Birkenhead Monks Ferry railway station was a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

, Wirral,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It was situated very close to the

River Mersey The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part ...

named after the monks at Birkenhead Priory. For most of its life, the station was part of the

Chester and Birkenhead Railway Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

, a joint railway. The station was originally opened without authority in April 1838. However, due to the objections and legal proceedings of the operators of the Woodside Ferry the station closed until it was purchased and reopened on 23 October 1844 via an extension of the line from Birkenhead Grange Lane. Subsequently, Grange Lane closed and Monks Ferry remained the main Birkenhead rail terminus for both passenger and goods traffic until the opening of

Birkenhead Woodside Birkenhead Woodside was a railway station at Woodside, in Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, Cheshire. It was served by local services in Cheshire as well as long-distance services to southern England, including London. Background Birkenhea ...

on 1 April 1878. After this date, all passenger services were transferred to Woodside and Monks Ferry concentrated on goods and coal supply. Provision was made at Monks Ferry for a connection to the internal rail system of shipbuilders

Cammell Laird Cammell Laird is a British shipbuilding company. It was formed from the merger of Laird Brothers of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century. The company also built railway rolling stock until 1929, ...

, which lay to the south of the station. This was via a set of sidings, with the connecting track at a

right angle In geometry and trigonometry, a right angle is an angle of exactly 90 Degree (angle), degrees or radians corresponding to a quarter turn (geometry), turn. If a Line (mathematics)#Ray, ray is placed so that its endpoint is on a line and the ad ...

to station approaches. Birkenhead Monks Ferry railway station closed for freight traffic in 1961, although the station and tracks survived until 1967. The site has since been cleared, with little evidence left of its former use. A residential development now occupies the area.

References

External links

Birkenhead Monks Ferry at Disused Stations
Buildings and structures in Birkenhead Disused railway stations in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral Former Birkenhead Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1844 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1878 {{Merseyside-railstation-stub

References

Further reading

External links