Heysham

infobox UK place
country = England
latitude= 54.046
longitude= -2.894
official_name= Heysham
population =
shire_district= City of Lancaster
shire_county = Lancashire
region= North West England
constituency_westminster= Morecambe and Lunesdale
post_town= MORECAMBE
postcode_district = LA3
postcode_area= LA
dial_code= 01524
os_grid_reference= SD415615

Heysham (Audio|En-uk-Heysham.ogg|pronunciation; IPA|/ˈhiːʃəm/ "hee-sham") is a large coastal village near Lancaster in the county of Lancashire, England. Overlooking Morecambe Bay, it is a ferry port with services to the Isle of Man and Ireland. Heysham is the site of two nuclear power stations which are visible landmarks from hills in the surrounding area.

Administratively, Heysham is part of the City of Lancaster district, forming three wards: Heysham Central (with a population of 4,397) [http://www.lancaster.gov.uk/Documents/Planning/Census%20Ward%20Factsheets/Heysham%20Central.pdf] , Heysham North (5,477) [http://www.lancaster.gov.uk/Documents/Planning/Census%20Ward%20Factsheets/Heysham%20North.pdf] and Heysham South (6,262) [http://www.lancaster.gov.uk/Documents/Planning/Census%20Ward%20Factsheets/Heysham%20South.pdf] ; together they have a population of 16,136 (2001 census), although these extend into areas beyond the village of Heysham itself, which has a population of approximately 6,500.

Of historical interest are the stone graves, found in the ruins of an ancient chapel, known as St. Patrick's Chapel, close to St. Peter's Church. They are thought to date from the 11th century, and are hewn from solid rock. Local legend has it that St. Patrick himself landed on the site after crossing from Ireland, and established the chapel as a base of worship. However, it has been established that the chapel was built around 300 years after Patrick's death. The stone graves at Heysham appear on the cover of the Black Sabbath CD/DVD/etc 'The Best of Black Sabbath'.The grounds of St. Peter's Church contain many Saxon and Viking remains, and the church itself contains a hogback stone dating from the Viking times. The purpose of these strange stone sculptures is the subject of much debate; all that is known for certain is that they are found almost exclusively in the north of England, and variously in Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and a few areas of southern England with Viking links.

Nearby, Lancaster Museum holds artifacts from the area such as stone axe and hammer heads (some up to convert|4|kg|lb|0 in mass) dating back to the New Stone Age. Many of these artifacts and their original location suggest that this was an ancient burial ground, or barrow, the area is still known locally as "The Barrows". The Barrows are the only sea-cliffs in Lancashire and contain, in a relatively small area, woodland, open-grassland, sandy beaches, and deep rock pools.

Heysham Harbour was built in 1900, and Heysham Port provides a ferry service to the Isle of Man, as well as freight to Ireland and services for the eastern Irish Sea and Morecambe Bay gas fields. A Seacat service to Belfast started in 1999. Some ferry services connect with train services from Heysham Port railway station to Lancaster via the Morecambe Branch Line.

Tide tables can be obtained at Bay Horse Lancaster weather site [http://www.bayhorse-lancaster.co.uk] [www.bayhorse-lancaster.co.uk]

The artist J. M. W. Turner was in Heysham in the 1790s when travelling throughout Britain. His paintings show an early Heysham village with the spectacular lakeland backdrop.

Heysham won the Gold Small Village award in both 2005 and 2007 Britain in Bloom.

External links

* [http://www.lancslinks.org.uk/linkscontent/tourism/lancaster/heysham.asp Heysham tourist information]
* [http://www.htnw.co.uk/WhyIsMain.html Turner painting of Heysham]