MEMORIES AND PHOTOS - 1900s

THE TOLL BAR  c.1901

A colour painting by an unknown artist which shows the Toll Bar crossroads.  For many years, the Wynnstay Arms public house with its mock timber framed upper floor dominated this important road junction. 

New Chester Road had been built in the 1840s as a more direct and evenly graded route between Birkenhead and Chester than its valley-hugging and occasional detouring predecessor (Old Chester Road) in order to improve the speed of the route for horse drawn vehicles.  However, the days of the horse-drawn stagecoaches must always have been numbered as these would have also competed with the railway as the fastest means of transport between the two townships.

Interestingly, the trams in the picture are horseless, the line having been electrified in 1900 with overhead cables.  In 1902, the Birkenhead Tram Company proposed extending the electrified tramway from New Ferry all the way to Chester, but the plans were scuppered following fierce opposition - presumably from the railway company who saw it as a serious threat to their business.

THE PORT SANITARY HOSPITAL  c.1900

Another view of the isolation hospital seen in the 1890s photo collection.  This picture shows the nurses' home. 

When the complex was closed in the early 1960s, local demolition experts were so fearful of contracting one of the diseases which had been treated there that they refused to demolish it.  As a result, the buildings were deliberately burned down by the Fire Department in 1963.  The flames could be seen in the sky as far as Runcorn.  Today, the site is covered by the second phase of the Wimpey estate which was built in 1990.

NEW FERRY CARNIVAL  c.1900

Victorian crowds eagerly await the arrival of the street parade during the New Ferry carnival.  I think this view is at the Toll Bar crossroads looking down New Ferry Road.  This would have been before the bus station (later market; today Rocket Training) was built.

WESLEYAN CHAPEL, BEBINGTON ROAD  c.1900  

The Wesleyan Chapel on the corner of Bebington Road and Boundary Road was constructed in 1892.  In this colourised postcard view, it still looks relatively new.  It was demolished in the 1960s.

THE TRAINING SHIPS  c.1904

For 200 years, many a fine ship has been associated with the River Mersey. However, not many were as well-known as the four training ships - the wooden walls of England. The ships were the Akbar, moored in 1856, the Conway (1859), the Indefatigable (1864) and the Clarence (1864). From left, this view shows the Conway, Akbar and Indi moored off New Ferry. The Clarence was set on fire and destroyed in 1899.

HMS INDEFATIGABLE  c.1900s

A closer look at the 1st HMS Indefatigable. We can see the small boats attached to it which the crew used to travel between the ship and the shore. This particular vsessel was condemned in 1913 and scrapped; it was replaced with another ship in 1914 originally known as the Phaeton, but was renamed Indefatigable and moored in the same place in the river.

THE GAP  c.1908  

The ships were a dominant feature on the river for generations.

THE GAP AND PROMENADE  c.1908 

Let's now take a peek at the Gap again, but this time a view that shows the Promenade to Rock Ferry Pier - now sadly neglected but soon (hopefully) to be refurbished and reopened to the public.  Note also the Edwardian children playing on the sandy beach at high tide.  New Ferry's mostly sandy beach would turn to mud over the next half century.

THE BEACH  c.1909 

This picture was taken at the southern end the Esplanade. There used to be a cut through from New Ferry Road through a rose garden of an old cottage that was there, through some bushes and you'd reach this very nice sandy bay - now, alas, all gone.  The land has since been filled in and this area now forms part of someone's garden.

However, the photo re-emphasizes the point that the New Ferry shoreline was once a safe haven for young children to play, building sandcastles and most likely throwing stones into the water.  

BEBINGTON STATION  c.1909

Bebington Station, seen here looking as a Chester or Ellesmere Port bound steam train arrives at the platform circa 1909 when the line was already 70 years old. Note the ornate wooden station canopies to offer passengers some shelter from the sun or rain whilst waiting for their trains - these have long since gone.

You can see another rare picture of the station and its canopies on the 1960s page.

NEW FERRY ROAD  c.1906

By this time, the New Ferry Hotel on the 1890s page had been transformed into the grand building seen on the left. 

The shops to the right were opened in 1867, two years after the pier had been built.  These shops still stood here until the early 1990s - although they had been empty for many years.  Modern low rise housing now stands on the site.

NEW FERRY ROAD  c.1906

Another view of New Ferry Road, much further along.  The New Ferry Hotel can be seen in the distance.  The trees on the right have long since disappeared behind the wall which today hides a storage yard.  The gas lamps have long gone too.

HENTHORNE ROAD  c.1908 

The early 20th century saw rapid growth in the number of fine terraced houses near to the river, such as these in Henthorne Road which became popular with homeowners in professions related to the river and shipping such as chandlers and boat-builders.  No parked cars to be seen, unlike today, just a single horse and cart.

NEW CHESTER ROAD  c.1906

What a difference to today!  In this photo, only one car is seen chugging up the hill towards the crossroads.  The houses on the left are all still with us, although some have been converted to corner shops or fish and chip shops.  In the early 1970s there were plans to demolish them all to make the road wider.  Fortunately, the proposal was abandoned.

THE PLOUGH VAULTS  c.1907

Photo submitted by www.historyofwallasey.co.uk

Pictured in 1907, the 'Plough Vaults' is seen here on the corner of Bebington Road and Woodhead Street. It was bought by the Birkenhead Brewery at auction on 16th May 1907 for £400.

Today, the site is occupied by Rightway DIY.

ENTRANCE TO THE PIER, NEW FERRY  c.1909  

This colourised view is from the Promenade alongside the houses at Rock Park.  Beyond the Dell, the offices at the pier can be seen, along with the houses at the Esplanade.  To the right, behind the trees, the towers on the last New Ferry Hotel can be seen. 

THE LAST BOAT FROM NEW FERRY  c.1900s  

This amusing postcard depicts the last ferry boat of the day leaving New Ferry for Liverpool.  Day-trippers leap from the pier in a desperate attempt not be left behind.  Were the overnight room charges at the New Ferry Hotel really that high? 

TRAM TERMINUS / TOLL BAR  c.1909  

This colourised is of the same view as the painting at the top of this page.  In the days before colour photography, it was common for artists to hand-paint over black and white images to produce colourised postcards which visitors to New Ferry could buy to send to their relatives, friends and loved ones. 

TOLL BAR  c.1909  

Another very similar shot, taken closer to the lamp post which stood on a small traffic island at the junction of New Chester Road and Bebington Road in the early years of the 20th century.  However, in this and the shot above, the glazed gas lantern appears to have been replaced with a much larger version that shown in the painting at the top of the page. 

TOLL BAR / BEBINGTON ROAD  c.1909  

Let's turn 90 degrees to our left (from our position in the photo above) to look down Bebington Road towards the station.  The building that became the (now empty) HSBC Bank can be seen on the left, still quite new after it had replaced the former toll house.  Who were the group of girls seen standing together at the junction - were they on an outing from their school with their teachers?

NEW FERRY TRAM NUMBER 5  c.1908  

As detailed on these pages, New Ferry was an important terminus for trams which came as far as here from Birkenhead.  As the lower sign tells us, they were run by the Birkenhead Corporation Tramways Company.  Although this view shows a New Ferry bound tram on New Chester Road, we have no way of knowing exactly where this was taken since the mature trees seen behind it are obviously no longer with us and have long since been replaced with buildings.

TRAM NUMBER 6 AT THE NEW FERRY TERMINUS  c.1908  

New Ferry also seems to be an important place for trams and showing them off to visiting dignitaries.  So many photos are clearly posed for the camera - perhaps commemorating the arrival of a new tram to the route?  We have no way of knowing who is posing here and why.  The tram shed behind is seen elsewhere on these pages - today it is the site of New Ferry's post office.

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