Heysham ( ) is a coastal village in the
Lancaster district of
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
, England, overlooking
Morecambe Bay
Morecambe Bay is an estuary in north-west England, just to the south of the Lake District National Park. It is the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom, covering a total area of . In 1974, the second largest ga ...
. It is a
ferry port, with services to the
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...
and Ireland, and the site of two
nuclear power stations.
History
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
Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...
CD, ''
The Best of Black Sabbath''.
The grounds of St Peter's Church contain many
Saxon
The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...
and
Viking
Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...
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
Northern England, or the North of England, refers to the northern part of England and mainly corresponds to the Historic counties of England, historic counties of Cheshire, Cumberland, County Durham, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmo ...
and also in
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
,
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
,
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
and a few areas of
Southern England
Southern England, also known as the South of England or the South, is a sub-national part of England. Officially, it is made up of the southern, south-western and part of the eastern parts of England, consisting of the statistical regions of ...
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
Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...
,
Norðri, Suðri, Austri and Vestri, although this is debated. Heysham also has one of only three sites in Britain and Ireland that contain a pre-Roman
labyrinth
In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth () is an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the h ...
carving; the others are at Tintagel, Cornwall and Hollywood, Co. Wicklow, Ireland.
Lancaster Museum holds artefacts from the area such as stone axe and hammer heads, some weighing up to , 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
A longhouse or long house is a type of long, proportionately narrow, single-room building for communal dwelling. It has been built in various parts of the world including Asia, Europe, and North America.
Many were built from lumber, timber and ...
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.
Demography and governance
Administratively, Heysham is part of the
City of Lancaster district and has three wards: Heysham Central (with a population of 4,397 in 2001, increasing to 4,478 at the 2011 Census), Heysham North (5,477 in 2001, decreasing to 5,274 at the 2011 Census) and Heysham South (6,262 in 2001, increasing to 7,264 at the 2011 Census). 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.
From 1899 to 1928, Heysham was administered by Heysham Urban District Council, from 1928 to 1974 by
Morecambe and Heysham Municipal Borough Council, and since 1974 by
Lancaster City Council.
Community
Heysham is the terminus of the
Stanlow–Heysham oil
pipeline
A pipeline is a system of Pipe (fluid conveyance), pipes for long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas, typically to a market area for consumption. The latest data from 2014 gives a total of slightly less than of pipeline in 120 countries ...
at the site of the former
Heysham Refinery, and of a gas pipeline that originates in the
Morecambe gas fields in the
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...
.
Industry and transport
Heysham Port started operation in 1904. There is a ferry service to the
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...
, as well as freight to Ireland and services for the eastern
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...
and Morecambe Bay
gas fields. A
SeaCat service to
Belfast
Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
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
The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 motorway, M1 and the western end of t ...
.
Nature and wildlife
The
Lancashire Wildlife Trust manages a nature reserve near to the nuclear power stations.
Whitethroats breed on the scrubland. Nearby, on the sea shore is a patch of rock known as Red Nab where
wader
245px, A flock of Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots
Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflats in order to foraging, ...
s and
gull
Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the subfamily Larinae. They are most closely related to terns and skimmers, distantly related to auks, and even more distantly related to waders. Until the 21st century, most gulls were placed ...
s 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.
Notable people
The artist
J. M. W. Turner visited Heysham in the 1790s when travelling throughout Britain. On a visit in August 1816,
[''In Turner's Footsteps, through the hills and dales of Northern England'': David Hill : John Murray 1984] he made sketches which formed the basis of his subsequent watercolour ''Heysham and Cumberland Mountains'' (
British Museum
The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
); it depicts the village with the Lakeland backdrop across Morecambe Bay.
Professional footballer
David Perkins was born in Heysham.
Gallery
File:Anglo-Saxon_Stone,_Heysham.jpg, Anglo-Saxon carved stone cross base
File:St_Patrick's_Chapel,_Heysham.jpg, St Patrick's Chapel
File:Heysham Harbour, from entrance.jpg, Heysham Harbour
File:Heysham NPP cropped.jpg, Heysham nuclear power station
File:Heysham Nature Reserve.jpg, Sunset across 'The Barrows' on Heysham Nature Reserve
File:HeyshamHogbackFaces.jpg, Faces of the hogback stone
See also
*
Listed buildings in Heysham
References
External links
{{Authority control
Villages in Lancashire
Port cities and towns of the Irish Sea
Populated coastal places in Lancashire
Unparished areas in Lancashire
Former civil parishes in Lancashire
Morecambe Bay
Geography of the City of Lancaster