Birkenhead
This article is about Birkenhead in northwest England. For other meanings of the word and places with this name, see Birkenhead (disambiguation)Birkenhead is a town on
the Wirral Peninsula, on the left bank of the
River Mersey, opposite
Liverpool. The town was famous as a
sea port and as a centre for
ship building as it was close to the maritime activity of
Liverpool. The town is part of the
Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in
Merseyside. Birkenhead, with the rest of
the Wirral Peninsula, was (prior to
1974) under the administration of the county of
Cheshire. The
Member of Parliament is
Frank FieldThe name Birkenhead is possibly from the
Old English bircen meaning birch tree, of which there were many, once growing, on the headland which jutted into the river, at
Woodside.
The first
Mersey ferry began operating from Birkenhead in
1150 when
Benedictine monks under the leadership of Hamon de Mascy built a
priory there. Distanced from the ravages of the
Industrial Revolution in
Liverpool and the North-West by the physical barrier of the
River Mersey, Birkenhead retained its
agricultural status until the advent of the steam
ferry service in
1820. Ready access from
Liverpool now opened up
the Wirral Peninsula for development and prompted the rapid growth of Birkenhead as an industrial centre. This access was further improved by the building of the
Mersey Railway tunnel in
1886 and later by the building of the
Queensway Tunnel in
1934.
Birkenhead Park is acknowledged to be the first publicly funded park in
Britain. The park was the forerunner of the
Parks Movement and its influence was far reaching both in this country and abroad â€" most notably on
Olmsted's design for
Central Park, New York. Designed by
Joseph Paxton (later Sir Joseph Paxton) in
1843 and officially opened in
1847, it was an immediate economic and social success. The history of the park is inseparable from that of Birkenhead town, itself.
Michael Marks, of
Marks & Spencer, opened one of his first seven
Penny Bazaar stalls here, in
Birkenhead Market, during the 1880s.
Ship-building started in 1829. The business eventually became
Cammell Laird.
John Laird, a Scot, was influential in the design of the town and so parts were laid out in a grid-iron pattern like the New Town in
Edinburgh with similar architecture.
*
HMS Achilles*
HMS Affray*
CSS Alabama*
HMS Ark Royal*
HMS Birkenhead*
HMS Caroline*
Huáscar*
RMS Mauretania*
Resurgam*
HMS Thetis''* Birkenhead had the first street
tramway in
Europe. Opened on
29 August 1860 the first line ran from
Woodside (landing stage of the
Mersey Ferry) to
Birkenhead Park. (A preserved tram can be seen at
Woodside today.)
* Birkenhead and
Liverpool became the first major
conurbations in northwest
England to be served by an
underground railway system, which became part of "
Merseyrail" in the 1970s and 1980s. The major underground station in Birkenhead is
Hamilton Square, the nearest station to the
ferry terminal.
Hamilton Square is linked to the "Liverpool Loop Line", which includes
James Street,
Moorfields,
Liverpool Lime Street and
Liverpool Central stations, all of which are underground. Other stations located in Birkenhead include Birkenhead Central, Green Lane, Conway Park, Birkenhead Park and Birkenhead North. Lines from Birkenhead travel South to Chester and Ellesmere Port. A line leaves Birkenhead North and travels around the North and West of Wirral, ultimately leaving England near Shotton and terminating in Wrexham. For network Map visit
View Merseyrail Network Map* Birkenhead's oldest independent school is
Birkenhead School. It was exclusively a boys' school from its founding in
1860 until
2000 when its Sixth Form became co-educational. It also has a preparatory school for boys aged 3–11 and a co-educational
nursery from 3 months. Former "Old Birkonians" (as former pupils are known) include the lawyer
F. E. Smith, who took the title of "Lord Birkenhead" when he entered the
House of Lords,
Andreas Whittam Smith, chairman of the
British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) and the founder of
The Independent quality daily newspaper,
Andrew Irvine, famous for attempting
Mount Everest and
Philip Toosey, hero at the
Bridge on the River Kwai.
* Birkenhead's technical college in Woodside (Previously in Borough Road), now called
Wirral Metropolitan College, had a theatre named after one of its most famous former students and Birkonian (born 1936),
Glenda Jackson, the
Oscar-winning actress and
Member of Parliament. Sadly the college and the
Glenda Jackson Theatre were demolished in late
2005, to make way for apartment blocks, although
Wirral Metropolitan College flourishes on other sites across the Wirral. A little known fact is that the theatre secretly housed an emergency command centre for the region in its basement, accessible via the college. Politicians and officials would have retreated to this secure bunker in the event of nuclear war to coordinate the recovery effort. By the
1990s the bunker had been decommissioned, and the surrounding complex of rooms was used by the college as a rehearsal space and a recording studio.
*
World War One poet,
Wilfred Owen, although born in
Oswestry, was educated at the
Birkenhead Institute. A road on the site of the re-located school has been named after him: Wilfred Owen Way. Another recently created road also bears his name in the form of Wilfred Owen Drive. His former home on Elm Grove is now adorned with a commemorative English Heritage Blue Plaque.
* Actor
Lewis Collins, who portrayed the character of detective Bodie in the 1970s
ITV series, "
The Professionals", was born in Birkenhead.
*
Patricia Routledge, best known for being Mrs.
Hyacinth Bucket (pron. 'Bouquet'!) was born here in 1929 and attended
Birkenhead High School where she sang in the choir and ran the
Sunday School.
* The former England rugby union player
Matt Dawson was born in Birkenhead on
31 October 1972. He was part of the England squad which won the Rugby World Cup in 2003.
*
'Dixie' Dean, record-breaking footballer, was born at 313 Laird Street in 1907
*Comedian and TV host
Paul O'Grady (also known as
Lily Savage) was born in Birkenhead and was a pupil at
St. Anselm's College.
*The
Boo Radleys and cult 1980s indie band
Half Man Half Biscuit hail from Birkenhead.
* Despite being in
England, Birkenhead hosted
Wales's
National Eisteddfod in
1917, as well as an unofficial National Eisteddfod event in
1879.
* The first
Boy Scout group in the world was founded as the 1st Birkenhead
YMCA in
1906. The original Scout headquarters were in Park Road West. In 1929 the 3rd
World Scout Jamboree was held at
Arrowe Park, Birkenhead.
* Birkenhead is the home of No.400 Squadron of the
Air Training Corps.
* Birkenhead is mentioned in the
song "What She Said" on the
album Meat Is Murder by
The Smiths:
What she read/All heady books/She'd sit and prophesise/(It took a tattooed boy from Birkenhead/To really really open her eyes).* The town is also mentioned in the song "Everything Is Sorrow" on the
Boo Radleys'
C'mon Kids album:
I worked in Birkenhead for you/It brings me tears even now.*
Tranmere Rovers Football Club is based in the
Tranmere area of Birkenhead.
*
Historic Warships at Birkenhead*
Laird Shipbuilders *
Birkenhead Parish History *
Birkenhead Priory*
Birkenhead Park*
Birkenhead School*
Michael Marks
