Burscough

Burscough has a number of primary schools:

• Lordsgate Township C of E
• St. John's Church of England
• Burscough Village (formerly Colburne Close Primary)
• Burscough Bridge Methodist
• St. John's Roman Catholic

There is also a secondary school, Burscough Priory Academy (formerly Burscough Priory High School and Burscough Priory Science College) and also a small public library.[12]

Shopping in the town is provided for by a large Tesco supermarket, a Booths, an Aldi and some other smaller shops including a Spar, as well as local florists, barber. Burscough Wharf provides a space for small independent businesses, alongside the artisan market.

Briars Hall country house hotel, just off the A59, was originally an 18th-century country manor house, and is set in 5 acres (2.0 ha) of mature gardens and woodland.[13]

On 12 February 2011, a small retail and leisure development known as Burscough Wharf opened its doors to the public. Situated on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, next to the southern bridge of the town centre, the development consists of approximately thirty units available for retail, leisure or office/studio space. Current businesses operating within the central square of Burscough Wharf consist of an instrumental music school, various independent gift shops, food and drink outlets, including a burger restaurant, gin bar and tea room, and health and beauty salons,[14] and a fortnightly artisan market has been established.[15]

Burscough has three churches: St John the Baptist Church, St John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church and Burscough Methodist Church.

Burscough Bridge was the home of Victor Electrics, a manufacturer of battery electric road vehicles, including bread vans and milk floats. The company was formed by Outram's bakery of Southport, who could not find electric vehicles at a price they were prepared to pay, and so decided to build their own. The first bread van was produced in 1923, and proved so successful that several more were built. By 1927, the company looked at the possibility of allowing another company, who were already involved in electric vehicle production, to take over the enterprise, but they decided to retain control of the facility.[16] The company was based on Victoria Street, just to the north of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal,[17] where there was a bakery shown on maps from 1928,[18] and engineering works on the 1972 map.[19]

Initial models looked like a conventional van, with a bonnet at the front, which housed the batteries,[20] but they made their first forward control model in 1931,[21] and switched completely to this design, which became ubiquitous for milk floats, in 1935.[22] Although they set up another company, Ross Auto Engineering, to manufacture battery electric vehicles in 1949, production of their own models continued at Burscough Bridge. They were taken over by Brook Motors, becoming Brook Victor Electric Vehicles in 1967. Acquired by Hawker Siddeley in 1970, they became Brook Crompton Parkinson Motors in 1973.[23] One Victor milk float still exists. It is a B20 model dating from around 1955, and is currently awaiting restoration at the Transport Museum, Wythall, to the south of Birmingham.[24]

The Windmill Farm Railway is a narrow gauge railway line located at the Windmill Animal Farm. The railway operates over a 1.1-mile (2 km) track at 15 in (381 mm) gauge, using locomotives previously from the Fairbourne Railway, since that line has regauged to a smaller gauge.[25]

Burscough F.C. play at New Victoria Park, having moved from the now demolished Victoria Park in 2020. They won the FA Trophy in 2003 when they defeated conference side Tamworth in the final at Villa Park. In the 2005-06 FA Cup competition they beat league side Gillingham 3–2 at home in the first round. After winning the Northern Premier League in 2007, they were then relegated from the Conference North to the NPL Premier Division in the 2008–09 season. A further relegation followed and the club now play in the NPL Division 1 (North).

Although the allotments in Burscough have been used since the construction of the Richmond Avenue housing estate, the need for a formal society was identified by the Parish Council in order to obtain further land for allotments in Burscough. Following a series of meetings a society was formed and the constitution agreed during a meeting on 23 November 2011.[26]

There is a fishery in the town at Warper's Moss Lane, which has four-man-made lakes stocked with a wide variety of coarse fish including carp to around 20 pounds (9.1 kg). Fishing is available on a day ticket.