Town in Merseyside, England
Southport
The sea can vanish from view, the pier runs over a kilometre across the sand, and local legend says a Southport street inspired Paris's grand boulevards.
Key information
- County
- Merseyside
- Nation
- England
- Population
- about 90,000 (2011 Census)
- Known for
- Lord Street, its very long pier, Royal Birkdale golf and the Flower Show
- What locals are called
- Sandgrounders
- Famous people
- Marc Almond; visitors include Napoleon III, Arnold Palmer and Jordan Spieth
- Football clubs
- Southport FC (the Sandgrounders), who play at Haig Avenue
About Southport
The town that began with one innkeeper's bathing hut
Southport owes its existence to a man called William Sutton. In 1792 the Churchtown innkeeper built a wooden bathing house on the empty dunes and named his hotel the South Port. Visitors came for the sea air, and the name stuck to the whole town. The arrival of the railway from Liverpool in 1848 turned a scatter of lodging houses into a proper resort. Merchants and mill owners from Lancashire and Merseyside built villas, and the town grew with Victorian confidence: a winter garden, a grand pier, wide streets and plenty of hotels. It always had a slightly different feel from its rowdier neighbour Blackpool. Southport sold itself on elegance, fresh air and good manners.
Lord Street: the boulevard that may have inspired Paris
Lord Street is the town's showpiece, a wide, tree-lined Victorian boulevard with elegant glass canopies stretching over the pavements. Shoppers have been strolling under them for well over a century. Local legend has an exotic claim attached. The future Napoleon III is said to have stayed in Southport during his years in exile, and the story goes that he later remembered Lord Street when Paris was rebuilt with its great boulevards. It's a story Southport tells with relish. The street also leads to the Botanic Gardens at Churchtown, the Atkinson arts centre and a town centre that is more genteel than most seaside resorts.
A pier so long the sea sometimes goes missing
Southport Pier opened in 1860 and stretches 1,108 metres out over the sands, making it the second longest pier in the UK after Southend. A small land train once carried visitors along it, though the pier closed to the public in December 2022. The length makes sense once you see the beach. At low tide the sea retreats a very long way, leaving a vast flat expanse of sand and a pier that seems to cross dry land. Southport's seafront is famous for it. Behind the beach, the Sefton coast dunes shelter rare wildlife, including the natterjack toad, which is far from a typical seaside neighbour.
Golf's great stage and a famous act of sportsmanship
Royal Birkdale is one of the great links courses of world golf. It had hosted the Open Championship ten times by 2017, with winners including Arnold Palmer in 1961, Lee Trevino in 1971, Tom Watson in 1983 and Jordan Spieth in 2017. It was also the setting for one of golf's best-loved moments. At the 1969 Ryder Cup, Jack Nicklaus conceded a short putt to Tony Jacklin on the final green, and the match ended in a tie at 16 to 16. On the football side, Southport FC are the Sandgrounders, and the nickname is used for the people of the town too. The club spent decades in the Football League until 1978, when they were voted out and Wigan Athletic took their place. Wigan went on to reach the Premier League.
Flowers, shrimps and a very big air show
Since 1924 the Southport Flower Show has filled Victoria Park each August with gardens, giant vegetables and floral displays. It is billed as the biggest independent flower show in the country. The town also holds a ticketed air show, when jets and display teams roar over the beach and the sea. For food, the local classic is the Southport potted shrimp, small brown shrimps sealed under spiced butter and eaten on toast. Another seaside staple is the traditional ice cream cone, usually enjoyed on Lord Street or along the front.
The lifeboat disaster that changed British fundraising
In December 1886 a German ship, the Mexico, was wrecked off the coast in a fierce gale. Lifeboats from Southport and St Annes went out to help, and 27 lifeboatmen died in one of the worst disasters in RNLI history. The tragedy shocked the country. A national fund was set up for the bereaved families, and it inspired Lifeboat Saturday, the street collections that raised money for the service for generations. Southport has produced its share of famous names too, from pop singer Marc Almond, born in the town, to the golfers who have won on its links.
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