for the eastern
Irish Sea
and Morecambe Bay
gas fields
. A
SeaCat
service to
Belfast
started in 1999. Some ferries connect with trains from
Heysham Port railway station
to Lancaster via the
Morecambe Branch Line
.
Heysham oil refinery
was located between Heysham and Middleton and operated from 1941 to 1976.
The
Bay Gateway
dual carriageway opened in October 2016, connecting Heysham directly to the
M6 motorway
.
[16]
Nature and wildlife
[
edit
]
The
Lancashire Wildlife Trust
manages a 3-hectare (7.4-acre) nature reserve near to the nuclear power stations.
[17]
Whitethroats
breed on the scrubland. Nearby, on the sea shore is a patch of rock known as Red Nab where
waders
and
gulls
roost and congregate. Two warm water outfalls from the power stations enrich the food supply for migratory seabirds such as
little gulls
and
Mediterranean gulls
. Winter visitors include
kittiwakes
and
purple sandpipers
.
[18]
Notable people
[
edit
]
The artist
J. M. W. Turner
visited Heysham in the 1790s when travelling throughout Britain. On a visit in August 1816,
[19]
he made sketches which formed the basis of his subsequent watercolour
Heysham and Cumberland Mountains
(
British Museum
); it depicts the village with the Lakeland backdrop across Morecambe Bay.
Professional footballer
David Perkins
was born in Heysham.
Gallery
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Heysham
.
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