The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07.
Merseyside
metropolitan county, NW England. Created in the 1974 local government reorganization, the county embraced the Greater Liverpool metropolitan area and comprised five metropolitan districts: Wirral, Sefton, Liverpool, Knowsley, and St. Helens. The Merseyside county council was abolished in 1986, and the districts became responsible for all services except police, fire, and civil defense, which are supervised jointly.
