View source for Sefton, Merseyside

{{About|the village|the local government district|Metropolitan Borough of Sefton|other uses|Sefton (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox UK place
| country                  = England
| type                     = Village
| coordinates              = {{coord|53.50403|-2.97143|display=inline,title}}
| official_name            = Sefton
| label_position           = left
| population               = 855
| population_ref           = ([[United Kingdom Census 2011|2011 Census]])
| metropolitan_borough     = [[Metropolitan Borough of Sefton|Sefton]]
| civil_parish             = Sefton
| region                   = North West England
| metropolitan_county      = [[Merseyside]]
| constituency_westminster = [[Sefton Central (UK Parliament constituency)|Sefton Central]]
| post_town                = LIVERPOOL
| postcode_district        = L29
| postcode_area            = L
| dial_code                = 0151
| os_grid_reference        = SD356012
| static_image_name        = Sefton Church.jpg
| static_image_caption     = Sefton Parish Church, dedicated to St Helen
| london_distance          = 
}}
'''Sefton''' is a village and [[civil parishes in England|civil parish]] in the [[Metropolitan Borough of Sefton]] in [[Merseyside]], [[England]]. Located to the south west of [[Maghull]] and to the north east of [[Great Crosby]], it is on the [[flood plain]] of the [[River Alt]]. The village is bisected by the [[B5422 road|B5422]], Brickwall Lane, which cuts also through the site of the moat of Sefton Old Hall, a recognised National Monument. At the [[United Kingdom Census 2001|2001 Census]] the population was recorded as 772,<ref name=2001census>{{citation|url=http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=3&b=790615&c=sefton&d=16&e=15&g=360948&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1234882399064&enc=1&dsFamilyId=779 |title=2001 Census: Sefton (civil parish)|publisher=Office for National Statistics|accessdate=17 February 2009}}</ref> increasing to 855 at the 2011 Census.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11128302&c=Sefton&d=16&e=62&g=6351866&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1433327492617&enc=1|title=Parish population 2011|accessdate=3 June 2015}}</ref>

[[Historic counties of England|Historically]] a part of [[Lancashire]], the name Sefton is thought to be derived from the [[Old Norse]] ''sef'', meaning "sedge" or "rushes" and ''tún'' meaning "farmstead".<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.formbycivicsociety.org.uk/learning/full_article.asp?storyid=14|title=Vikings In Lancashire|work=Stephen Harding|date=4 March 2004|accessdate=16 November 2007|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930204413/http://www.formbycivicsociety.org.uk/learning/full_article.asp?storyid=14|archivedate=30 September 2011}}</ref> In the past ''Sephton'' was an alternative spelling.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/place_page.jsp?p_id=10889|title=Sefton, Lancashire|publisher=Gazetteer of the British Isles / A Vision of Britain Through Time|accessdate=21 October 2005}}</ref>

The Parish [[St Helen's Church (Sefton)|Church of St Helen]] (Church of England) – the only Grade I listed building in the Borough – was first built around 1170 as the private chapel of the [[Earl of Sefton|Molyneux]] family.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.merseyworld.com/seftonchurch/history.htm|title=Sefton St Helen's Church|publisher=merseyworld.com|accessdate=16 November 2007}}</ref>

This village is home to Sefton Parish Church, Saint Helen's Well, a pre-Reformation shrine, a plague pot, the Grade II listed "Punch Bowl Inn" and the site of Sefton Mill dating back to the Middle Ages. Local folklore has it that Sefton Hall, a Royalist stronghold, was the scene of a skirmish in the [[English Civil War]]. The Georgian Rectory to nearby Sefton Parish Church was demolished in the 1970s, however the gate piers still stand at the entrance to Glebe End. The curate's house, Lunt House, was situated in the nearby hamlet of [[Lunt]].

==Governance==
From 1997 until 2010 the village and [[civil parishes in England|civil parish]] of Sefton was part of the [[Knowsley North and Sefton East (UK Parliament constituency)|Knowsley North and Sefton East]] constituency represented by [[George Howarth]], a [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] [[Member of Parliament|MP]]. As a result of boundary revisions for the [[2010 United Kingdom general election|2010 general election]] the village now forms part of the new [[Sefton Central (UK Parliament constituency)|Sefton Central]] constituency which is represented by the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] [[Member of Parliament|MP]] [[Bill Esterson]].

For elections to [[Sefton Council]] the village and [[civil parishes in England|civil parish]] of Sefton is within the Park electoral ward and is represented by three [[councillors]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://modgov.sefton.gov.uk/moderngov/mgMemberIndex.aspx?FN=WARD&VW=LIST&PIC=0 |title=Your Councillors by Ward | publisher=Sefton Council |accessdate=2010-10-15}}</ref>

==In Art and Literature==
{{wikisource|Letitia Elizabeth Landon (L. E. L.) in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1834/Sefton Church|Sefton Church. A view of the interior with a short sketch by L. E. L.}}
In Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1834, an engraving of a picture by [[Thomas Allom]] of the interior of the church, with a bridal couple, is accompanied by a short sketch by [[Letitia Elizabeth Landon]] in which the arrival of the groom is patiently awaited until it is learnt that he has taken fright and absconded, whereupon a young lieutenant bravely steps in and takes his place.<ref> {{cite book|last =Landon|first=Letitia Elizabeth|title=Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1834|url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=19BbAAAAQAAJ&pg=GBS.PT8|section=picture|year=1833|publisher=Fisher, Son & Co.}}{{cite book|last =Landon|first=Letitia Elizabeth|title=Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1834|url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=19BbAAAAQAAJ&pg=GBS.PT10|page=35|section=story|year=1833|publisher=Fisher, Son & Co.}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Earl of Sefton]]
*[[Listed buildings in Sefton, Merseyside]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Sefton Village, Merseyside}}
*[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=41291 British History Online - Sefton]

{{Metropolitan Borough of Sefton}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Towns and villages in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in Merseyside]]