Ormskirk is a market town in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England, north of Liverpool, northwest of St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston. Ormskirk is known for its gingerbread. In 2011 it had a population of 24,073.
Ormskirk lies on sloping ground on the side of a ridge, whose highest point is above sea-level, at the centre of the West Lancashire Plain, and has been described as a "planned borough", laid out in the 13th century. Ormskirk is an unparished area, surrounded by the parishes of Bickerstaffe, Aughton, Scarisbrick, Burscough, Lathom and Lathom South.
The town is located in the district of West Lancashire and is the site of the headquarters of West Lancashire Borough Council.
Since Ormskirk does not have a parish council, a voluntary association, Ormskirk Community Partnership, was created in 2009, with the support of the West Lancashire Borough Council, to act as a voice for Ormskirk. Ormskirk is home to Edge Hill University.
The name is Old Norse in origin and is derived from Ormres kirkja, from a personal name, Ormr (which means "serpent" or dragon), and the Old Norse word kirkja for church. Ormr may have been a Viking who settled here, became a Christian and founded the church but there are no other records or archaeological evidence to support this and Ormr's identity is unknown.
There is no reference to Ormskirk in the Domesday Book of 1086, but it has been suggested that it may have been part of Lathom at that time. In about 1189, the lord of Lathom granted the church of Ormskirk to Burscough Priory, which does suggest that Ormskirk had been subordinate to Lathom before that date.
An open market is held twice weekly, on Thursdays and Saturdays, in the pedestrianised centre of Ormskirk. The location was originally the junction of the main roads to Preston, Liverpool and Wigan, and was marked by a market cross going back to medieval times. During the 18th and 19th centuries the Cross, as the junction was known, was the location of a large lamp mounted on an obelisk with a circular drinking fountain for both people and animals around the base.