Bootle

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Bootle
Town
Bootle Town Hall (2020)
Bootle Location within Merseyside
Population	51,394 (2011)[1]
OS grid reference	SJ340944
• London	179.78 mi (289.33 km) SE
Civil parish	Bracebridge Heath
Metropolitan borough	Sefton
District	Sefton
Unitary authority	Sefton
Shire county	Lancashire
Metropolitan county	Merseyside
Ceremonial county	Merseyside
Region	North West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BOOTLE
Postcode district	L20, L30
Dialling code	0151
Police	Merseyside
Fire	Merseyside
Ambulance	North West
UK Parliament	Bootle
Website	Sefton Council
List of places UK England Merseyside 53°26′45″N 2°59′21″W / 53.4457°N 2.9891°W / 53.4457; -2.9891

Bootle (pronounced /ˈbuːtəl/) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 51,394 in 2011;^[1] the wider Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449.

Historically part of Lancashire, Bootle's proximity to the Irish Sea and the industrial city of Liverpool to the south saw it grow rapidly in the 1800s, first as a dormitory town for wealthy merchants, and then as a centre of commerce and industry in its own right following the arrival of the railway and the expansion of the docks and shipping industries. The subsequent population increase was fuelled heavily by Irish migration.

The town was heavily damaged in World War II with air raids against the port and other industrial targets. Post-war economic success in the 1950s and 1960s gave way to a downturn, precipitated by a reduction in the significance of Liverpool Docks internationally, and changing levels of industrialisation, coupled with the development of modern suburbs and the expansion of industries into the Merseyside hinterlands. By the 1980s, there had been a sharp spike in unemployment and population decline. Large-scale renewal projects have begun to help regenerate the local economy.