Scarisbrick

Scarisbrick - pronounced scazebrick - is the largest parish in Lancashire with 8,000-plus acres of rich agricultural land stretching between Ormskirk and Southport. It is bisected by the busy A570 between the two towns as well as by the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, where boating and fishing are popular.

Agriculture and allied businesses provide most of the employment for Scarisbrick's scattered population, but the parish also has one of the country's largest suppliers of church furnishings.

There is a notably good selection of pubs and restaurants. Holiday caravan sites, livery stables, a rainbow trout fishery and a championship golf course provide further leisure opportunities.

The history of Scarisbrick is a living one, with many of the local families bearing the same names as their ancestors from centuries before. The name of the parish itself, and the family which became directly associated with it, is first mentioned in the reign of Richard I when Simon de Grubhead of Lathom gave Harleton (Hurlston) and Scarisbrick to his brother Gilbert de Scarisbrick who adopted the name of his property.

In the middle of the 19th century, Charles Scarisbrick remodelled Scarisbrick Hall with the help of the famous Victorian architect, Pugin. It was finished in 1867 by his sister Anne who had inherited the estate and enlisted the help of Pugins's son who designed the 100-foot tower that is one of the most distinctive landmarks in the area. As Pugin senior worked on the rebuilding of the Houses of Parliament, it is not surprising that there is some resemblance between Scarisbrick Hall and the buildings at Westminster.