In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Formby like this:
FORMBY, a village, a township, and two chapelries in Walton-on-the-Hill parish, and a sub-district in Ormskirk district, Lancashire. The village stands on the coast, adjacent to the Liverpool and Southport railway, near the river Alt, 7½ miles W of Ormskirk; was formerly a market-town; and has a station with telegraph on the railway, and a post office under Liverpool. ...
-The township includes also the hamlets of Ainsdale and Raven-Meols. Acres, 15, 264; of which 8, 560 are water. Real property, £7, 531. Pop. in 1851, 1, 594; in 1861, 1, 780. Houses, 328. The increase of pop. arose from the erection of houses for persons from Liverpool. The property is divided among a few. Formby Hall is the seat of the Rev. L. Formby. A headland or projection, 3 miles SW by W of the village, bears the name of Form-by Point. Two beacons and a red tower are on the coast, and the floating light put up in 1834, at the Victoria or New Formby channel, on a line with the Crossby or main channel into the Mersey, is 3 miles WSW of the red tower. The Old Formby channel is nearer the shore, and not much used.-The two chapelries are St. Peter and St. Luke; and are jointly conterminate with the township. The livings are p. curacies in the diocese of Chester. Value of St. Peter, £124;* of St. Luke, £50.* Patron of the former, the Rector of Walton; of the latter, Dr. R. Formby. St. Peter's church is a plain brick building, with cupola. St. Luke's is neat and recent. A Roman Catholic chapel, in the Romanesque style, after designs by Mr. Clutton, of brick, with stone dressings, was built in 1864, at a cost of £3, 000. Marsh's schools have £34 from endowment; and other charities £11.—The sub-district contains also Birkdale township and Altcar parish. Acres, 25, 218. Pop., 3, 606. Houses, 647.
Formby through time
Formby is now part of Sefton district. Click here for graphs and data of how Sefton has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Formby itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Formby, in Sefton and Lancashire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/660
Date accessed: 23rd April 2024
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