traditionally been the home of the lords of the manor. Much of the land around it is now a golf course. Formby Beach is the location of the first lifeboat station in the UK. It is believed to have been established as early as 1776 by William Hutchinson, the Dock Master for the Liverpool Common Council. Although no exact record has been found, the boat used is believed to have been a 'Mersey Gig'. The last launch from the station took place in 1916. Remarkably, a film of this event survived. The foundations of the last of the lifeboat station buildings remain on the beach to this day. In 2016, the newly opened Wetherspoons pub in the town was named 'The Lifeboat' in honour of the original lifeboat station. Formby is home to RAF Woodvale, a small RAF station to the north of the town. The airfield opened in 1941 and is a former Second World War fighter station with three active runways, the main runway being a mile in length. Today it is used by RAF for light aircraft and fighter training, as well as a few civilian aircraft. The station was also home to Merseyside Police's helicopter, known as 'Mike One'. The RAF station was also home to the last operational service of WWII fighter plane the Supermarine Spitfire. In 1957 the last Spitfire to fly operationally with British military markings took off from RAF Woodvale. Woodvale is also home to the Woodvale Rally, one of the biggest shows on an active MOD station in the North West. Governance Until 1974, Formby was an urban district (Formby Urban District) within the administrative county of Lancashire. Since 1 April 1974, it has formed part of the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, in Merseyside. Prior to 1983 Formby was in the parliamentary constituency of Ormskirk and after Ormskirk's abolition was made part of the Crosby constituency. The Member of Parliament (MP) for Crosby from 1997 until 2010 was Claire Curtis-Thomas, a member of the Labour Party, prior to her election the seat was generally considered to be a safe Conservative Party stronghold with Tory MPs elected at every election barring the 1981 Crosby by-election when Shirley Williams of the Social Democratic Party was elected to represent the constituency. As a result of the Crosby constituency being abolished for the 2010 general election, Formby is part of the newly created Sefton Central