Wirral or the Wirral (pronounced /ˈwɪrəl/) is a peninsula in the north west of England. It is bounded to the west by the River Dee, which forms the boundary with Wales, and to the east by the River Mersey. Both terms "Wirral" and "The Wirral" are used locally (and interchangeably), although the merits of each form are the subject of local debate.
The roughly rectangular peninsula is about 10 miles (16.1 km) long and 7 miles (11.3 km) wide. The northern part constitutes the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, and the southern part the borough of Ellesmere Port and Neston in Cheshire. Wirral's boundary with the rest of Cheshire was officially 'Two arrow falls from Chester City Walls', as mentioned in the Domesday Book. Historically, some places within the Chester District (such as Ledsham, Puddington and even Saughall) have also been considered part of Wirral. Until 1 April 1974, the peninsula used to be entirely in Cheshire as a hundred.
Origin of the name :-
The name Wirral occurs in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as Wirheal, literally "myrtle-corner",”from the Anglo-Saxon wir, a myrtle tree, and heal, an angle, corner or slope. It is supposed that the land was once overgrown with bog myrtle, a plant no longer found in the area but plentiful around Formby, to which Wirral would once have provided a similar habitat. The name was given to the Hundred of Wirral around the 8th century, although by the time of the Domesday Book and for some time afterwards the name of the hundred changed to the Hundred of Wilaveston, which later became Willaston.
History of the Wirral
Prehistoric settlement :-
The earliest evidence of human occupation of Wirral dates from the Mesolithic period, around 7000 BC. Excavations at Greasby have uncovered flint tools and signs of stake holes and a hearth used by a hunter-gatherer community, and other evidence from about the same period has been found at Irby, Hoylake and New Brighton. Later Neolithic stone axes have been found at several locations including Oxton, Neston, and Meols, where Neolithic pottery has also been found. At Meols and New Brighton there is evidence of continuing occupation through to the Bronze Age, around 1000 BC, and funerary urns of the period have been found at West Kirby and Hilbre.
Before the time of the Romans, Wirral was inhabited by a Celtic tribe, the Cornovii. Discoveries of artefacts at Meols suggest that it was an important port from at least as early as 500 BC. Traders came from as far away as Gaul and the Mediterranean in search of minerals from North Wales and Cheshire.[4] There are also remains of a small Iron Age fort at Burton, which takes its name (burh-tun) from it.
The Romans and Britons :-
Around the year 70, the Romans occupied Chester, and traces have been found of their occupation in Wirral. These include the remains of a road near Mollington, Ledsham and Willaston. This may have continued to the port at Meols, which may have been used as a base for attacking the north Wales coast. Storeton Quarry may also have been used by the Romans for sculpture, and remains of possible Roman roads have also been found at Greasby and at Bidston. By the end of the Roman period, pirates were a menace to traders in the Irish Sea, and soldiers may have been garrisoned at Meols to combat this threat.
The Romans left in about 410, but later coins and other material found at Meols show that it continued to operate as a trading port. There is evidence of Celtic Christianity from the 5th or 6th centuries in the originally circular shape of churchyards at Bromborough, Woodchurch and elsewhere, and also in the dedication of the parish church at Wallasey to a 4th century bishop, Hilary of Poitiers. The Celtic names of Liscard and Landican (from llan-Tegan) both suggest an ancient British rather than later origin. The name of Wallasey itself, meaning "Welsh (or foreigners') island", is evidence of British settlement. The Welsh name, both ancient and modern, for the Wirral is Cilgwri.In Welsh mythology, the Ouzel (or Blackbird) of Cilgwri was one of the most ancient creatures in the world.
The Anglo-Saxons and Vikings :-
St. Mary's Church, EasthamThe Anglo-Saxons under Æthelfrith, king of Northumbria, laid waste to Chester around 616. Æthelfrith withdrew, leaving the area west and south of the Mersey to become part of Mercia, and Anglo-Saxon settlers soon took over most of Wirral with the exception of the northern tip. Many of Wirral's villages, such as Willaston, Eastham and Sutton, were established and named at this time.
Towards the end of the ninth century, the Norsemen or Vikings began raiding the area. They settled along the Dee side of the peninsula, and along the sea coast, giving their villages names such as Kirby, Frankby and Meols. They also introduced their own system of local government, with its parliament at Thingwall. Ancient Irish annals record the population of Wirral by Norsemen led by Ingimund, expelled from Ireland around 902 and getting agreement from Aethelflaed or "Ethelfleda", Queen of the Mercian English to settle there peacefully. The boundary of the Norse colony is believed to have passed south of Neston and Raby, and along Dibbinsdale. Evidence of the Norse presence in Wirral can still be seen from place name evidence - such as the common '-by' (meaning "town" in Danish) suffixes and names such as Tranmere, which comes from trani melr ("cranebird sandbank"). Similarly, archaeological finds (such as two hogback tombstones) corroborate this. On 10 September 2007, a 1,000-year-old Viking transport longship (Nordic clinker design) was discovered under the car park of the Railway Inn in Meols.
Bromborough on the Wirral is also one of the possible sites of an epic battle in 937, the Battle of Brunanburh, which confirmed England as an Anglo-Saxon kingdom. This is the first battle where England came together as one country, to fight the combined forces of the Norsemen and the Scots, and thus historians consider it the birthplace of England. It is thought that the battlesite was so large that it covered a large area of Wirral. Egil's Saga, a story which tells of the battle, may have referred to Wirral as Wen Heath, Vínheíþr in Icelandic.
The Normans and the early Middle Ages :-
After invading England in 1066 and subduing Northumbria in 1069/70, William the Conqueror invaded and ravaged Chester and its surrounding area, laying waste to much of Wirral. The Domesday survey of 1086 shows that Wirral at that time was more densely populated than most other parts of England, and the manor of Eastham, which covered most of the eastern side of the peninsula from Bidston to the River Gowy, was the second largest in Cheshire. Of the 28 former lords of Wirral manors listed, 12 bore Norse names. By 1086, most of the area was in the hands of Norman lords such as Robert of Rhuddlan, his cousin Hugh d'Avranches, and Hamo de Mascy. The survey shows only 405 heads of families in the whole of the peninsula, suggesting a total population of 2,000-3,000.
For about 250 years the Earls of Chester ruled the whole of the County Palatine, including Wirral, almost as "a kingdom within a kingdom". Between 1120-1123, Earl Ranulph le Meschin converted Wirral into a hunting forest, an area in which game, particularly deer and boar, could be allowed to flourish undisturbed. A chief Forester was appointed with a ceremonial horn, and the position soon became a hereditary responsibility of the Stanley family. However, after complaints by the residents about the wildness of the area and oppression by the Stanleys, a charter confirming the disafforestation of Wirral was issued by King Edward III on July 20, 1376.
At the end of the twelfth century, Birkenhead Priory stood on the west bank of the River Mersey on a headland of birch trees, from which the town derives its name. The ruined priory is Merseyside's oldest surviving building and its Benedictine monks provided the first Mersey ferry service around 1330, having been granted a passage to Liverpool by a charter from Edward III. At this time, large areas of Wirral were owned by Chester Abbey. In 1278 the Abbey was granted the right to hold an annual three-day fair at Bromborough, but the fair went into decline after the devastation of the Black Death in 1349. Another fair was established in 1299 at Burton. Meanwhile, Meols continued as an important port, and the eroded coastline there has provided what is described as "the largest collection of medieval domestic items to have come from any single site outside London".
The 16th to 18th centuries :-
A Subsidy Roll of 1545 shows that the total population of Wirral at the time was no more than 4,000. The peninsula was divided into about 15 parishes (Wallasey, Bidston, Upton, Woodchurch, West Kirby, Thurstaston, Heswall, Bebington, Bromborough, Eastham, Neston, Burton, Shotwick, Backford and Stoke). Most of these were divided into smaller townships, of which the largest in terms of population were Neston, Burton, Wallasey, Tranmere (then within the parish of Bebington) and Liscard. However, none of these were more than small rural villages.
Leasowe Lighthouse, built in 1763 and the oldest brick-built lighthouse in Britain.Wirral's proximity to the port of Chester influenced the history of the Dee side of the peninsula. From about the fourteenth century, Chester provided facilities for trade with Ireland, Spain, and Germany, and seagoing vessels would "lay to" in the Dee awaiting favourable winds and tides. As the Dee started to silt up, harbouring facilities developed at Shotwick, Burton, Neston, Parkgate, Dawpool, and "Hoyle Lake" or Hoylake. However, there was not a gradual progression of development, and downstream anchorages such as that at Hoyle Lake (which replaced Meols) were in occasional use from medieval times, depending on the weather and state of the tide. The main port facilities were at Neston and Parkgate.
At the same time, the use of larger ships and the growth of commerce and industry in Lancashire started to lead to the growth of Liverpool. The first wet dock in Britain was opened in Liverpool in 1715, and the town's population grew from some 6,000 to 80,000 during the 18th century. The need to develop and protect the port led to a chain of lighthouses being built along the north Wirral coast. The commercial expansion of Liverpool, and the increase in stage coach traffic from Chester, also spurred the growth of ferries across the River Mersey. By the end of the 18th century the Wirral side of the Mersey had five ferry houses, at Seacombe, Woodside, the Rock, New Ferry and Eastham.
Other communications were also improving. Turnpike roads linking Chester with Eastham, Woodside, and Neston were built after 1787. In 1793, work began on the Ellesmere Canal, connecting the River Mersey with Chester and Shropshire through the fluvioglacial landform known as the Backford gap, and the town of Ellesmere Port began to develop.
The excavation of the New Cut of the Dee, opened in 1737, to improve access to Chester, diverted the river's course to the Welsh side of the estuary and took trade away from the Wirral coastline.[15] Although plans were made to overcome its gradual silting up, including one in 1857 to cut a ship canal from a point between Thurstaston and Heswall to run along the length of Wirral to Chester, this and other schemes came to nothing, and the focus of general trade moved irrevocably to the much deeper Mersey. However, from the late 18th century there was coal mining near Neston, in tunnels stretching up to two miles under the Dee, and a quay at Denhall was used for coal exports.[3]
The nineteenth century :-
Hamilton Square, Birkenhead‎The first steam ferry service across the Mersey started in 1817, and steam-powered ships soon opened up Wirral's Mersey coast for industrialisation. The 1820s saw the birth of the area's renowned shipbuilding tradition when John Laird opened his shipyard in Birkenhead, later expanded by his son William. The Lairds were largely responsible for the early growth of Birkenhead, commissioning the architect James Gillespie Graham to lay it out as a new town modelled on Edinburgh. In 1847, Birkenhead's first docks and its municipal park, the first in Britain and the inspiration for New York's Central Park, were opened, and the town expanded rapidly. Birkenhead's population of less than one thousand in 1801 rose to over 33,000 by 1851, and to 157,000 by 1901. The town became a borough in 1877, incorporating within it Claughton, Oxton, Prenton and Tranmere.
The improved communications also allowed Liverpool merchants to buy up and develop large estates in Wirral. James Atherton and William Rowson developed the resort of New Brighton, and new estates for the gentry were also built at Egremont, Oxton, Claughton and Rock Ferry. Arrowe Hall was built for the Shaw family in 1835.[3]
The mid 19th century saw the establishment of docks at Birkenhead and in the Wallasey Pool, and continuing development for a wide range of industry both there and along the banks of the Mersey. The New Chester Road was opened in 1833. Wirral's first railway was built in 1840, planned by George Stephenson and connecting Birkenhead with Chester. In 1852 Price's Patent Candle Company built a factory and model village at Bromborough. This was followed in 1888 by William Lever's establishment of the much larger Sunlight soap factory and Port Sunlight garden village, designed to house its employees and provide them with a benign environment. The opening of the Manchester Ship Canal in 1894, with its outfall at Eastham, led to further port-side and industrial development beside the Mersey at Ellesmere Port.
In 1886, the Mersey Railway tunnel was opened, linking Wirral and Liverpool. This led to the further rapid growth of suburbs along its lines in Wirral, particularly in Wallasey, Hoylake and West Kirby, and later Bebington and Heswall. Wallasey's population grew to over 53,000 by 1901, and the town also achieved borough status soon after the turn of the century.[3]
The twentieth century :-
The dockland areas of Wallasey and Birkenhead continued to develop and prosper in the first half of the century, specialising in trade with Africa and the Far East. A host of other port-related industries then came into existence, such as flour milling, tanning, edible oil refining and the manufacture of paint and rubber-based products. In 1922 a new oil dock was built at Stanlow near Ellesmere Port, and in 1934 oil refining began there. A large chemical and oil refining complex still dominates the area.
In 1929, the 3rd World Scout Jamboree was held at Arrowe Park and this celebrated the 21st Anniversary of the publication of Scouting for Boys. Thirty-five countries were represented by 30,000 Scouts, plus another 10,000 British Scouts who took the opportunity to camp in the vicinity.
The rail tunnel under the Mersey was supplemented by a vehicle tunnel in 1934, the Queensway Tunnel. A third tunnel opened in 1971, the Kingsway Tunnel, connecting with the M53 motorway which now runs up the centre of the peninsula. These new roads contributed to the massive growth of commuting by car between Liverpool and Wirral, and the development of new suburban estates around such villages as Moreton, Upton, Greasby, Pensby, and Bromborough.
In 1940-41, as part of The Blitz, parts of Wirral, especially around the docks, suffered extensive bomb damage. There were 464 people killed in Birkenhead and 355 in Wallasey, and 80% of all houses in Birkenhead were either destroyed or badly damaged.[3] During the Second World War Wirral held two RAF sites, RAF West Kirby (which was a camp, not an airfield) and RAF Hooton Park and a number of anti-aircraft sites in order to protect the docks of Birkenhead and Liverpool.
After the Second World War, economic decline began to set in in Birkenhead, as elsewhere in the area which had started to become known as Merseyside. However, there continued to be industrial development along the Mersey between Birkenhead and Ellesmere Port, including the large Vauxhall Motors car factory on the site of RAF Hooton Park.
Geography :-
Wirral can be defined as both a geographical peninsula and socio-cultural area. The current Metropolitan Borough of Wirral has a population of 312,293 people (according to the 2001 census)[16], and covers an area of 60.35 square miles, bounded by the Cheshire Plain, the River Dee and the River Mersey. The Irish Sea lies to its north west side.[12] The Shropshire Union Canal joins the River Mersey at Ellesmere Port and the River Dee at Chester. This makes the geographical peninsula, as a technicality, an island.
Although it has been stated that "it is difficult to find any work in which there is a written description of the exact area defining The Wirral Peninsula" [17], historian Stephen Roberts defines it as "the peninsula which is bounded by the Dee and Mersey estuaries, Irish Sea and... the route of the Shropshire Union Canal between Ellesmere Port and Chester". The original Hundred extended slightly further east, to the River Gowy.
In the north of the peninsula, the River Fender, Arrowe Brook and Greasby Brook drain into the River Birket, which itself flows into the River Mersey via Wallasey Pool (Birkenhead Docks). Further south, the River Clatter and River Dibbin drain into the Mersey at Bromborough Pool.
Two approximately parallel Triassic sandstone ridges run down the length of the peninsula. The western ridge is made up of Grange and Caldy Hills at 256 feet in height, then Thurstaston Hill (298 ft), Poll Hill in Heswall (350 ft, the highest point on the Wirral) and Burton (222 ft). The less continuous eastern ridge consists of Bidston Hill (231ft), Prenton (259ft) and Storeton Hill (229ft).
The major urban centres of Wirral are to its east; these include Birkenhead and Wallasey. To the west and south, Wirral is more rural. Two thirds of the population of Wirral live on one third of the land - in Birkenhead and Wallasey, according to Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. Other towns to the south and west of this area are usually considered part of Wirral; notably, Ellesmere Port is often described as one of its 'border towns'.
Places on Wirral :-
The towns and villages on the Wirral are in one of three local authorities:
The Metropolitan Borough of Wirral: Category:Towns and villages in Wirral The Borough of Ellesmere Port and Neston: Category:Ellesmere Port and Neston The following places on the Wirral are in Chester District: Capenhurst, Ledsham, Puddington, Saughall, and Shotwick.
Landmarks :-
Typical houses in Port Sunlight. View from Caldy Hill to Wales over the River Dee.Despite containing urban and industrial areas, Wirral still has picturesque villages, sandy beaches, large areas of land owned by the National Trust as well as views across the two estuaries and out into the Irish Sea.[18] Many villages of Wirral are well preserved with their characteristic red sandstone buildings and walls. Sights or places of interest include:
Bidston Hill Caldy Hill Hilbre Island Lady Lever Art Gallery Thurstaston Common and Thor's Stone "The Thing" - site of Wirral's Viking parliament Mersey Ferry Ness Gardens North Wirral Coastal Park and Leasowe Lighthouse Port Sunlight Victorian Pleasure Gardens at Eastham Country Park Williamson Art Gallery Wirral Way and Hadlow Road railway station
Accents and dialects :-
The peninsula has a range of accents, though the proximity of the accents of Liverpool and Cheshire means that many people's are between the two. In Birkenhead, Wallasey and Moreton the influence of Liverpool is particularly strong. Accents in the South and West Wirral areas are not as strong, however. Neston once had a distinctive dialect derived from the migrant workers at the Denhall Colliery but this is now all but extinct.
Wirral in literature :-
Sir Gawain spent Christmas on Wirral before his confrontation with the Green Knight. The wilderness of Wirral: few lived there Who loved with a good heart either God or man Olaf Stapledon, a writer, spent much of his life in West Kirby and Caldy, and many landscapes mentioned in his works can be identified.
Notable people :-
The area has been home to many notable people, including: Ian Botham (cricketer), Matt Dawson (rugby player), Emma Hamilton (mistress of Horatio Nelson), Glenda Jackson (actress and politician), John Peel (disc jockey and radio presenter), Paul O'Grady (TV presenter) and Harold Wilson (Prime Minister who was Head Boy of Wirral Grammar School for Boys). Several pop groups also come from the area including The Boo Radleys and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. A full list of notable people from the Wirral can be found on List of notable people from The Wirral.
Television and Film :-
The television sitcom Watching, produced by Granada Television between 1987 and 1993, was partly set and filmed at various Wirral locations, particularly Meols.[20] The Lime Pictures production Hollyoaks films occasionally, on location, on the Wirral. The film Chariots of Fire was filmed at various locations on the Wirral including the Oval Sports Centre, Bebington and the Woodside Ferry Terminal. Although ostensibly set in Liverpool, the film The 51st State was partly filmed around the docks, in Birkenhead, on the Wirral. The 2006 TV series Mike Bassett: Manager, starring Ricky Tomlinson was a follow-up to the film Mike Bassett: England Manager, and featured a fictional football club called Wirral County, a parody of Tranmere Rovers, who Bassett (Tomlinson) managed after bring sacked from the England job. The Ealing comedy, "The Magnet" (1950), was filmed in Wallasey and New Brighton.
Transport :-
The M53 motorway runs along the length of Wirral, from near Chester. At the north eastern end, Wirral is joined to Liverpool by three tunnels under the River Mersey: two road tunnels Mersey Tunnels, one from Wallasey (Kingsway) and one from Birkenhead (Queensway) and the Mersey Railway tunnel.
The Wirral Line of the electrified Merseyrail network links West Kirby, New Brighton, Chester and Ellesmere Port via many other suburbs to Liverpool Lime Street station through the underground Liverpool Loop line. Another National Rail line (known recently as the Borderlands Line or "Mid-Wirral line") offers hourly diesel services from Bidston (on the West Kirby branch of the Wirral Line) to Wrexham in North Wales.
The Mersey Ferry regularly crosses to Liverpool from both Woodside and Seacombe, providing both a commuter shuttle service and pleasure cruises.
The nearest airports are Liverpool John Lennon Airport and Manchester Airport.
Sports :-
Tranmere Rovers Football Club is Wirral's principal football club and play at Prenton Park, Birkenhead. They currently play in Coca Cola League 1.
Caldy RFC is Wirral's principal rugby union team and play at Paton Field, Thurstaston, they currently play in the country's fourth tier, the National Division Three North.
Several Football League teams have played at New Brighton including the defunct New Brighton Tower F.C. and New Brighton A.F.C., who now play in the West Cheshire League.
The Open Championship took place at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake in 1897, 1902, 1907, 1913, 1924, 1930, 1936, 1947, 1956, 1967 and 2006.
Vauxhall Motors F.C. are the leading non-league football club on the Wirral. They play in the Blue Square North Division (formerly Conference North) and play their home games at Rivacre Park.
Cammell Laird F.C. are a non-league football club on the Wirral and play in the Northern Premier League at Kirklands, Rock Ferry.
Hoylake, in north west Wirral is one of the premier European land sailing or sand yachting sites, and was host to the week-long European Championships in September 2007. West Kirby, in north west Wirral, is home to the Marine Lake which is used for windsurfing, sailing and sea kayaking and hosts the international Wilson Trophy sailing competition.
The excavation of the New Cut of the Dee, opened in 1737, to improve access to Chester, diverted the river's course to the Welsh side of the estuary and took trade away from the Wirral coastline.[15] Although plans were made to overcome its gradual silting up, including one in 1857 to cut a ship canal from a point between Thurstaston and Heswall to run along the length of Wirral to Chester, this and other schemes came to nothing, and the focus of general trade moved irrevocably to the much deeper Mersey. However, from the late 18th century there was coal mining near Neston, in tunnels stretching up to two miles under the Dee, and a quay at Denhall was used for coal exports.[3]
Anyone know if these tunnels are still there???
Very interesting post by the way, thanks mondeo_scott
1150 Circa Birkenhead Priory founded by Hamo Mascy 1275 & 1277 Edward I visited the Priory 1330 Edward III granted the Priors and their successors forever the right to ferry over the Mersey 1536 Circa The Priory closed 1544 Priory lands and ferry purchased by Ralph Worsley 1572 Worsley died, the lands and ferry passed to the Powell family 1643 Cavalier troops, ‘Kept a guard about Berket wood’ 1644 Cavalier troops, ‘possessed themselves of Berkett in Worrall’ 1713 Priory lands and ferry bought by John Cleveland, a merchant of Liverpool 1716 Cleveland died, lands and ferry passed to the Price family 1762 Six-horsed coach ran between Woodside Ferry, Parkgate and Chester 1790 Embankment built across Tranmere Pool to carry Chester Road into Birkenhead 1801 Population: Birkenhead 110 Tranmere 353 Oxton 137 Claughton 67 1810 Population: Birkenhead 105 Tranmere 474 Oxton 128 Claughton 88 1815 Small steamboat appeared in the Mersey 1817 Tranmere Ferry ran the first steam ferry boat 1820 Birkenhead Ferry started a steam boat service (This ferry closed in 1870) 1821 St. Mary’s Church opened 1821 Population: Birkenhead 200 Tranmere 825 Oxton 169 Claughton 119 1822 Steamboats on the Woodside Ferry Service 1824 William Laird set up his shipyard on Wallasey Pool 1826 A second shipyard, with patent slip, opened on Wallasey Pool 1829 Lairds built their first iron vessel 1831 Population: Birkenhead 2,569 Tranmere 1,168 Oxton 234 Claughton 224 1833 Act passed for appointment of ‘Commissioners for the Improvement of Birkenhead’ 1833 Lairds built their first paddle steamer 1834 Woodside Royal Mail Ferry Hotel built 1838 Monks’ Ferry started (This ferry closed in 1878) 1840 William Jackson’s as Works set up 1840 Birkenhead – Chester Railway opened 1841 Population: Birkenhead 8,223 Tranmere 2,554 Oxton 546 Claughton 240 1842 Woodside Ferry purchased b the Birkenhead Commissioners 1843 Spring Hill water works opened 1843 Old Hall demolished 1844 Foundation stone of Docks laid 1844 Railway Tunnel to Monks’ Ferry constructed 1845 Market opened 1847 First Docks opened 1847 Birkenhead Park opened 1851 Population: Birkenhead 24,86 Tranmere 6,519 Oxton 2,007 Claughton 714 1853-1856 Gaving Docks between Woodside and Monks Ferry constructed 1853-1856 Lairds’ yard set up on river front 1854 Great Western Railway opened through route from Birkenhead to London 1858 Birkenhead Docks transferred to Mersey Docks and Harbour Board 1858 Lairds built their first steel ship
1860 Street Tramway started 1861 Birkenhead with Claughton, Oxton, Tranmere and Rock Ferry became a Parliamentary Borough 1861 Population: Birkenhead 35,929 Tranmere 9,918 Oxton 2,670 Claughton 1,584 1863 General Hospital opened 1864 Public Library in Hamilton Street opened 1866 Birkenhead – Hoylake Railway opened 1866 Alfred Dock opened 1871 Population: Birkenhead 42,997 Tranmere 16,143 Oxton 2,610 Claughton 2,437 1877 Charter of Incorporation granted, Birkenhead became a County Borough 1877 Wallasey Dock opened 1878 Railway extended to Woodside 1881 Population: 84,006 1881 Thurstaton Common acquired by the Corporation 1883 Children’s Hospital opened 1885 Mersey park opened 1886 Mersey Railway Tunnel completed (electrified 1903) 1887 Town Hall opened (serious fire occurred 1901, Dome and Tower rebuilt) 1891 Population: 99,857 1893 School Board appointed 1896 Electricity Generating Station opened 1900 Livingstone Street Baths opened 1901 Population: 110,915 1901 Electric Tram Service commenced 1902 Education Committee took the place of the School Board 1903 Hamilton Square Gardens acquired by the Corporation 1907 G.P.O. Argyle Street opened 1909 Vittoria Dock constructed 1911 Population: 130,794 1913 Tranmere Infirmary opened 1918 Birkenhead Parliamentary constituency divided into two divisions 1919 First Motor Bus service commenced 1921 Population: 147,577 1921 Alwen Water Scheme completed (commenced 1911) 1922 New Ferry cross-river service closed 1925 Works on the Mersey Tunnel commenced 1927 Arrowe Park purchased by the Corporation 1928 Borough boundaries extended to include Thingwall, Landican, Prenton and part of Bidston 1928 Williamson Art Gallery and Museum opened 1931 Population: 147,946 1933 Borough boundaries extended to take in Noctorum, Woodchurch and parts of Arrowe, Bidston and Upton 1933 Byrne avenue Baths opened 1933 Bidston Docks opened for traffic 1934 Queensway opened 1934 Central Library opened 1937 Last electric tram route closed 1938 s.s. Mauritania launched 1939 Rock Ferry cross-river service closed 1945 Hamilton square illuminated ad immense crowds in the square for Victory celebrations 1947 Number of houses 34,020 (estimated) 1948 Population: 132,000 (approx.) 1948 Area: 8,958 acres 1948 The foundation stone laid of the Electricity Power Station, Bromborough 1950 The foundation stone laid of Birkenhead Technical College by H.M. The Queen 1951 Population: 142,392 1953 The new Police Headquarters opened 1955 The Technical College opened 1960 Tranmere Oil Terminal established 1961 Population: 141,683 1967 Work began on Mersey Tunnel Approaches Scheme 1967 Woodside Station closed 1969 Official Opening of the Mersey Tunnel Approaches Scheme 1970 St. Mary’s Church demolished 1971 Population: 137,738 1971 Quarter Sessions terminated by Courts Act 1973 The Official opening of the new Fire Station 1974 Birkenhead became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral 1978 The extension of the Mersey Railway opened by H.M. Queen Elizabeth II 1982 Arrowe Park Hospital opened 1986 Merseyside County Council abolished 1986 Police now part of the Merseyside Police Authority. 1986 Fire Services now known as Merseyside Fire and Civil Defence Authority.
I Agree. John Green of Oxton has maps showing every recorded bomb that hit the village, the buildings affected and the dates. It certain wasnt 80%. Prob more like 10-15%
18th century there was coal mining near Neston, in tunnels stretching up to two miles under the Dee, and a quay at Denhall was used for coal exports.[3]
Anyone know if these tunnels are still there???
Very interesting post by the way, thanks mondeo_scott
The $lag heaps are, if you go the the Harp (Little Neston), and walk towards Parkgate, the old mine sites are along the footpath.
Of noticeable interest, if you go the Harp, there is still one of the old quays left running into the silted up Dee.
I've had a 5 year old draw this up for you. I can also get some photo's as I live 5 mins from here.
Each of these dates has at least one story attached, for example:
Originally Posted by dava2479
1933 Borough boundaries extended to take in Noctorum, Woodchurch and parts of Arrowe, Bidston and Upton
Prior to 1931 Upton was directly under the control of Cheshire County Council, with local decisions being taken by a Parish Council.
In 1931 Cheshire decided that Upton would be better served by being part of one of the neighbouring Urban Authorities (Birkenhead and Wallasey).
Unlike today, when you would read about it in the local papers after it had been transferred, the people of Upton were able to vote for joining either Birkenhead or Wallasey.
Polling day was set for 10th March 1931, both Authorities ran campaigns to try and win votes, offering the various services that they had (buses, water, electricity etc.)
On the 9th of March, a Wallasey fire engine arrived in Upton Village with a placard saying 'We Can reach any fire in Upton in Ten Minutes'. Shortly afterwards a Birkenhead fire engine arrived with a placard saying 'Why wait ten minutes?'
The result of the poll was 661 in favour of joining Birkenhead and 240 for Wallasey, so Upton became part of Birkenhead.
Thanks Neston for the map of the [censored] heaps and the quay am goin for a look (and a pint) sometime this weekend.
Just read something else in the "Wirral Camera Obscura" by Andy Wood about Denhall Colleries part of it describes how coal was hauled to the bottom of the shaft in small boats along two underground canals and they would be propelled by a miner lying on his back on the coal pushing his feet along the roof.
It says the shafts where sealed up and are 200 yards south of the Harp Inn but does anyone know exactly where they are??
Iv been there several times. Some of the shafts even went under the river. There are photos floating around on the net somewhere of the inside and some of the kids who worked in there. One of the local pubs also has photos of the miners
Went down today and found absolutely nothing mining related or the [censored] heaps? think i might be looking in the wrong place. I walked past the harp inn and looked in the areas by the quays.
Can anyone show us a map of exactly where the shafts where please?
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