What is "birkenhead"

Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. Historically in Cheshire, it is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool. The Birkenhead Urban Area defined as the contiguous built-up area along the eastern side of the Wirral had a total population of 325,264 in the 2011 Census. In the 2011 census, the Parliamentary constituency of Birkenhead had a population of 88,818. The Birkenhead and Tranmere electoral ward, covering a much smaller area, had a population of 15,879.

The recorded history of Birkenhead began with the establishment of Birkenhead Priory and the Mersey Ferry in the 12th century. During the 19th century Birkenhead expanded greatly, becoming a town as a consequence of the Industrial Revolution, with Birkenhead Park and Hamilton Square being examples of the era. Around the same time, Birkenhead gained the first street tramway in Britain. Later, the Mersey Railway connected Birkenhead and Liverpool, with the world's first tunnel beneath a tidal estuary. Birkenhead is perhaps best known for the shipbuilding of Cammell Laird, and for the town's seaport.

In the second half of the 20th century, the town suffered a significant period of decline, with containerisation causing a reduction in port activity. During the first half of the 21st century, the Wirral Waters development is planned to regenerate much of the dockland.

Birkenhead is a town on the Wirral Peninsula, in north west England.

• Birkenhead (UK Parliament constituency), related constituency

Birkenhead may also refer to:

In places:

• Birkenhead, New Zealand, a suburb in North Shore, Auckland, New Zealand
  • Birkenhead (New Zealand electorate), related constituency
• Birkenhead, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide
• Birkenhead Peak, British Columbia, Canada, and these nearby places:
  • Birkenhead River
  • Birkenhead Lake Provincial Park, northwest of Birkenhead Peak and Gates Lake
• Birkenhead Rock, near Gansbaai, Western Cape, South Africa, on which the HMS Birkenhead (1845) was wrecked
• Birkenhead, Western Cape, a populated place near Gansbaai in South Africa
• Birkenhead Street, London, a street in London
• Birkenhead Point, New South Wales, a point in Sydney, Australia

In ships:

• HMS Birkenhead (1845), an iron-hulled troopship launched in 1845 and notably wrecked in 1852 with the loss of 450 lives
• HMS Birkenhead (1915), a Town-class light cruiser launched in 1915, in action at the Battle of Jutland, and sold in 1921

In people:

• F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead, Lord Chancellor 1919–22, etc.
• Earl of Birkenhead, other earls of Birkenhead

In other uses:

• The Birkenhead drill, the marine evacuation protocol originated during the sinking of the HMS Birkenhead (1845)

Birkenhead is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1979 by Frank Field of the Labour Party.

Birkenhead was a New Zealand Parliamentary electorate, from 1969 to 1996.