Toponymy Etymologically, Bootle derives from the
Anglo Saxon Bold or
Botle meaning a dwelling. It was recorded as
Boltelai in the
Domesday Book in 1086. By 1212 the spelling had been recorded as
Botle. The spellings
Botull,
Bothull and
Bothell are recorded in the 14th century. In the 18th century, it was known as Bootle cum Linacre.
Resort Bootle was originally a small
hamlet built near the 'sand hills' or
dunes of the river
estuary. In the early 19th century, it began to develop as a bathing
resort, attracting wealthy people from Liverpool. Some remaining large villas which housed well-to-do
commuters to Liverpool are located in the area known locally as 'Bootle Village', centred around the junction of Merton Road and Litherland Road.
Development The
Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway arrived in the 1840s and Bootle experienced rapid growth. By the end of the 19th century
the docks had been constructed along the whole of the river front as far as Seaforth Sands to the north. The town became heavily industrialised. Fearful of annexation by Liverpool, Bootle was incorporated as a
municipal borough in 1868 under the
Municipal Corporations Act 1835, and in 1889 was granted the status of a
county borough by the
Local Government Act 1888, becoming independent from the
administrative county of
Lancashire. During this time period it was sometimes formally known as
Bootle-cum-Linacre.
Orrell was added to the borough in 1905. There are still large areas of
Victorian terraced houses in Bootle, formerly occupied by dock workers. These are built in distinctive pressed red brick.
Bootle Town Hall and other municipal buildings were erected in the last quarter of the 19th century. The population of the town swelled during this period, boosted in large part by Irish immigration and the attraction of plentiful work on the docks. The wealth to pay for the splendour of the town hall and the gentrified 'Bootle Village' area was generated by these docks. The skilled workers lived in terraced houses in the east of the town, while the casual dock labourers lived in cramped, dwellings near the dockside. Stories about three streets in particular, Raleigh Street, Dundas Street and Lyons Street, caused great alarm. Lyons Street, the scene of the 'Teapot Murder', was renamed Beresford Street shortly before the
First World War.
Second World War The docks made Bootle a target for
Nazi German Luftwaffe bombers during the
Liverpool Blitz of the
Second World War, with approximately 90% of the houses in the town damaged. Situated immediately adjoining the city of Liverpool, and the site of numerous docks, Bootle had the distinction of being the most heavily bombed borough in the UK, with 458 civilian deaths from enemy action recorded within the borough. Bootle played an important role in the
Battle of the Atlantic.
Royal Navy's Captain
Frederic John Walker, the famous
U-boat hunter, would rest in the Mayor's Parlour of Bootle Town Hall and his ships,
HMS Stork and
HMS Starling, sailed out of
Gladstone Dock Bootle. Memorabilia associated with Walker including the ships's bell from HMS
Starling which was presented to Bootle County Borough Council on 21 October 1964 by Admiral Sir
Nigel Henderson Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth. can be viewed in
Bootle Town Hall.
Post-war After the Second World War large
council housing estates were built inland from the town centre, including the area of
Netherton, which was built on
new town principles. The
Liverpool Overhead Railway and
Liverpool Corporation Tramways closure in the 1950s reduced Bootle's connection to Liverpool. Bootle did share in the postwar boom. The centre of the town was redeveloped and the 'Bootle New Strand' shopping centre was opened in 1968. At the same time, new offices were built in the town centre. The town lost its access to the beach when neighbouring Seaforth Sands was redeveloped in the early 1970s, but the
Seaforth Container Port brought new jobs into the area. The local authority, and other 'social' landlords, saw to it that new housing was built and older stock renovated. Bootle did not go down the route of massive housing clearance, and many local communities remained intact. The borough celebrated its centenary in 1968 and civic pride was much in evidence.
Decline The docks declined in importance in the 1960s and 1970s, and Bootle suffered high unemployment and a declining population. The establishment of large office blocks housing government departments and the
National Girobank provided employment, filled largely by middle-class people from outside the Bootle/Liverpool area. In the early 1970s Bootle was absorbed into the new local authority of Sefton under local government reorganisation.
Regeneration Asda heavily invested in Bootle by building a new eco-friendly superstore on Strand Road in 2008. Among refurbishment and rebuilding projects in the 2010s, the
HSE buildings and the new-look Stanley Road have been created, Sefton Council submitted a bid to the Government's Levelling UP Fund in July for £20 million to underpin a regeneration scheme to transform Bootle town centre. The outcome of the fund is expected to be announced in 2023. In March 2023, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced, as part of the Spring Budget, a £58 million fund for "Capital Levelling Up", of which £20 million has been allocated to the first phase of repurposing the Strand shopping centre and wider transformation of Bootle Town Centre. In November 2016,
Liverpool2 was opened, expanding Seaforth Docks with river berths that can accommodate large container ships.
Unemployment The economic recovery on
Merseyside since the 1980s has meant that Bootle is ranked as only the tenth worst area for unemployment in Britain, and all other parts of the region have lower unemployment—a stark contrast to the 1970s and 1980s when areas of Merseyside dominated the list of Britain's least economically active areas. As of 2009, in the depth of a
recession, unemployment stood at 12%. In 2022, it was reduced to less than 4%, similar to the national average. ==Geography and administration==