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{{about|Thingwall on the Wirral|the Thingwall in Knotty Ash, Liverpool|Thingwall Hall}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox UK place
| country                  = England
| coordinates              = {{coord|53.353|-3.092|display=inline,title}}
| official_name            = Thingwall
| type                     = Village
| population               = 3,140
| population_ref           = ([[2001 United Kingdom census|2001 census]])<ref name=2001census />
| metropolitan_borough     = [[Metropolitan Borough of Wirral|Wirral]]
| metropolitan_county      = [[Merseyside]]
| region                   = North West England
| static_image_name        = The Basset Hound, Thingwall 2019.jpg
| static_image_caption     = The Basset Hound public house, Thingwall
| constituency_westminster = [[Wirral West (UK Parliament constituency)|Wirral West]]
| post_town                = WIRRAL
| postcode_district        = CH61
| postcode_area            = CH
| dial_code                = 0151
| os_grid_reference        = SJ270850
| london_distance          = {{convert|178|mi|km|abbr=on}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://boulter.com/gps/distance/?from=53.353+-3.092&to=51.507+-0.127&units=m|title=Coordinate Distance Calculator|work=boulter.com|access-date=6 March 2016}}</ref>
| london_direction         = SE
| iso_code                 = GB-WRL
}}
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'''Thingwall''' is a village on the [[Wirral Peninsula]], in [[Merseyside]], England. The village is situated approximately {{convert|8|km|mi|abbr=on}} to the south west of [[Birkenhead]] and {{convert|3|km|mi|abbr=on}} north east of [[Heswall]]. Historically part of [[Cheshire]], the area is within the [[Pensby and Thingwall (ward)|Pensby and Thingwall Ward]] of the [[Metropolitan Borough of Wirral]] and the parliamentary constituency of [[Wirral West]].

At the [[2001 United Kingdom census|2001 census]], Thingwall had 3,140 inhabitants.<ref name=2001census>{{cite web|url=http://www.wirral.gov.uk/factsandfigures/census2001/oneward2recset.asp?ref=TS41|title=Wirral 2001 Census: Thingwall|publisher=Metropolitan Borough of Wirral|access-date=5 February 2008}}{{Dead link|date=June 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=no }}</ref> 
The [[2011 United Kingdom census|2011 census]] registered the total ward population at 13,007.<ref>{{NOMIS2011|id=E05000969 |title=Pensby and Thingwall Ward (as of 2011)|accessdate=20 July 2020}}</ref>

==History==
From the [[Old Norse]] {{lang|non|þing vollr}}, meaning 'assembly field',<ref name=liverpoolmuseums-placename>
{{cite web |url=http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/maritime/exhibitions/magical/placenames/thingwall.asp|title=Placenames: Thingwall|publisher=National Museums Liverpool|access-date=6 November 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608072231/http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/maritime/exhibitions/magical/placenames/thingwall.asp|archive-date=8 June 2011}}</ref> the name indicates that it was once the site of a [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] [[thing (assembly)|''thing'']] (or ''þing''). Similar place names in the [[British Isles]] include [[Tynwald]], [[Dingwall]], and [[Tingwall (disambiguation)|Tingwall]]; see also [[Thingvellir]] in Iceland and [[Tingvoll Municipality|Tingvoll]] in Norway.{{sfn|Harding|2002|p=141-142}} A place called "Tingvalla" can also be found in the swedish town [[Karlstad#History|Karlstad]] where it can be dated back to the viking age as a councel- and marketplace.

The settlement was recorded in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086 as ''Tuigvelle'',<ref>
{{cite web|url=http://www.domesdaybook.co.uk/cheshire2.html|title=Cheshire L-Z: Thingwall|publisher=The Domesday Book Online|access-date=6 November 2008}}</ref> and has been variously known as ''Fingwalle'' (1180); ''Thingale'' (circa 1250); ''Thynghwall'' (1426).<ref name=liverpoolmuseums-placename />
Thingwall was formerly a [[Township (England)|township]] in the parish of [[Woodchurch, Merseyside|Woodchurch]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/place/3721|title=History of Thingwall, in Wirral and Cheshire|publisher=[[A Vision of Britain through Time]]|accessdate=29 September 2024}}</ref> in [[Wirral Hundred]], in 1866 Thingwall became a separate [[civil parish]], on 1 April 1933 the parish was abolished and merged with Birkenhead St Mary<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10117197|title=Relationships and changes Thingwall CP/Tn through time|publisher=A Vision of Britain through Time|accessdate=29 September 2024}}</ref> and became part of Birkenhead [[county borough]]. The population was 52 in 1801, 96 in 1851, 156 in 1901<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/CHS/Thingwall|title=Thingwall|publisher=GENUKI UK & Ireland Genealogy|access-date=20 July 2020}}</ref> and 652 in 1931.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10117197/cube/TOT_POP|title=Population statistics Thingwall CP/Tn through time|publisher=A Vision of Britain through Time|accessdate=29 September 2024}}</ref>

Traditional buildings/walls in the area are constructed of locally-quarried yellow [[sandstone]]. Several small sandstone [[quarries]] once existed in the area including one at the top of the appropriately named Quarry Lane. Little evidence of these quarries now exists as the land has been redeveloped for housing or for the construction of a second above-ground fresh water [[reservoir]].

Thingwall Mill was constructed in the eighteenth century on the site of a much older medieval mill. Damaged in a storm in 1897 and subsequently disused, the mill was demolished in 1900.<ref name=liverpoolmuseums-placename /> However, remnants of the building, including the original [[millstone]], can still be found on Mill Road.

Thingwall Hall was built in 1849 for a Liverpool merchant and demolished in 1960.<ref name=liverpoolmuseums-placename /> It was part of the Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital from 1917, providing care for long-term patients.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mersey-gateway.org/server.php?show=ConNarrative.180&chapterId=739|title=Port Cities: Liverpool Infirmary for Children|publisher=E. Chambré Hardman Archive|access-date=6 November 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013204614/http://www.mersey-gateway.org/server.php?show=ConNarrative.180|archive-date=13 October 2007}}</ref>

On 1 April 1974, [[Local Government Act 1972|local government reorganisation]] in England and Wales resulted in most of Wirral, including Thingwall, being transferred from the county of [[Cheshire]] to [[Merseyside]].

==Geography==
Thingwall lies on the western side of the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula, {{convert|7.5|km|mi|order=flip}} from the [[Irish Sea]] at [[Hoylake]], {{convert|3.7|km|mi|order=flip}} from the [[Dee Estuary]] and about {{convert|6.6|km|mi|order=flip}} from the [[River Mersey]] at [[Rock Ferry]]. Thingwall sits at the western side of the wide and shallow glacial [[U-shaped valley]], formed during the [[Quaternary glaciation|Quaternary Ice Age]], between [[Thurstaston Common|Thurstaston Hill]] and [[Storeton|Storeton Ridge]]. The underlying bedrock is [[Triassic]] [[sandstone]] of the [[Sherwood Sandstone Group#Helsby Sandstone Formation|Helsby Sandstone Formation]] and the Wilmslow Sandstone Formation, and Triassic [[siltstone]] of the [[Mercia Mudstone Group#Tarporley Siltstone Formation|Tarporley Siltstone Formation]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/3567/1/CR02109N.pdf|title=Baseline Report Series: 2. The Permo-Triassic Sandstones of west Cheshire and the Wirral |page=7|publisher=[[British Geological Survey]]|access-date=7 January 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bgs.ac.uk/discoveringGeology/geologyOfBritain/viewer.html|publisher=[[British Geological Survey]]|title=Geology of Britain viewer|access-date=7 January 2015}}</ref> This is overlain with [[boulder clay]] from the Quaternary Ice Age, similar to the nearby [[Dee Cliffs]], and clay soil. The bedrock is not usually visible, as it is at the summit of Thurstaston Hill.

{{Geographic location|width=auto
|title = '''Neighbouring places'''
|Northwest = [[Irby, Merseyside|Irby]]
|North = [[Arrowe Park]]
|Northeast = [[Landican]]
|West = [[Irby, Merseyside|Irby]]
|Centre = Thingwall
|East = [[Storeton]]
|Southwest = [[Pensby]]
|South = [[Pensby]]
|Southeast = [[Barnston, Merseyside|Barnston]]
}}

==Governance==
Thingwall 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 (UK Parliament constituency)|Wirral West]]. The current Member of Parliament is [[Margaret Greenwood]], a [[Labour Party (UK)]] representative.

At [[Local government in England|local government]] level, the village is part of the [[Pensby and Thingwall (ward)|Pensby and Thingwall Ward]] of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. Thingwall is represented on [[Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council]] by three councillors.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://democracy.wirral.gov.uk/mgMemberIndex.aspx?FN=WARD&VW=LIST&PIC=0 |title=Your Councillors by Ward|publisher=Wirral Borough Council|access-date=20 July 2020}}</ref> The most recent [[Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council elections|local elections]] took place on 6 May 2021.

==Notable people==
* [[Alan Gill]] and [[David Balfe]], English musicians with the late 70s/early 80s bands [[Radio Blank]], [[Dalek I Love You]] and [[The Teardrop Explodes]], both raised in Thingwall. David Balfe went on to run his own record labels, to one of which he signed [[Blur (band)|Blur]], and later became the inspiration behind their 1995 number one song, "[[Country House (Blur song)|Country House]]".
* [[Marty Willson-Piper]], English guitarist and songwriter with Australian band The Church, was raised in Thingwall.
* [[Septimus Francom]], English athlete, born in Thingwall.
* [[George Payne (footballer, born 1921)|George Payne]], English footballer, died in Thingwall.

==References==
<!-- Using [[WP:CITESHORT]] and the {{sfn}} template for short footnotes -->
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book |first1=Paul |last1=Cavill |first2=Stephen |last2=Harding |author-link2=Stephen E. Harding |first3=Judith |last3=Jesch |year=2000 |title=Wirral and Its Viking Heritage |publisher=[[English Place-Name Society]] |isbn=978-0-904889-59-8  }}
*{{cite book |first=Stephen |last=Harding |title=Viking Mersey: Scandinavian Wirral, West Lancashire and Chester |chapter=Chapter 10: The Things of Wirral and West Lancashire |year=2002 |publisher=Countryvise Limited |isbn=978-1-901231-3-42 |pages=141–152  }}
*{{cite book |first1=Stephen |last1=Harding |first2=Mark |last2=Jobling |first3=Turi |last3=King |year=2010 |title=Viking DNA: The Wirral and West Lancashire Project |publisher=Nottingham University Press |isbn=978-1-907284-94-6  }}
*{{cite book|title=The History of the Hundred of Wirral|first=William Williams|last=Mortimer|year=1847|publisher=Whittaker & Co.|location=London|url=https://archive.org/stream/historyhundredw01mortgoog#page/n328/mode/2up|id=p.289}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Thingwall}}
*[http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/-sczsteve/ Viking Wirral]

{{Populated Places in Wirral Borough}}

[[Category:Towns and villages in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral]]
[[Category:Former civil parishes in Merseyside]]
[[Category:Thing (assembly)]]