Administratively, Heysham is part of the City of Lancaster district, with three wards: Heysham Central, increasing to 4,478 at the 2011 Census, Heysham North, decreasing to 5,274 at the 2011 Census and Heysham South ; increasing to 7,264 at the 2011 Census. Together they have a population of 16,136, or 17,016, although these extend into areas beyond the village of Heysham itself, which has a population of approximately 6,500.
History
Of historical interest are the stone graves in the ruins of the ancient 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 landed here after crossing from Ireland and established the chapel. However it has been established that the chapel was built around 300 years after Patrick's death. These stone graves appear on the cover of the Black Sabbath CD, "The Best of Black Sabbath". The grounds of St Peter's Church contain many Saxon and Viking remains, and the church itself contains a Viking hogback stone. The purpose of these strange stone sculptures is the subject of much debate; they are found mainly in the Northern England and also in Scotland, Wales, Ireland and a few areas of Southern England with Viking links. Heysham also contains one of only three sites in Britain and Ireland that contain a pre-Roman labyrinth carving, the others being located at Tintagel, Cornwall and Hollywood, Co. Wicklow, Ireland Lancaster Museum holds artefacts from the area such as stone axe and hammer heads dating back to the New Stone Age. Many of these artefacts 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 Heritage Centre is housed in the barn of a Longhouse in Main Street. The building is owned by the Heritage Trust for the North West, who also own the cottage part of the longhouse, 22 Main Street. The Heritage Centre is run by volunteers, most of whom belong to Heysham Heritage Association.
Community
Heysham won Britain in Bloom Gold Small Village awards in both 2005 and 2007. Heysham also had a large outdoor karting track on Heysham Head where racing legend Nigel Mansell used to race in his teenage years. Heysham is the terminus of the Stanlow-Heysham oil pipeline, and of a gas pipeline that originates in Morecambe field in the Irish Sea.
The artist J. M. W. Turner visited Heysham in the 1790s when travelling throughout Britain. On a visit in August 1816 he made sketches which formed the basis of his subsequent watercolour Heysham and Cumberland Mountains ; it depicts the village with the Lakeland backdrop across Morecambe Bay. Professional footballerDavid Perkins was born in Heysham.
