About Wallasey in Merseyside

, England

Wallasey is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England. Historically part of Cheshire, it is located on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool. At the 2011 census, Wallasey had a population of 60,284.

Wallasey originated as a small fishing village known as Wallasea. The name is thought to derive from the Old English wealh, meaning foreigner or stranger, and ey, an island.

The area was settled by the Angles in the 5th or 6th centuries AD. By the 10th century, the settlement had grown to become a small hamlet within the hundred of West Derby, and by the 12th century had developed into a village.

The area was part of the West Derby Hundred, an administrative division of the historic county of Lancashire. In 1257 it was granted a charter by Henry III creating it as a free borough.

In 1324, the ferry across the River Mersey was first mentioned in records. In 1829 Liverpool Corporation purchased land at Egremont for use as a dockyard and shipbuilding facility; this led to significant growth in the area and by 1846 Wallasey had become a parish.

In 1855, Wallasey Village merged with Liscard and Poulton to become the Municipal Borough of Wallasey. The municipal borough was renamed Wallasey Town in 1934.

During World War II, the town was heavily bombed due to its strategic position on the River Mersey and its proximity to Liverpool.

In 1966, the Municipal Borough of Wallasey was abolished and merged with that of Birkenhead and Bebington to form the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral within the new county of Merseyside.

Wallasey is represented by two Members of Parliament in the House of Commons. The town has a town council and is twinned with Le Havre in France.