Pensby
Pensby is a large village on the Wirral Peninsula in Merseyside, England. It is located to the north of the town of Heswall and approximately to the south west of Thingwall. Historically part of Cheshire, the area is part of the Pensby and Thingwall Ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral and the parliamentary constituency of Wirral West.
At the 2001 census the village of Pensby had 6,900 inhabitants. The 2011 census measured the population of the Pensby and Thingwall ward at 13,007.
History
The name Pensby comes from Old Norse, meaning a village or settlement at a hill called "Penn".The "by" suffix, included in neighbouring place names such as Frankby, Greasby, and Irby, is Viking in origin.
Pensby was originally a village in Woodchurch Parish, Wirral Hundred. The population was 22 in 1801, 48 in 1901 and 2,996 in 1951.
Lower Pensby was previously known as Newtown. This was due to the building of new houses around the turn of the twentieth century at the crossroads of Pensby Road and Gills Lane.
On 1 April 1974, local government reorganisation in England and Wales resulted in most of Wirral, including Pensby, transfer from the county of Cheshire to Merseyside.
Governance
The village is part of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in the metropolitan county of Merseyside. The village is part of the parliamentary constituency of Wirral West. The current Member of Parliament is Margaret Greenwood, a Labour representative.The area is also part of a local government ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, this being Pensby and Thingwall Ward. Pensby is represented on Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council by one councillor, Kate Cannon who is a Labour councillor.
The most recent local elections took place on 2 May 2019.
Community
Schools
Pensby's primary schools are Ladymount RC Primary, and Pensby Primary School. The local secondary school is Pensby High School.Churches
St. Michael and All Angels Church is a Church of England building on Gills Lane. The Emmanuel Holiness Church is an independent Evangelical ministry which is on Heswall Mount. The Holy Family Catholic Church is on Pensby Road.Leisure
Pensby has two community centres, the Hope Centre, adjoining Ridgewood Park on Fishers Lane, and the Kylemore Drive Community Centre. There is also an adult day centre on Somerset Road. Pensby Library is on Pensby Road. The 3rd Heswall Scout group is also based in Pensby.Public Houses
The Pensby Hotel was the single pub in the village, but after a £500,000 cannabis bust by police, was boarded up and left empty after October 2013. There was a campaign for the building to be listed as a community asset, meaning that the community would have been given six months to prepare a bid for it, which may or may not have been accepted by the owner, but community asset status was rejected by Wirral Council in September 2015. Planning permission was subsequently granted for the demolition of the building and construction of the new care home, and demolition began in October 2016.Parks and Commons
Pensby Wood and Ridgewood Park are adjacent to Fishers Lane. Arrowe Park is approximately half a mile north of Pensby.Sport
The famous Everton FC footballer Dixie Dean played for Pensby Institute in his early days, on the fields at the side of Gills Lane. He was sold to Tranmere Rovers for the fee of a new kit for the team.Pensby recreation centre and bowling club is on Pensby Road.
Pensby Football Club has been set up as an adult male team and have applied to join the West Cheshire League. The club will be playing at Pensby High School with home colours of Yellow Shirts, black shorts and yellow socks. The club have agreed a sponsorship deal with the Exchange Bar in Heswall.
Transport
Road
Pensby is on the B5138 Pensby Road, which connects to the A540 and the A551. Junction 3 of the M53 motorway is within two miles of the village.Bus
Services operating in the Pensby area, as of January 2015:| Number | Route | Operator | Days of Operation |
| 175 | Heswall-Irby | Arriva North West | Monday-Saturday |
| 471 | Heswall-Liverpool via Irby | Arriva North West/Stagecoach | Monday-Sunday |
| 472 | Barnston/Heswall-Liverpool | Arriva North West/Stagecoach | Monday-Sunday |