The '''River Mersey''' is a major waterway in north-west England; the city of [[Liverpool]] lies on the north bank of its [[estuary]] where the river flows into the [[Irish Sea]]. Traitionally the river has formed a political boundary, and this is reflected in its name, which derives from the Old English ''Maeres-ea'', 'boundary river'. In [[Anglo-Saxon]] England the Mersey was the boundary between the kingdoms of [[Northumbria]] and [[Mercia]]; later, it formed the boundary between the counties of [[Lancashire]] and [[Cheshire]]. Only in 1974 did it cease to be an important boundary marker, with the creation of new counties spanning the river, and the alteration of other boundaries. | The '''River Mersey''' is a major waterway in north-west England; the city of [[Liverpool]] lies on the north bank of its [[estuary]] where the river flows into the [[Irish Sea]]. Traitionally the river has formed a political boundary, and this is reflected in its name, which derives from the Old English ''Maeres-ea'', 'boundary river'. In [[Anglo-Saxon]] England the Mersey was the boundary between the kingdoms of [[Northumbria]] and [[Mercia]]; later, it formed the boundary between the counties of [[Lancashire]] and [[Cheshire]]. Only in 1974 did it cease to be an important boundary marker, with the creation of new counties spanning the river, and the alteration of other boundaries. |