About

This website is about an extraordinary place.  It is also an extraordinary achievement.  School children from across Bootle have become History Explorers, and made the website from their own primary research to understand their heritage and to share it with you.

Their town, Bootle, began as a small hamlet built near the sand hills of the Mersey river estuary. Early in the 19th century it began to expand as a place for bathing for wealthy residents of Liverpool. When this made Bootle a target for German bombers and it was the most heavily bombed borough in the UK.  After the war the docks declined in importance, the town suffered high unemployment and a declining population.

Children from schools across the borough have explored the histories on their doorstep, of their schools, churches, streets and canals.  They have discovered hidden chapels, forgotten heroes and heroines, and remembered the experiences of children in the past.

This project has been developed by The Atkinson with Strand Partnership Schools Council, as part of the Heritage Lottery funded programme of engagement activities for the new museum – Between Land and Sea, 10,000 Years of Sefton’s Coast.  As interest in Bootle’s past, present and future continues to grow, this website will continue to grow, capturing different voices, experiences and memories, that bring to life the history of an extraordinary place.

We are very grateful to the support of the following people and organisations:

The Atkinson Art Gallery (For supporting the project from the outset)
Fuzzy Duck (website creators)
Dave Atkin (STRAND Partnership Facilitator)
Colin & Angela Douglas (Great Photos with Kids – photography)
Amanda Bennett (MADCOS Administrator)
All of the wonderful children from within our schools