Bootle
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Template:GBdot Bootle is a town in Merseyside, North West England. It forms part of the Liverpool urban area, and is the administrative headquarters for the metropolitan borough of Sefton. Its postcode is L20.
The old civic centre of the town contains impressive Victorian buildings such as the Town Hall and Municipal Baths. East of this is the main area of large office blocks: west is the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.
To the north is the New Strand Shopping Centre, which grew to notoriety after the abduction and gruelling murder of two-year-old James Bulger 1993, a case that sparked a lot of discussion about media violence and the prosecution of minors.
The rest of the town is mainly residential, with housing built mainly in the 1930s onwards. There are Victorian terraces formerly occupied by dock workers and some remaining large villas which housed well-to-do commuters to Liverpool.
There are two railway stations served by frequent electric services from Liverpool to Southport. These are Oriel Road, near the Victorian civic centre, and New Strand, serving the Shopping Centre.
The Bus Station is underneath the New Strand Shopping Centre. The town has a sports centre, pubs and a couple of restaurants.
History
It was originally a small seaside resort and residential area for wealthy Liverpool merchants. However when the docks were extended northwards into Bootle the town grew fast and became dominated by the docks and ancilliary industries. It became a county borough in the 19th century on attaining a population of 75,000.
The docks made Bootle a target for German bombers in World War II and approx. 90% of the houses in the town were damaged.
When the docks declined in importance in the 1960s and 1970s Bootle suffered high unemployment and a declining population. The establishment of large office blocks housing government departments and the National Girobank provided employment, but largely for middle class people from outside the town.
In 1974, when county boroughs were abolished, Bootle combined with towns further up the coast to form the metropolitan borough of Sefton, rather than be annexed by Liverpool, as was also suggested.pl:Bootle