Welcome to History of Wirral
Brief History of 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, 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 and pottery have been found in Oxton, Neston, and Meols. 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.[4] * 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. * Around 70 AD, Romans occupied Chester. Evidence of their occupation in Wirral has been found, including the remains of a road near Mollington, Ledsham and Willaston. This road 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 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. |
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* Bromborough on 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 united to fight the combined forces of the Norsemen and the Scots, and thus historians consider it the birthplace of England. The battle site covered a large area of Wirral. Egil's Saga, a story which tells of the battle, may have referred to Wirral as Wen Heath, This is the first battle where England came together as one country.
* At the end of the 12th 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 * The nineteenth century..The first steam ferry service across the Mersey started in 1817, and steam-powered ships soon opened up Wirral's Mersey coast for industrialisation. 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. 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, * 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 1886, the Mersey Railway tunnel was opened, linking Wirral and Liverpool. This led to the further rapid growth of suburbs 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 * The twentieth century..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. 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 to protect the docks of Birkenhead and Liverpool. * After the Second World War, economic decline began to set 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 * Wirral in literature
As part of the 1953 Coronation celebrations the Queen visits Wallasey & Birkenhead in June of that year. * The New Brighton Murderer 1890
Mr. Justice Stephen, who presided in the Crown Court, Felix Spicer, rigger, 60 years of age, was brought up charged with having, at Liscard, on the 25th May, 1890. feloniously, wilfully, and of his malice aforethought, killed and murdered William Spicer; further, with having, at Liscard , on the 25th May, 1890, killed and murdered Henry Spicer; and further, with having, at Liscard, on the 25th May, 1890, attempted to kill and murder Mary Ann Palin. Since the trial and conviction of Felix Spicer for the murder of his two children at New Brighton, circumstances have, it is stated, come to light bearing on the suggestion that the condemned man was insane at the time that he committed the deed. Spicer has a brother living in Birkenhead, and a half-brother, two sisters, and other relatives living in London. "Some of his London relatives," says a correspondent. "had expected to be called at the trial at Chester to give evidence as to the insanity which has from time to time manifested itself in the family, and the fact that they were not is said to be due to the late hour at which Mr Burke Wood was instructed, and that he was not then in possession of the information, which has now come to light. Wirral - Memories of the 1960s and 70s
The Wirral
Old Wirral
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Wirral Past 1900 - 1920s - Part 1 of 5
Wirral Past 1920-1930 - Part 1 of 5
Wirral Past 1960 - 1970s - Part 1 of 5
Wirral in War
Wirral Past 1940 - 1950s - Part 1 of 5
Wirral's Wild World 1962 - 1977
Round the Wirral with a Movie Camera (1934)
Wirral railways - Documentary
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The Wirral Song