Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past History Information Request Knowledge of old Birkenhead Street.....

Thanks for the clarification, marty. What scale are those maps? Look like 50 or 60 inches to the mile.

Thanks for some fascinating information about that area, marty.
Up until the 1960s, there was still a street sign saying Carpenters Row along the frontage of Chester Street near the old passageway - that's why I thought those houses on Chester Street were Carpenters Row.
It's unbelievable to see from the map how close-packed those court dwellings were - what an awful place to live!
I'd love to see a bit more of the 1875 map. Can you tell me where I can get a copy?

The large scale 1875 OS maps are officially referred to as 'town plans' and were drawn at 1:500 scale, which I believe roughly equates to 60 inches to the mile.

The series covering Birkenhead (and a bit of Rock Ferry) consists of about 80 large sheets; there are 25 of these sheets to every one of the familiar 1:2500 maps (ie the ones that are published by Alan Godfrey). I'm not sure whether Birkenhead Reference Library still has a full set of these plans; they certainly used to. Wirral Archives at Cheshire Lines have several sets, but many of their copies have alterations and additions made over the years in the late 1800s by the Corporation's Borough Engineers Department.

For reference purposes, all the original sheets are available online (albeit digitally watermarked) via old-maps.co.uk; their website is not the easiest to use, but once you get the hang of it you can access virtually every OS sheet ever published up till the mid-1960s and a few from the early 70s.

Thank you all so much for taking the time to reply with such great info!!
Carpenters Row is where my Mother in laws Great Grandparents , John and Jane Smith lived with their family. They are listed as residing there at both the 1841 and 1851 census but had moved to Egerton Street by 1861.Being able to offer some insight into the conditions of her ancestors will really add to the content of the family tree I am doing as a gift for my mother in law.
The info on Whetstone View is also great as I think this is where her Father James Smith was born in 1915. The family were living at 1 Whetstone View in 1911. He came down to Coventry and Married in 1939 , from what my mother in laws says , he never spoke of his family in Birkenhead and she never met any of her relatives. She describes him as a rather cold and harsh character but hopefully some of the information describing the harsh conditions may go some way to explain why he was how he was.
Thanks once again I'm so glad I found this site and posted.

Emma

1840s would have been a time when Birkenhead was really beginning to grow and labourers came from all parts of the country to find work here
Have a look HERE

look at #489604
City of the Dead

Whetstone View was still marked on the OS map in 1954, but had gone by the next edition in 1974, so was probably demolished some time in the 1960s, when a lot of other old property in the centre of Birkenhead was pulled down. No 1, by the way, was the house at the right hand end of the row on the map.

Hi, marty; if the plans are indeed 1:500 that is roughly 126 inches to the mile. the Ordnance Survey commonly used, as well as 1:500 & 1:1000 scales, 60 inches to the mile (1:1056) & sometimes 120 inches to the mile (1:528). The mind boggles at the amount of work required to map at these scales.
As a matter of interest, I bought on CD from Liverpool archives the 1847/1864 town plan at 60 inches to the mile.

chriskay
As a matter of interest, I bought on CD from Liverpool archives the 1847/1864 town plan at 60 inches to the mile.

Is that of Liverpool or Birkenhead?
I would be interested in getting it if it's of Birkenhead.

Liverpool, Derek.

Sorry Chris, you're quite right. I didn't have my calculating head on yesterday! The 1:500 plans were drawn up as the metric equivalent of the earlier 10 feet to the mile maps. Mea culpa.

The amount of work involved in compiling such detailed maps was indeed tremendous - which is one reason why the OS essentially gave up producing maps at such large scales in the 1890s.

I my served my apprentership with a company based in Egerton st
it was opposite the main enterance to the tunnel the company was
called J&E HALL in the late 50s
My best mate used to live in no 2 Gladstone st off Exmouth st
I dont think any of them exsist now
Ex Birkoneon and proud of it

Don't suppose anyone can tell me when Thomas Street (by Birkenhead's Central Station) ceased being a residential road? Did it get bombed during the war, or was it simply bull-dozed away to make room for the flyover?

Any info at all would be much appreciated.

No sign of any bomb damage on the post WW2 OS maps. The east side of the street was demolished in the late 60s when the Tunnel Approach flyovers were being built. The west side must have followed soon afterwards, as all the properties had gone by the time of the 1973 OS revsion.

only bit left there now from 50s is the House of Pain/exAtmosphere club which used to be the Shaftsbury Boys Club

Thanks marty, that's very useful. I'm doing some family research and only recently discovered that the family home in question is now the site of SRT Motorcycles in Thomas Street. It's hard to imagine anyone ever used to live around there, as it's such a soulless area.

I'll have to ask around and see if I can find any pictures of what it used to be like.