Birkenhead Tourism Architecture Ferry Priory Spaceport Williamson Art Wirral UK

Birkenhead History & Architecture

Prior to the industrial revolution and Birkenhead's development as port and dockyard centre, the Wirral was just a small cluster of settlements. The Benedictine Monks at Birchen Head Priory established the first ferry across the Mersey in 1330 by permission of Edward III. This early ferry service improved access to the Wirral, but it was not until the 1820s with the arrival of steam powered boats that the Wirral really began to open up. From the 1820s Birkenhead became one of the busiest industrial centres in the North with famous industrial names such as George Stephenson planning the Wirral's first railway in 1840. The first docks began to emerge at Birkenhead in 1847 followed by the famous development of its municipal park. First opened in 1847, Birkenhead Park, with its spectacular lakes and landscaping, was designed by Joseph Paxton. This famous park influenced the design of numerous parks around the world including serving as inspiration for the design of Central Park in New York!

Big shipbuilding names like John Laird moved into Birkenhead in the 1820 at the historic Cammell Laird yard and industries such as tanning, oil refining, flour milling and rubber and paint product production flourished. The 1880s saw the development of railway links including the historic first railway tunnel under the River Mersey undertaken by pioneering Victorian engineers. Once the tunnel was in, development boomed with the building of Port Sunlight south of Birkenhead in 1888 by Lever Brothers (now a part of the Unilever Group) to house workers in his paternalist village utopia. Other firsts in the town was the firstt Passenger Tramway with tram building works situated in Cleveland Street. For a fascinating insight into the Wirral and Birkenhead's Transport heritage the Wirral Transport Museum is essential visiting.

Birkenhead's industrial heritage is revealed in its feast of Grade 1 listed architecture. Birkenhead boasts the highest number of Grade 1 listed buildings situated in one place in England, second only to London's Trafalgar Square. Hub of Birkenhead's outstanding architecture is Georgian Hamilton Square dating from 1826. Here you'll also find the ornate Town Hall dating later from 1887 with local Storeton Quarry providing the sandstone.

Down on Birkenhead's waterfront the mark of Herbert J Rowse's huge towers are on this side of the water as well as on the Liverpool Mersey side with Georges Dock Ventilation Tower. Find out more about Birkenhead's fascinating Heritage trail at both the Wirral Museum on historic Hamilton Square and the Wirral Transport Museum on Taylor Street.

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Mersey Ferries, The Big Mersey Adventure & Spaceport

Mersey Ferry trips are part of the Big Mersey Adventure experience (weblink right) and includes the ferry trip with comprehensive historic commentary and a visit to Spaceport themed attraction sited at the Seacombe Ferry Terminal across the water.

The Mersey Ferries River Explorer departs from Pierhead on the Liverpool waterfront to Seacombe and Woodside on the Wirral every hour from 10am to 3pm daily Mondays to Fridays. See the timetable in full on the Mersey Ferry website. Spaceport based at the Seacombe Terminal forms part of the experience and is a new space themed visitor attraction. (See Spaceport's webguide right for details, open Tuesdays to Sundays 10.30am to 6pm, last entry 4.30pm).

Seacombe Ferry Terminal [Wirral] Mersey Ferries, Victoria Place, Seacombe, Wallasey, Wirral, Merseyside CH44 6QY. Tel Switchboard. 0151 639 0609.

Woodside Ferry Terminal, Mersey Ferries, Woodside, Birkenhead, Merseyside CH41 6DU. Telephone. 0151 330 1473. (see the Mersey Ferries webguide right for timetables & more details).

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The Wirral Museum & Hamilton Square Birkenhead

Housed in the spectacular Birkenhead Town Hall on Hamilton Square, The Wirral Museum is home to a series of comprehensive exhibitions exploring the history of the Birkenhead & the Wirral. Exhibitions include a fascinating one on the Cammell Laird Shipyard, from its inception to decline.

Architecturally stunning, the town hall was built from a combination of Scottish granite and local sandstone and dates from 1887. The clock tower stretches up 200 feet making Birkenhead Town Hall clearly visible from the Liverpool Mersey waterfront. Inside stunning architectural features include the main staircase and stained glass windows. The town hall serves as centrepiece to the Georgian Square - the visition of William Laird's Birkenhead, the city of the future and the houses surrounding the square date from between 1844 and 1852.

Collections held here alongside the extensive Cammell Laird archive include the Wirral Silver and Mayoral collections, Della Robbia pottery and numerous photographs and documents pertaining to other Birkenhead industries and social history.

Wirral Museum, Hamilton Square, Birkenhead, CH41 5BR. Tel. 0151 666 4010. Admission Free. Open Tuesdays to Sundays 10am to 5pm all year round including Bank Holidays.

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Birkenhead Priory & St Mary's Tower

Established in 1150, the remains of Birkenhead Priory - a Benedictine Monastery, are the oldest in Merseyside making this a particularly special site. The earliest ferry crossings of the Mersey can be traced to the Benedictine Monks who set up camp here.

Admission is free to this historic site, with inclusive museum exhibitions. A climb up the tower of St Mary's, Birkenhead's first parish church dating from 1822, affords spectacular views across the Mersey to the Liverpool Waterfront.

Birkenhead Priory & St Mary's Tower, Priory Street, Birkenhead, Wirral, Merseyside CH41 5JH. Admission is Free.

Open Summer Wednesday - Friday 1pm to 5pm, Saturday & Sunday 10am to 5pm. Winter Wednesday - Friday 12 noon to 4pm. (November - March) Saturday & Sunday 10am - 4pm. Also open Bank Holidays. All other time by appointment only.

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Williamson Art Gallery & Museum

Purpose built as an art gallery, the Williamson opened its doors in 1928. Like many of Merseyside's fine art galleries, Victorian art is particularly well represented and so it is here at the Williamson where Victorian oils are on display alongside more Della Robbia Pottery, Liverpool Porcelain, the Baxter Vintage Motor Collection and a selection of English watercolours.

As much a local history museum as art gallery, the Williamson has fascinating exhibits of ship models, a model of the Woodside area from the early 1930s and includes displays of decorative arts which feature as part of the Wirral & Merseyside Embroidary Trail.

Williamson Art Gallery and Museum, Slatey Road, Birkenhead, CH43 4UE. Tel.0151 652 4177. Admission is Free.

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Birkenhead Tramway & The Wirral Transport Museum

The very first European tramway opened in Birkenhead in the 1860s and it carried on operating right upto 1937. The Wirral Transport Museum on Taylor Street is well placed in Birkenhead, which was a hub for early Victorian innovative engineering and a key transport centre for railways and trams. Trams were produced at the Starbuck factory on Birkenhead's Cleveland Street and were made both for export and UK use.

On designated days trams still operate in Birkenhead and within the Transport Museum the huge Wirral Transport Collection includes vintage buses, trams, cars and motorcycles with 1930s garage set plus other highlights including the Taylor Street Model Railway, the Baxter Collection, the George Francis Train, a tour of the Starbuck factory and a huge Wirral Transport Library and Archive. The museum also organises vintage bus trips around the Wirral. Checkout the webguide right for details.

Sat-Sun Summer 1pm till 5pm, 1pm to 5pm during winter of 2005/6 to allow passengers to experience riding on an illuminated tramcar at night. Close Mondays & Tuesdays. The museum is free to enter but tram trips are for a small fare.

Birkenhead Tramway and Wirral Transport Museum, 1 Taylor Street, Birkenhead, CH41 1BG Tel. 0151 647 2128.

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Shore Road Pumping Station & Egerton Bridge

Staying in the Woodside area of Birkenhead, more historic industrial gems are on the menu. The Shore Road Pumping Station is home to the Giant Grasshopper engine, a spectacular feat of Victorian engineering built in the 1870s and used to pump water from the Mersey Railway Tunnel. On-site is a video presentation detailing the history and construction of the Mersey Railway Tunnel, the Pump and the Pumping Station.

The ultimate treat is to see this giant pump in action. Kids will love the period 1901 recreated Birkenhead Street scene also on-site. Open in the Summer on Saturday & Sunday from 1pm to 5pm, and in Winter on Saturday & Sunday from 12 noon to 4pm (November - March). Closed Monday to Friday (except by appointment). Tel.0151 666 4000.

By appointment only (Telephone 0151 666 4000) you can view Birkenhead's Egerton Bridge situated off Canning Street. This bridge is an intact and fine example of a Birkenhead Bascule (French for see-saw) bridge, essentially a moveable bridge allowing for the passing of boat traffic. Tower Bridge in London is one of the most famous Bascule bridges. Vintage bus trips from the Wirral Transport Museum often take in Egerton Bridge.

Shore Road Pumping Station Woodside, Birkenhead, CH41 6DN. Tel. 0151 650 1182. Admission Free.

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