Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past History Information Request Photos of Rock Ferry/Old Chester Road

Hi all,

I am looking for old pics of Rock Ferry, in particular the shops along Old Chester Road. I remember the old Saunders Brothers Furniture shop, the offy on the corner of Southwick Road, the Cosmic television shop, the shops alongside the Co-op (Jade House chip shop, the old snooker/darts supplier etc.) and the large disused building that snaked around the corner of Old Chester Road and St. Paul's opposite the Fairfield (not to mention Tina's barbers where the Mazin Pizza is now!)

Sounds like a strange request, but I'm on a nostaligia trip at the minute!!!

That "large disused building" was a book shop/book binders/printers and a taxi office.

Barbers Shop - Misc SecondHand
VideoScope (Videos & Off Licence) = That's now a glass shop
Chandlers = That's now a house
Chip Shop - Chinese Takeaway
Candy Box Newsagents - K & G News
Lil's Open all Hours - BigaByte Mobiles
GreenGrocers - Now a house
Plush Brush - BigaByte Computers
Sylvias Rainbow (Wool Shop) - Flats
Upholstery - Flats

Sorry Doc but the bookbinders/printers was on Grove road. I had a friend who lived in the massive flat that was above/behind it.
The taxi office is right and there was an electrical shop on the Old Chester road side.

Hi on the corner of Crofton Rd, before Saunders was 'Wyburns' which sold fruit , veg an flowers, next to that was 'Audreys' baby shop-she sold everythin in there! had all kinds hangin up from the ceilin, an she never seemed to age!
On the same block as the 'Fairfield' where nailbar is now was a launderette,for years, we used to take my mates washin there for her mum, an we used to eat a bag of chips in there while we were waitin!

I thought that was the building he meant, the one where the Lidl is now, it used to have the old K6 red phone box in front of it. The taxi office WAS in that building, and then moved across the road (where they have the push button dialer in the wall for it now) before it was knocked down as well and Tranmere Urban Village was created.

The electrical shop, do you mean Winners DIY ? He had shop there originally and then got a new one when the Mazin Pizza block was built.

Some of us are old enough to remember Saunders back in the day when it was
the Colleseum Picture House.! The block going round the corner of Old
Chester Road into St Pauls Road was a big Co-op Shop. with 2 floors of meeting
rooms and offices above . This was in the 1950s and 60s. Then it became
mostly occupied by Fisher Audio Visual in the 1980s. I have photos of all the
shops you mention but do not know how to put them on this site !!
BUT please remember places like Wyburns and Saunders etc etc were never
in Rock Ferry . That area was always Lower Tranmere . Rock Ferry finished on the
other side of St Pauls Rd where Lidl shop is now. Our stupid Council Officers do
not know where Rock Ferry ends and Tranmere starts!!

You also had the likes of Gellvears- used to get our sweets from there on the way to school, Charlies (sweetshop), Cunnighams chippy,think it was Healy the dentists, Sayers was next to the butchers too !!

No it sold Tv's Stereos and other high end electricals.
I just can't remember the name of it.
Weren't Winners further down on the same side they are now? If I recall correctly wasn't it called Ricky's DIY

I think you means Fishers Audio Visual, big shop, strange windows and looked completely out of place amongst all the other shops.

Pretty sure it was Winners, but I'll give Steve (who owns it) a call on Monday and check, I know when he was telling me about how he had the previous place because it affected how he got the new building.

Hmm the end of my post appears to be missing. I meant wasn't Winners called Ricky's previously.
I think you're right with Fishers I remember the tall, narrow windows.

I remember a murder took place in the doorway by the old printers in the early 70's, someone was stabbed to death. I was brought up in Rock ferry and remember going into the chandlers getting Blue paraffin from the machine inside, loved the smell of that place.

It was called Rickys and was on the opposite corner to Wyburns .

I had the same problem until I got into family history. My grandparents and parents always spoke as if they lived in Rock Ferry but lived in 60 Mersey Road which was in Lower Tranmere. I suppose most of their shopping, etc., was done in Bedford Road and New Chester Road, Rock Ferry, so I think I understand their attachment to that part of RF and also the ferry. The houses in Mersey Road bore some resemblance to the up-market architect designs of Rock Park. I'd love to know the connection. They had the same river view but from Lower Tranmere!

Bri

Funny; I would have thought that 60 Mersey Rd. was in Rock Ferry.
I remember as a child, we lived in Ben Nevis Rd. which was in Tranmere (well, Higher Tranmere), but my mother always claimed it was Prenton: posher.

The tithe map of 1843, when this area was starting to be developed, shows the boundary just South of the road. The Godfrey map of 1899 calls it South Tranmere.

Thanks for the replies, I completely forgot about Wyburn's!
As for Dacre Hill, I reckon you'll find old sepia photos with the Man Wah on it!!

i remember the big shop at the end opp the Fairfield pub was a motorbike shop for a while my mates dad owned ricky's diy.i also remember the tudor stores with the old post in the doorway

oh and the jolly Rodger video shop. Margaret hair dressers and charlies sweet shop on the corner

lol - sounds like it stocked 'specialist' films...

was the shop corner of Old Chester Rd/St Pauls called Sturlas?

I remember that murder,it was a chap named Randy something,he was involved in an argument with a couple in the Lord Napier.If memory serves,they had a second hand (junk) shop.Anyway, they went looking for him,he armed with a shotgun she with a swordstick and he ended up bleeding to death on his doorstep.

has anybody had any luck,re: any pictures of the above said shops? ive been to the wirral archive and had a good rummage through numerous books, but to no avail. regards.

There are two other topics on Old Chester Road on Wiki, and I know they both contain photographs and comments that may be of use to you, assuming that you haven't seen them already.

I'm fairly sure that this is the old Roberts Moore Nicholas Jones building, now Simple Credit.



Definitely is, the old Woolworths is there, when they were F W Woolworth

The pic is New Ferry at the crossroads/Tollbar
The main building used to be a pub Wynnstay Arms

thats new ferry

I know, but close enough I thought :-)

How about this one then:



Rock Ferry Station.

I think this one might have been posted before.

isn't this New Ferry bypass being built?

The shop on the corner of Old Chester Road and St Paul's Road was not Sturlas but was in fact a similar type of shop called Rostences'

You used to get the football echo at 6-00pm on Saturday evening from a seller in the doorway of Rostences in the 50s and 60s

The book binders/printers was/is Countyvise now based in Birkenhead.

They're also a publisher.

does anybody have any pictures of the shops/library at the top end of old chester road rockferry? ie....galviers sweet shop, queenies news agents opposite, wendys, charlies chippy. (aka. the golden sunrise) thanks any1.

remember the Bluebird cafe ?

i dont remember it. where about on old chester road was that mate?

I did a lot of my courting in the Blue Bird cafe,I knew how to show a girl a good time.