Pensby () is a large village on the Wirral Peninsula, in Merseyside, England. It is located to the north of the town of Heswall and approximately to the south west of Thingwall. Historically within Cheshire, the area is part of the Pensby and Thingwall Ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral and is in the parliamentary constituency of Wirral West. At the 2001 census the village of Pensby had 6,900 inhabitants. The 2011 census measured the population of the Pensby and Thingwall ward at 13,007. History The name Pensby comes from Old Norse, meaning a village or settlement at a hill called "Penn". The "by" suffix, included in neighbouring place names such as Frankby, Greasby, and Irby, is Viking in origin. Over time, the name has been spelt variously as Penisby (c.1229), Penlisby (1307) and Pemmesby (1523). Lower Pensby was previously known as Newtown. This was due to the building of new houses around the turn of the twentieth century at the crossroads of Pensby Road and Gills Lane. The population of the village over time was recorded at 22 in 1801, 48 in 1901 and increasing significantly to 2,996 by 1951. Geography Governance Pensby was formerly a township in the parish of Woodchurch, in the Wirral Hundred. It became a civil parish in 1866. Historically within the county of Cheshire, it was part of the Wirral Rural District from 1894 and Wirral Urban District from 1933. Further changes occurred on 1 April 1974, when local government reorganisation resulted in most of Wirral, including Pensby, transfer from Cheshire to the newly formed metropolitan county of Merseyside. Pensby is represented nationally through the parliamentary constituency of Wirral West. As of , the current Member of Parliament is Margaret Greenwood, a Labour representative. At local government level, it is part of a Pensby and Thingwall Ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. It is represented on Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council by three councillors. The most recent local elections took place on 6 May 2021. Community Schools Pensby's primary schools are Ladymount RC Primary, and Pensby Primary School. The local secondary school is Pensby High School. Churches St. Michael and All Angels Church is a Church of England building on Gills Lane. The Emmanuel Holiness Church is an independent Evangelical ministry which is on Heswall Mount. The Holy Family Catholic Church is on Pensby Road. Leisure Pensby has two community centres, the Hope