Brief History of Wallasey-
* The name of Wallasey originates from the Germanic word Walha, meaning stranger or foreigner, which is also the origin of the name Wales. The suffix “-ey” denotes an island or area of dry land. Originally the higher ground now occupied by Wallasey was separated from the rest of Wirral by the creek known as Wallasey Pool (which later became the docks), the marshy areas of Bidston Moss and Leasowe, and sand dunes along the coast. * Wallasey main activities in the area were farming and fishing. The area also had a reputation for smuggling and “wrecking”,[4] the act of luring ships onto rocks or sandbanks with false lights in order to raid their cargo. Underground cellars and tunnels, which were used to hide cargo pilfered from wrecked ships still exist in the town.[5] As late as 1839, the “Pennsylvania” and two other ships were wrecked off Leasowe in a severe storm, and their cargoes and furnishings were later found distributed among local residents. * In 1835 Liscard Hall was built by another merchant, Sir John Tobin. Its grounds later became Central Park. His family also developed a “model farm” nearby. Liscard Hall was destroyed by a fire on 7 July 2008. The damage was so severe, the whole building had to be demolished * Though Wallasey is recorded in the Doomsday Book of 1086 little is known of its ancient history but a number of remains, including a human skull, have been found, mainly during excavation of the Wallasey Pool. Stone implements have also been found from time to time and in 1898 a supposed Neolithic factory for the manufacture of flints was discovered at the Red Noses, New Brighton. In more recent times Wallasey was three townships - Wallasey, Poulton-cum-Seacombe and Liscard. In 1850 Seacombe was made up of one main street, Victoria Road (now Borough Road) two or three cross streets, an outlying terrace, a few scattered houses and a district bordering the pool given to various industries. Beyond were corn fields, pasture lands, lanes and dells. * East Float Dock With the expansion of trade on the Mersey, new docks were constructed between 1842 and 1847 in the Wallasey Pool, and by 1877 the dock system between Wallasey and neighbouring Birkenhead was largely complete. The area around the docks became a centre for engineering industries, many associated with shipbuilding, and other activities including sugar refining and the manufacture of cement and fertilisers. Bidston Dock, the last in the area, was opened in 1933, but was filled in during 2003 * In 1886, with the opening of the Mersey Railway allowing access via a tunnel to Liverpool, the pace of housing development increased, particularly in the Liscard and Wallasey Village areas.[citation needed] The area now called Wallasey comprises several distinct districts which gradually merged to form a single built-up area during the 19th and early 20th centuries. * The Beatles played some of their first shows outside Liverpool at the Grosvenor Ballroom in Liscard in 1960, and over the next few years also played several times at the Tower Ballroom in New Brighton. On 12 October 1962, they played there as the support act for Little Richard. Wallasey was also the home base of another leading Merseybeat group, the Undertakers featuring Jackie Lomax. * Wallasey became a County Borough in 1913, and its town hall opened in 1916. The borough boundaries expanded to include Moreton and Saughall Massie in 1928. Egremont developed as an affluent residential area in the early 19th century, and was named by one Captain Askew who built a house in the area in 1835 and named it after his Cumberland birthplace. * The following Celebrities were born in Wallasey > * Charles Crichton (1910–1999), film director (The Lavender Hill Mob, A Fish Called Wanda) * Deryck Guyler (1914–1999), actor and comedian _ * Graham Stark (1922–2013), actor * Dickie Davies (b 1933), TV sports journalist and presenter * Rita Hunter CBE (1933–2001), opera singer * Geoffrey Hughes (1944-2012), actor * Jackie Lomax (1944-2013), singer-songwrite * Nigel Olsson (b 1949), rock drummer (Elton John) Ray Stubbs (b 1956), TV sports presenter Ray Stubbs (b 1956), TV sports presenter Louise Delamere (b 1969), actress Elizabeth Berrington, (b 1970), actress Dominic Purcell, (b 1970), actor Austin Healey (b 1973), Leicester and England Rugby Union player Jenny Frost, (b 1978), singer (member of Atomic Kitten) Jay Spearing (b 1988), Bolton Wanderers F.C. defender and defensive midfielder * Fred Perry, Wimbledon tennis champion in the 1930s, lived in Wallasey briefly during his early childhood.[11] Victor Tindall, England rugby player, was educated at the Wallasey Grammar School during the Second World War.[12] Eric Idle, of Monty Python fame, lived in Wallasey between the ages of three and nine (1946–1952). Other former residents include Matthew Smith, games programmer who developed several well-known titles for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum in the 1980s; and Simon "Sice" Rowbottom (b 1969), now an award-winning psychologist working in Oxfordshire and Timothy Brown, now an ICT teacher in Northern Ireland, made famous by being in the 1990s indie and shoegazing band, the Boo Radleys. England International darts player Robbie "Kong" Green lives in the town. Wallasey and Liscard 1960's & 1970's
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Wallasey - Liscard
Wallasey Past & Present
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