the Wirral
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Wirral (; ), known locally as The Wirral, is a
peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...
in
North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...
. The roughly rectangular peninsula is about long and wide and is bounded by the River Dee to the west (forming the boundary with
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
), 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 ...
to the east, and the
Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...
to the north. Historically, the Wirral was wholly in
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
; in the
Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
, its border with the rest of the county was placed at "two arrow falls from
Chester 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 ...
city walls". However, since the
Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...
, only the southern third has been in Cheshire, with almost all the rest lying in the
Metropolitan Borough of Wirral The Metropolitan Borough of Wirral is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, in North West England. It has a population of 321,238, and encompasses of the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula. Major settlements include Birkenhead, Wallasey, Be ...
,
Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...
. An area of
saltmarsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is dominated ...
to the south-west of the peninsula lies in the Welsh county of
Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...
. The most extensive urban development is on the eastern side of the peninsula. The Wirral contains both affluent and deprived areas, with affluent areas largely in the west, south and north of the peninsula, and deprived areas concentrated in the east, especially
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 ...
.


Toponymy

The name Wirral literally means " myrtle corner", from the
Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
, a myrtle tree, and , an angle, corner or slope. It is supposed that the land was once overgrown with bog myrtle, a plant no longer found in the area, but plentiful around
Formby Formby is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 22,419 at the 2011 Census. Historically in Lancashire, three manors are recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 under "For ...
, to which the Wirral would once have had a similar
habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
. The name was given to the
Hundred of Wirral The Hundred of Wirral is the ancient administrative area for the Wirral Peninsula. Its name is believed to have originated from the ''Hundred of Wilaveston'', the historic name for Willaston, which was an important assembly point in the Wirral ...
(or Wilaveston) around the 8th century.


History


Prehistoric settlement

The earliest evidence of human occupation of the Wirral dates from the
Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymous ...
period, around 12000 BC. Excavations at
Greasby Greasby () is a large village on the Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside, England. A predominantly residential area, it is contiguous with Upton to the east and Saughall Massie to the north. The small village of Frankby is to the immediate west. Hist ...
have uncovered flint tools, signs of stake holes and a hearth used by a hunter-gatherer community. Other evidence from about the same period has been found at
Irby Irby may refer to: * Irby (surname), a list of people * Irby, Merseyside, England, a village * Irby, Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community * Irby, Washington, United States, an unincorporated community * Irby in the Marsh, Lincol ...
,
Hoylake Hoylake is a coast, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is at the north west of the Wirral Peninsula, near West Kirby and where the River Dee, Wales, River Dee meets the Irish Sea. Historic counties of En ...
and New Brighton. Later
Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
stone axes and pottery have been found in Oxton,
Neston Neston is a town and civil parish on the Wirral Peninsula, in Cheshire, England. It is part of the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester. The village of Parkgate is located to the north west and the villages of Little Neston and Ness ...
, and
Meols Meols (sometimes known as Great Meols) is a village on the northern coast of the Wirral Peninsula, England. It is contiguous with the town of Hoylake immediately to the west. Historically in Cheshire, since 1 April 1974 it has been part of th ...
. At Meols and New Brighton there is evidence of continuing occupation through to the
Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
, around 1000 BC, and funerary urns of the period have been found at
West Kirby West Kirby is a resort town on the north-west corner of the Wirral Peninsula in Merseyside, England, at the mouth of the River Dee, Wales, River Dee. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Cheshire, to th ...
and
Hilbre The Hilbre Islands ( ) are an archipelago consisting of three islands at the mouth of the estuary of the River Dee, the border between England and Wales at this point. The islands are administratively part of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirra ...
. Before the time of the
Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
, the Wirral was inhabited by a
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...
tribe, the
Cornovii The Cornovii is the name by which two, or three, tribes were known in Roman Britain. One tribe was in the area centred on present-day Shropshire, one was in Caithness in northernmost Scotland, and there was probably one in Cornwall. The name has a ...
. Artefacts discovered in Meols suggest it was an important port from at least 500 BC. Traders came from
Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...
and the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
localities to seek minerals from North Wales and Cheshire. There are remains of a small
Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
fort at Burton, for which the town was named ( being
Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
for "fort town").


The Romans and Britons

Around 70 AD, the Romans founded
Chester 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 ...
. Evidence of their occupation on the Wirral has been found, including the remains of a road near Mollington, Ledsham and Willaston. This road may have continued to the port at Meols, which may have been used as a base for attacking the north Wales coast.
Storeton Storeton is a small village on the Wirral Peninsula, England. It is situated to the west of the town of Bebington and is made up of Great Storeton and Little Storeton, which is classified as a hamlet. At the 2001 Census the population of Storeto ...
Quarry may also have been used by Romans for materials for sculpture. Remains of possible Roman roads have also been found at
Greasby Greasby () is a large village on the Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside, England. A predominantly residential area, it is contiguous with Upton to the east and Saughall Massie to the north. The small village of Frankby is to the immediate west. Hist ...
and at
Bidston Bidston is a village, a parish and a suburb of Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, in the modern county of Merseyside. The area is a mixture of the well-preserved Bidston Village, Bidston Hill, a modern housing estate, and the Bidston Moss nat ...
. By the end of the Roman period, pirates were a menace to traders in the
Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...
, and soldiers may have been garrisoned at Meols to combat this threat. Although Roman rule ended with the departure of the last Roman troops in 410, later coins and other material found at Meols show that it continued to operate as a trading port. Evidence of
Celtic Christianity Celtic Christianity ( kw, Kristoneth; cy, Cristnogaeth; gd, Crìosdaidheachd; gv, Credjue Creestee/Creestiaght; ga, Críostaíocht/Críostúlacht; br, Kristeniezh; gl, Cristianismo celta) is a form of Christianity that was common, or held ...
from the 5th or 6th centuries is shown in the originally circular shape of churchyards at
Bromborough Bromborough is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Cheshire, it is situated on the Wirral Peninsula, to the south east of Bebington and to the north of Easth ...
, Woodchurch and elsewhere, and also in the dedication of the
parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
at
Wallasey Wallasey () is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England; until 1974, it was part of the historic county of Cheshire. It is situated at the mouth of the River Mersey, at the north-eastern corner of the Wirral Pe ...
to a 4th-century bishop,
Hilary of Poitiers Hilary of Poitiers ( la, Hilarius Pictaviensis; ) was Bishop of Poitiers and a Doctor of the Church. He was sometimes referred to as the "Hammer of the Arians" () and the "Athanasius of the West". His name comes from the Latin word for happy or ...
. The Celtic names of
Liscard Liscard is an area of the town of Wallasey, in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The most centrally located of Wallasey's townships, it is the main shopping area of the town, with many shops located in the Cherry Tree Sh ...
and
Landican Landican () is a hamlet on the Wirral Peninsula, in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The hamlet is on the outskirts of Birkenhead, near to Woodchurch and the M53 motorway. Historically part of the county of Cheshire, it ...
(from ''llan''-''T/Decwyn'') both suggest an ancient British origin. The name of Wallasey, meaning "Welsh (or foreigners') island", is evidence of British settlement. The Welsh name, both ancient and modern, for the Wirral is '' Cilgwri''. In
Welsh mythology Welsh mythology (Welsh: ''Mytholeg Cymru'') consists of both folk traditions developed in Wales, and traditions developed by the Celtic Britons elsewhere before the end of the first millennium. As in most of the predominantly oral societies Cel ...
, the ''ouzel'' (or blackbird) of Cilgwri was one of the most ancient creatures in the world.


English and Norse

The
Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
under
Æthelfrith Æthelfrith (died c. 616) was King of Bernicia from c. 593 until his death. Around 604 he became the first Bernician king to also rule the neighboring land of Deira, giving him an important place in the development of the later kingdom of North ...
, king of
Northumbria la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...
, laid waste to Chester around 616. Æthelfrith withdrew, leaving the area west and south of the Mersey to become part of
Mercia la, Merciorum regnum , conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia , common_name=Mercia , status=Kingdom , status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex () , life_span=527–918 , era=Heptarchy , event_start= , date_start= , ye ...
, and Anglo-Saxon settlers took over the Wirral except the northern tip. Many of the Wirral's villages, such as Willaston, Eastham and
Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...
, were established and named at this time. Towards the end of the 9th century,
Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
began raiding the area. They settled along the Dee side of the peninsula, and along the sea coast, giving their villages names such as
Kirby Kirby may refer to: Buildings * Kirby Building, a skyscraper in Dallas, Texas, United States * Kirby Hall, an Elizabethan country house near Corby, Northamptonshire, England * Kirby House (disambiguation), various houses in England and the Unit ...
,
Greasby Greasby () is a large village on the Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside, England. A predominantly residential area, it is contiguous with Upton to the east and Saughall Massie to the north. The small village of Frankby is to the immediate west. Hist ...
and Meols. They introduced their own local government system with a parliament at
Thingwall Thingwall is a village on the Wirral Peninsula, in Merseyside, England. The village is situated approximately to the south west of Birkenhead and north east of Heswall. Historically part of Cheshire, the area is within the Pensby and Thingwal ...
. The pseudo-historical ''
Fragmentary Annals of Ireland The ''Fragmentary Annals of Ireland'' or ''Three Fragments'' are a Middle Irish combination of chronicles from various Irish annals and narrative history. They were compiled in the kingdom of Osraige, probably in the lifetime of Donnchad mac Gilla ...
'' appears to record the Hiberno-Scandinavian settlement of the Wirral peninsula in its account of the immigration of Ingimundr near Chester. This Irish source places this settlement in the aftermath of the Vikings' expulsion from
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
in 902, and an unsuccessful attempt to settle on
Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...
soon afterwards. Following these setbacks, Ingimundr is stated to have settled near Chester with the consent of
Æthelflæd Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians ( 870 – 12 June 918) ruled Mercia in the English Midlands from 911 until her death. She was the eldest daughter of Alfred the Great, king of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex, and his wife Ealhswith. Æth ...
, co-ruler of Mercia. The boundary of the Viking colony is believed to have passed south of Neston and Raby, and along
Dibbinsdale Brotherton Park and Dibbinsdale Local Nature Reserve informally known as Dibbinsdale is a combined park and local nature reserve managed by the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral and located in Bromborough, Merseyside, England. History Dibbinsdale ...
. Evidence of Norse speech on the Wirral can still be seen from place name evidence – such as the common (meaning "village" in Scandinavian languages) –
suffix In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns, adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can carry ...
es and names such as Tranmere, which comes from (" cranebird sandbank"). Viking Age sculpture corroborates this. Recent
Y-DNA The Y chromosome is one of two sex chromosomes (allosomes) in therian mammals, including humans, and many other animals. The other is the X chromosome. Y is normally the sex-determining chromosome in many species, since it is the presence or abse ...
research has also revealed the genetic trail left by Scandinavians on the Wirral, specifically relatively high rates of the
haplogroup R1a Haplogroup R1a, or haplogroup R-M420, is a human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup which is distributed in a large region in Eurasia, extending from Scandinavia and Central Europe to southern Siberia and South Asia. While R1a originated c. 22,000 to 2 ...
, associated in Britain with Scandinavian ancestry.
Bromborough Bromborough is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Cheshire, it is situated on the Wirral Peninsula, to the south east of Bebington and to the north of Easth ...
on the Wirral is also one of the possible sites of an epic battle in 937, the Battle of
Brunanburh The Battle of Brunanburh was fought in 937 between Æthelstan, King of Kingdom of England, England, and an alliance of Olaf Guthfrithson, King of Kingdom of Dublin, Dublin, Constantine II of Scotland, Constantine II, King of Scotland, and O ...
, which confirmed England as an
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
kingdom. This is the first battle where England united to fight the combined forces of the
Norsemen The Norsemen (or Norse people) were a North Germanic ethnolinguistic group of the Early Middle Ages, during which they spoke the Old Norse language. The language belongs to the North Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages and is the pre ...
and the Scots, and thus historians consider it the birthplace of England. The battle site covered a large area of the Wirral.
Egil's Saga ''Egill's Saga'' or ''Egil's saga'' ( non, Egils saga ; ) is an Icelandic saga (family saga) on the lives of the clan of Egill Skallagrímsson (Anglicised as Egill Skallagrimsson), an Icelandic farmer, viking and skald. The saga spans the yea ...
, a story which tells of the battle, may have referred to the Wirral as Wen Heath, in Icelandic.


The Normans and the early Middle Ages

After invading England in 1066 and subduing Northumbria in 1069/1070,
William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...
invaded and ravaged Chester and its surrounding area, laying waste to much of the Wirral. The Domesday survey of 1086 shows that the Wirral then was more densely populated than most of England, and the manor of Eastham, which covered most of the east of the peninsula from
Bidston Bidston is a village, a parish and a suburb of Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, in the modern county of Merseyside. The area is a mixture of the well-preserved Bidston Village, Bidston Hill, a modern housing estate, and the Bidston Moss nat ...
to the
River Gowy The River Gowy is a river in Cheshire, England, a tributary of the River Mersey. It rises in western Cheshire in the hills near Peckforton Castle, very close to the source of the River Weaver. While the Weaver flows south initially, the Gowy f ...
, was the second largest in Cheshire. Of the 28 former lords of the Wirral manors listed, 12 bore Norse names. By 1086, most of the area was in the hands of Norman lords such as
Robert of Rhuddlan Robert of Rhuddlan (died 3 July 1093) was a Norman adventurer who became lord of much of north-east Wales and for a period lord of all North Wales. Robert was the son of Humphrey de Tillieul (or Bigod) and Adeliza de Grentemesnil, brother of Arna ...
, his cousin
Hugh d'Avranches Hugh d'Avranches ( 1047 – 27 July 1101), nicknamed ''le Gros'' (the Large) or ''Lupus'' (the Wolf), was from 1071 the second Norman Earl of Chester and one of the great magnates of early Norman England. Early life and career Hugh d'Avra ...
, and Hamo de Mascy. The survey shows 405 family heads living in the peninsula, suggesting a total population of 2,000–3,000. The
Earls of Chester The Earldom of Chester was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England, extending principally over the counties of Cheshire and Flintshire. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs apparent to the English throne, and ...
ruled the whole of the
County Palatine In England, Wales and Ireland a county palatine or palatinate was an area ruled by a hereditary nobleman enjoying special authority and autonomy from the rest of a kingdom. The name derives from the Latin adjective ''palātīnus'', "relating to ...
, including the Wirral, almost as "a kingdom within a kingdom" for about 250 years. Between 1120 and 1123, Earl Ranulph le Meschin converted the Wirral into a hunting forest, an area in which game, particularly
deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...
and
boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is no ...
, could be allowed to flourish undisturbed. A chief forester was appointed with a ceremonial horn, and the position soon became a hereditary responsibility of the
Stanley family The Stanley family (or Audley-Stanley family) is an English family with many notable members, including the Earls of Derby and the Barons Audley who descended from the early holders of Audley and Stanley, Staffordshire. The two branches of the Au ...
. However, after complaints from the residents about the wildness of the area and oppression by the Stanleys,
Edward the Black Prince Edward of Woodstock, known to history as the Black Prince (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376), was the eldest son of King Edward III of England, and the heir apparent to the English throne. He died before his father and so his son, Richard II, su ...
as Earl of Chester agreed to a charter confirming the disafforestation of the Wirral, shortly before his death from
amoebic dysentery Amoebiasis, or amoebic dysentery, is an infection of the intestines caused by a parasitic amoeba ''Entamoeba histolytica''. Amoebiasis can be present with no, mild, or severe symptoms. Symptoms may include lethargy, loss of weight, colonic ulc ...
. The proclamation was issued by his father
Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...
on 20 July 1376. At the end of the 12th century,
Birkenhead Priory Birkenhead Priory is in Priory Street, Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. It is the oldest standing building on Merseyside. The site comprises the medieval remains of the priory itself, the priory chapter house, and the remains of St Marys chu ...
stood on the west bank of the Mersey at a headland of
birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...
trees, from which the town derives its name. The ruined priory is Merseyside's oldest surviving building and its
Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...
monks provided the first official
Mersey ferry The Mersey Ferry is a ferry service operating on the River Mersey in north west England, between Liverpool to the east and Birkenhead and Wallasey on the Wirral Peninsula to the west. Ferries have been used on this route since at least the 12th ...
service around 1330, having been granted a passage to
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
by a charter from Edward III. At this time, large areas of Wirral were owned by Chester Abbey. In 1278 the Abbey was granted the right to hold an annual three-day fair at Bromborough, but the fair declined after the
Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...
in 1349. Another fair was established in 1299 at Burton. Meanwhile, Meols continued as an important port, and the eroded coastline there has provided what is described as ''"the largest collection of medieval domestic items to have come from any single site outside London"''.


The 16th, 17th and 18th centuries

A Subsidy Roll of 1545 shows that the population of the Wirral was no more than 4,000. The peninsula was divided into 15 parishes (Wallasey, Bidston, Upton, Woodchurch, West Kirby,
Thurstaston Thurstaston is a village on the Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside, England. It is part of the West Kirby and Thurstaston Ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral and the parliamentary constituency of Wirral West. The village lies on the A540 roa ...
,
Heswall Heswall is a town on the Wirral, Merseyside, England. At the 2001 Census, the population was 16,012, including the nearby villages of Barnston and Gayton. Before local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974 it was part of the administr ...
,
Bebington Bebington () is a town and unparished area within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England. Historically part of Cheshire, it lies south of Liverpool, close to the River Mersey on the eastern side of the Wirral Peninsula. Ne ...
, Bromborough, Eastham,
Neston Neston is a town and civil parish on the Wirral Peninsula, in Cheshire, England. It is part of the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester. The village of Parkgate is located to the north west and the villages of Little Neston and Ness ...
, Burton,
Shotwick Shotwick is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Puddington, on the southern end of the Wirral Peninsula in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The village ...
,
Backford Backford is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is situated between Chester and Ellesmere Port on the A41 road, A41 trunk road, ...
and
Stoke Stoke is a common place name in the United Kingdom. Stoke may refer to: Places United Kingdom The largest city called Stoke is Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. See below. Berkshire * Stoke Row, Berkshire Bristol * Stoke Bishop * Stok ...
). Most parishes were subdivided into smaller townships, of which the largest in terms of population were Neston, Burton, Wallasey, Tranmere (then within the parish of Bebington) and Liscard, and were the same size as small rural villages. The Wirral's proximity to the port of Chester influenced the history of the Dee side of the peninsula. From about the 14th century, Chester provided facilities for trade with Ireland, Spain, and Germany, and seagoing vessels would "lay to" in the Dee awaiting favourable winds and tides. As the Dee started to silt up, harbouring facilities developed at Shotwick, Burton, Neston, Parkgate, Dawpool, and "Hoyle Lake" or
Hoylake Hoylake is a coast, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is at the north west of the Wirral Peninsula, near West Kirby and where the River Dee, Wales, River Dee meets the Irish Sea. Historic counties of En ...
. However, there was not a gradual progression of development, and downstream anchorages such as that at Hoyle Lake (which replaced Meols) were in occasional use from medieval times, depending on the weather and state of the tide. The main port facilities were at Neston and Parkgate. At the same time, larger ships and economic growth in Lancashire stimulated the growth of
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
. The first wet dock in Britain was opened in Liverpool in 1715, and the town's population grew from some 6,000 to 80,000 during the 18th century. The need to develop and protect the port led to a chain of
lighthouses A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mark ...
being built along the north Wirral coast. The commercial expansion of Liverpool, and the increase in stage coach traffic from Chester, also spurred the growth of
ferries A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water tax ...
across 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 ...
. By the end of the 18th century the Wirral side of the Mersey had five ferry houses, at
Seacombe Seacombe () is a district of the town of Wallasey, on the Wirral Peninsula, England. Administratively, Seacombe is a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside. Before local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974, it was part o ...
, Woodside, the Rock,
New Ferry New Ferry is an urban area on the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is located on the Wirral Peninsula, with the River Mersey to the east and the town of Bebington to the west. Within the boundaries of the historic count ...
and Eastham. Other communications were also improving. Turnpike roads linking Chester with Eastham, Woodside, and Neston were built after 1787. In 1793, work began on the
Ellesmere Canal The Ellesmere Canal was a waterway in England and Wales that was planned to carry boat traffic between the rivers Mersey and Severn. The proposal would create a link between the Port of Liverpool and the mineral industries in north east Wales an ...
, connecting the Mersey with Chester and
Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...
through the
fluvioglacial landform Fluvioglacial landforms are those that result from the associated erosion and deposition of Sediment, sediments caused by Meltwater, glacial meltwater. These landforms may also be referred to as glaciofluvial in nature. Glaciers contain suspended s ...
known as the
Backford Backford is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is situated between Chester and Ellesmere Port on the A41 road, A41 trunk road, ...
gap, and the town of
Ellesmere Port Ellesmere Port ( ) is a port town in the Cheshire West and Chester borough in Cheshire, England. Ellesmere Port is on the south eastern edge of the Wirral Peninsula, north of Chester, south of Birkenhead, southwest of Runcorn and south of ...
began to develop. The excavation of the New Cut of the Dee, opened in 1737, to improve access to Chester, diverted the river's course to the Welsh side of the
estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...
and took trade away from the Wirral coastline. Although plans were made to overcome its gradual silting up, including one in 1857 to cut a ship canal from a point between Thurstaston and
Heswall Heswall is a town on the Wirral, Merseyside, England. At the 2001 Census, the population was 16,012, including the nearby villages of Barnston and Gayton. Before local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974 it was part of the administr ...
to run along the length of the Wirral to Chester, this and other schemes came to nothing, and the focus of general trade moved irrevocably to the much deeper Mersey. However, from the late 18th century there was coal mining near Neston, in tunnels stretching up to under the Dee, and a quay at Denhall was used for coal exports.


The 19th century

The first steam ferry service across the Mersey started in 1817, and steam-powered ships soon opened up the Wirral's Mersey coast for industrialisation. The 1820s saw the birth of the area's renowned shipbuilding tradition when William Laird opened his
shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...
in
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 ...
, later expanded by his son John Laird. The Lairds were largely responsible for the early growth of Birkenhead, commissioning the architect
James Gillespie Graham James Gillespie Graham (11 June 1776 – 11 March 1855) was a Scottish architect, prominent in the early 19th century. Life Graham was born in Dunblane on 11 June 1776. He was the son of Malcolm Gillespie, a solicitor. He was christened as J ...
to lay it out as a new town modelled on
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
. In 1847, Birkenhead's first docks and its
municipal park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to resi ...
, the first in Britain and the inspiration for New York's
Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...
, were opened, and the town expanded rapidly. Bolstered by migration from Ireland, Wales and rural Cheshire, Birkenhead's population of less than one thousand in 1801 rose to over 33,000 by 1851, and to 157,000 by 1901. The town became a
borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...
in 1877, incorporating within it Oxton and Tranmere. The improved communications also allowed Liverpool merchants to buy up and develop large estates on the Wirral. James Atherton and William Rowson developed the resort of New Brighton, and new estates for the gentry were also built at Egremont, Oxton, Claughton and Rock Ferry. Arrowe Hall was built for the Shaw family in 1835. In the mid-19th century docks were established at Birkenhead and in the Wallasey Pool, and continuing development for a wide range of industry both there and along the banks of the Mersey. The New Chester Road was opened in 1833. The Wirral's first railway was built in 1840, planned by
George Stephenson George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was a British civil engineer and mechanical engineer. Renowned as the "Father of Railways", Stephenson was considered by the Victorians a great example of diligent application and thirst for ...
and connecting Birkenhead with
Chester 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 ...
. In 1852 Price's Patent Candle Company built a factory and model village at Bromborough. This was followed in 1888 by
William Lever William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme , (, ; 19 September 1851 – 7 May 1925) was an English industrialist, philanthropist, and politician. Having been educated at a small private school until the age of nine, then at church schools ...
's establishment of the much larger Sunlight soap factory and
Port Sunlight Port Sunlight is a model village and suburb in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside. It is located between Lower Bebington and New Ferry, on the Wirral Peninsula. Port Sunlight was built by Lever Brothers to accommodate workers in it ...
garden village, designed to house its employees and provide them with a benign environment. The opening of the
Manchester Ship Canal The Manchester Ship Canal is a inland waterway in the North West of England linking Manchester to the Irish Sea. Starting at the Mersey Estuary at Eastham, near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, it generally follows the original routes of the river ...
in 1894, with its outfall at Eastham, led to further port-side and industrial development beside the Mersey at Ellesmere Port. In 1886, the
Mersey Railway The Mersey Railway was the first part of the passenger railway connecting the communities of Liverpool, Birkenhead, and now the rest of the Wirral Peninsula in England, which lie on opposite banks of the River Mersey, via the Mersey Railway Tun ...
tunnel was opened, linking the Wirral and Liverpool. This led to the further rapid growth of suburbs in the Wirral, particularly in Wallasey, Hoylake and West Kirby, and later Bebington and Heswall. Wallasey's population grew to over 53,000 by 1901, and the town also achieved borough status soon after the turn of the century.


The 20th century

The dockland areas of Wallasey and Birkenhead continued to develop and prosper in the first half of the century, specialising in trade with Africa and the Far East. A host of other port-related industries then came into existence, such as flour milling, tanning, edible oil refining and the manufacture of paint and rubber-based products. In 1922 a new oil dock was built at
Stanlow Stanlow Refinery is an oil refinery owned by Essar Energy in Ellesmere Port, North West England. Until 2011 it was owned by Shell UK. The refinery is situated on the south bank of the Manchester Ship Canal, which is used to transport seaborne ...
near Ellesmere Port, and in 1934
oil refining An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, liquefie ...
began there. A large chemical and
oil refining complex An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, lique ...
still dominates the area. In 1929, the
3rd World Scout Jamboree The 3rd World Scout Jamboree was held in 1929 at Arrowe Park in Upton, near Birkenhead, Wirral, United Kingdom. As it was commemorating the 21st birthday of ''Scouting for Boys'' and the Scouting movement, it is also known as the Coming of Age ...
was held at
Arrowe Park Arrowe Park is an area to the west of Birkenhead, within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is situated on the Wirral Peninsula, adjacent to the Woodchurch housing estate and to the south of the large village of Upto ...
and this celebrated the 21st Anniversary of the publication of
Scouting for Boys ''Scouting for Boys: A handbook for instruction in good citizenship'' is a book on Boy Scout training, published in various editions since 1908. Early editions were written and illustrated by Robert Baden-Powell with later editions being extensi ...
. Thirty-five countries were represented by 30,000
Scouts Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...
, plus another 10,000 British Scouts who took the opportunity to camp in the vicinity. The rail tunnel under the Mersey was supplemented by a vehicle tunnel in 1934, the Queensway Tunnel. A third tunnel opened in 1971, the
Kingsway Tunnel The Kingsway Tunnel (or Wallasey Tunnel) is a toll road tunnel under the River Mersey between Liverpool and Wallasey. The tunnel carries the A59. It was built because the Queensway Tunnel – which was built in the 1930s to carry vehicles b ...
, connecting with the
M53 motorway The M53 is an motorway in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral and Cheshire on the Wirral Peninsula in England. It is also referred to as the Mid Wirral Motorway. It runs between the Kingsway Tunnel, at Wallasey in the north, and the A55 at ...
which now runs up the centre of the peninsula. These new roads contributed to the massive growth of commuting by car between Liverpool and the Wirral, and the development of new suburban estates around such villages as
Moreton Moreton may refer to: People Given name * Moreton John Wheatley (1837–1916), British Army officer and Bailiff of the Royal Parks Surname * Alice Bertha Moreton (1901–1977), English sculptor, draughtsman and artist * Andrew Moreton, a ps ...
, Upton, Greasby,
Pensby Pensby () is a large village on the Wirral Peninsula, in Merseyside, England. It is located to the north of the town of Heswall and approximately to the south west of Thingwall. Historically within Cheshire, the area is part of the Pensby an ...
, and Bromborough. In 1940–1941, as part of the
Blitz Blitz, German for "lightning", may refer to: Military uses *Blitzkrieg, blitz campaign, or blitz, a type of military campaign *The Blitz, the German aerial campaign against Britain in the Second World War *, an Imperial German Navy light cruiser b ...
, parts of the Wirral, especially around the docks, suffered extensive bomb damage. There were 464 people killed in Birkenhead and 355 in Wallasey, and 80% of all houses in Birkenhead were either destroyed or badly damaged. During the Second World War, the Wirral held two RAF sites, RAF West Kirby (which was a camp, not an airfield) and RAF
Hooton Park Royal Air Force Hooton Park or more simply RAF Hooton Park, on the Wirral Peninsula, Cheshire, is a former Royal Air Force station originally built for the Royal Flying Corps in 1917 as a training aerodrome for pilots in the First World War. D ...
and a number of anti-aircraft sites to protect the docks of Birkenhead and Liverpool. After the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, economic decline began in the older industries in the area which had started to become known as Merseyside. However, there continued to be industrial development along the Mersey between Birkenhead and Ellesmere Port, including the large
Vauxhall Motors Vauxhall Motors LimitedCompany No. 00135767. Incorporated 12 May 1914, name changed from Vauxhall Motors Limited to General Motors UK Limited on 16 April 2008, reverted to Vauxhall Motors Limited on 18 September 2017. () is a British car compa ...
car factory on the site of RAF Hooton Park.


The 21st century

Plans were announced in 2006 for a £4.5bn development around the docklands to be called
Wirral Waters Wirral Waters is a large scale £4.5bn development currently being built by the Peel Group for Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, England. It is the sister programme of the Liverpool Waters project. Since 2012 the two projects have enjoyed en ...
. The development is a mixture of industrial, office, residential and leisure facilities. Planning permission was granted in 2010 and work began on the site in 2011, with development work potentially lasting for 30 years.


Geography

The Wirral can be defined both as a geographical peninsula and as a socio-cultural area. The current
Metropolitan Borough of Wirral The Metropolitan Borough of Wirral is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, in North West England. It has a population of 321,238, and encompasses of the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula. Major settlements include Birkenhead, Wallasey, Be ...
has a population of 312,293 (according to the 2001 census), and covers an area of , bounded by the
Cheshire Plain The Cheshire Plain is a relatively flat expanse of lowland within the county of Cheshire in North West England but extending south into Shropshire. It extends from the Mersey Valley in the north to the Shropshire Hills in the south, bounded b ...
, the Dee and the Mersey. The Irish Sea lies to its north west side.


Geology

The peninsula is formed almost wholly from sedimentary bedrock of
Triassic The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period ...
age, being
sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
,
mudstone Mudstone, a type of mudrock, is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Mudstone is distinguished from '' shale'' by its lack of fissility (parallel layering).Blatt, H., and R.J. Tracy, 1996, ''Petrology. ...
s and
siltstone Siltstone, also known as aleurolite, is a clastic sedimentary rock that is composed mostly of silt. It is a form of mudrock with a low clay mineral content, which can be distinguished from shale by its lack of fissility.Blatt ''et al.'' 1980, p ...
s. Strata exposed at or near the modern surface include the following (in stratigraphic order i.e. uppermost/youngest at top): *
Mercia Mudstone Group The Mercia Mudstone Group is an early Triassic lithostratigraphic group (a sequence of rock strata) which is widespread in Britain, especially in the English Midlands – the name is derived from the ancient kingdom of Mercia which corresponds to t ...
**Sidmouth Mudstone Formation **Tarporley Siltstone Formation *
Sherwood Sandstone Group The Sherwood Sandstone Group is a Triassic lithostratigraphic group (a sequence of rock strata) which is widespread in Britain, especially in the English Midlands. The name is derived from Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire which is underlain by r ...
**Helsby Sandstone Formation (divided into an upper Frodsham Sandstone Member and a lower Delamere Member in places) **Wilmslow Sandstone Formation **Chester Pebble Beds Formation **Kinnerton Sandstone Formation A small outcrop of
Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carbonifero ...
rocks occurs around Little Neston, being an extension of the
Flintshire Coalfield The Flintshire Coalfield in north-east Wales is one of the smaller Great Britain, British coalfields. It is in the county of Flintshire and extends from the Point of Ayr in the north, along the Dee Estuary through Connah's Quay to Caergwrle in th ...
across the Dee estuary. These
Coal Measures In lithostratigraphy, the coal measures are the coal-bearing part of the Upper Carboniferous System. In the United Kingdom, the Coal Measures Group consists of the Upper Coal Measures Formation, the Middle Coal Measures Formation and the Lower Coal ...
rocks were formerly exploited by a small mining operation. The strata have a slight, generally easterly dip and are cut by numerous extensional faults most of which are aligned broadly north–south. For the most part the bedrock is poorly exposed being covered by superficial deposits of
Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million years ...
age. Notable exposures of the Helsby Sandstone occur at
Bidston Hill Bidston Hill is of heathland and woodland containing historic buildings and ancient rock carvings, on the Wirral Peninsula, near the Birkenhead suburb of Bidston, in Merseyside, England. With a peak of , Bidston Hill is one of the highest poi ...
and at Red Rocks at the northwestern tip of the Wirral along with the tidal islands at
Hilbre The Hilbre Islands ( ) are an archipelago consisting of three islands at the mouth of the estuary of the River Dee, the border between England and Wales at this point. The islands are administratively part of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirra ...
. Elsewhere Mercia Mudstone rocks outcrop prominently at Caldy Hill, Thurstaston Common and Heswall Dales. Much of the Wirral is covered by a mantle of glacial
till image:Geschiebemergel.JPG, Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains (pebbles and gravel) in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material (silt and sand), and this characteristic, known as ''matrix support'', is d ...
, a legacy of the last ice age. Wind-blown sands cover the northern coastal margin. Low ground behind these sand are reclaimed tidal flat deposits which also extend into the heavily modified Birket which occupies a buried bedrock channel. This channel and others beneath the Dee and Mersey estuaries were formed in part by the southeasterly movement of Irish Sea Ice during successive ice ages. Low cliffs of the Kinnerton Sandstone at Burton Point are part of a relict shoreline, the Dee estuary having silted up during the post-glacial period. The former coast can be traced from Blacon northwest to Burton Point and thence to Parkgate where spring tides still reach the historic coastline. A well developed glacial drainage channel, known as the Deva Spillway cuts across the base of the peninsula between the two estuaries on either side of the Wirral and is interpreted as having played a major part in the deglaciation of the region in late-glacial/post-glacial times.


Physical geography

Although it has been stated that "it is difficult to find any work in which there is a written description of the exact area defining the Wirral Peninsula", historian Stephen Roberts defines it as "the peninsula which is bounded by the Dee and Mersey estuaries, Irish Sea and... the route of the Shropshire Union Canal between Ellesmere Port and Chester". This definition extends the original hundred slightly further east, to the River Gowy. The
Shropshire Union Canal The Shropshire Union Canal, nicknamed the "Shroppie", is a navigable canal in England. The Llangollen and Montgomery canals are the modern names of branches of the Shropshire Union (SU) system and lie partially in Wales. The canal lies in ...
joins the Mersey at Ellesmere Port and the Dee at Chester. This canal technically makes the peninsula an island. In the north of the peninsula, the
River Fender The Birket is a tributary of the River Mersey, on the Wirral, Merseyside. The watercourse starts as lowland field drainage south of Hoylake and flows along to the south of Meols. Arrowe Brook joins at Moreton, and the Fender joins at Leasowe. ...
,
Arrowe Brook The Birket is a tributary of the River Mersey, on the Wirral, Merseyside. The watercourse starts as lowland field drainage south of Hoylake and flows along to the south of Meols. Arrowe Brook joins at Moreton, and the Fender joins at Leasowe. ...
and
Greasby Brook Greasby Brook is a tributary of Arrowe Brook, in Wirral, Merseyside. The brook starts near to Dawlish Road in Thurstaston. The brook flows through Thurstaston Common and around the western side of Greasby, before converging, firstly, with Newt ...
drain into
The Birket The Birket is a tributary of the River Mersey, on the Wirral, Merseyside. The watercourse starts as lowland field drainage south of Hoylake and flows along to the south of Meols. Arrowe Brook joins at Moreton, and the Fender joins at Leasowe. ...
, which itself flows into the River Mersey via
Wallasey Pool Wallasey Pool was a natural tidal inlet of water that separated the towns of Wallasey and Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula, England. Originally flowing directly into the River Mersey, it was converted into the sophisticated Birkenhead Dock syste ...
(Birkenhead Docks). Further south, the Clatter Brook and Dibbinsdale Brook drain into the Mersey at
Bromborough Pool Bromborough Pool, also known as Bromborough Pool Village and Price's Village, is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England, to the north of Bromborough. It is situated on the Wirral Peninsula, to the south of Bebin ...
. Two approximately parallel sandstone ridges run down the length of the peninsula. The western ridge is made up of Grange and Caldy Hills at 256 feet in height, then Thurstaston Hill (298 ft), Poll Hill in
Heswall Heswall is a town on the Wirral, Merseyside, England. At the 2001 Census, the population was 16,012, including the nearby villages of Barnston and Gayton. Before local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974 it was part of the administr ...
(350 ft, the highest point on the Wirral) and Burton (222 ft). The less continuous eastern ridge consists of
Bidston Hill Bidston Hill is of heathland and woodland containing historic buildings and ancient rock carvings, on the Wirral Peninsula, near the Birkenhead suburb of Bidston, in Merseyside, England. With a peak of , Bidston Hill is one of the highest poi ...
(231 ft),
Prenton Prenton is a suburb of Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. Administratively, it is also a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. Before local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974, it was part of the County Borough of Birkenhead, within ...
(259 ft) and Storeton Hill (229 ft). The shallow Fender valley runs between these ridges.


Climate

The Wirral features a
temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...
maritime climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
: ''Cfb'') with mild summers, cool winters and rainfall spread evenly throughout the year. A weather station was maintained on the peninsula, at
Bidston Bidston is a village, a parish and a suburb of Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, in the modern county of Merseyside. The area is a mixture of the well-preserved Bidston Village, Bidston Hill, a modern housing estate, and the Bidston Moss nat ...
, between 1845 and 2002.


Human geography

The major urban centres of the Wirral are to its east: these include
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 ...
and
Wallasey Wallasey () is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England; until 1974, it was part of the historic county of Cheshire. It is situated at the mouth of the River Mersey, at the north-eastern corner of the Wirral Pe ...
. To the west and south, the Wirral is more rural. Two-thirds of the population of the Wirral live on one third of the land in Birkenhead and Wallasey, according to Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. Other towns to the south and west of this area are usually considered part of the Wirral: notably,
Ellesmere Port Ellesmere Port ( ) is a port town in the Cheshire West and Chester borough in Cheshire, England. Ellesmere Port is on the south eastern edge of the Wirral Peninsula, north of Chester, south of Birkenhead, southwest of Runcorn and south of ...
is often described as one of its "border towns". For regional economic planning, the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral is considered part of the
Liverpool City Region The Liverpool City Region is a combined authority region of England, centred on Liverpool, incorporating the local authority district boroughs of Halton, Knowsley, Sefton, St Helens, and Wirral. The region is in the historic counties of ...
.


Settlements

There are many towns and villages on the Wirral. Those administered by the
Metropolitan Borough of Wirral The Metropolitan Borough of Wirral is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, in North West England. It has a population of 321,238, and encompasses of the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula. Major settlements include Birkenhead, Wallasey, Be ...
are listed in List of towns and villages in Wirral (borough). Those also on the Wirral but administered by
Cheshire West and Chester Cheshire West and Chester is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It was established on 1 April 2009 as part of the 2009 str ...
include:


M53 Divide

The M53 is also seen as an east–west divide between the affluent and developing areas of the Wirral.


Landmarks

Despite containing urban and industrial areas, the Wirral still has picturesque villages, sandy beaches, large areas of land owned by the
National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
as well as views across the two estuaries and out into the Irish Sea. Among the areas of open land are
Bidston Hill Bidston Hill is of heathland and woodland containing historic buildings and ancient rock carvings, on the Wirral Peninsula, near the Birkenhead suburb of Bidston, in Merseyside, England. With a peak of , Bidston Hill is one of the highest poi ...
,
Caldy Hill Caldy Hill is an area of heath and woodland on a sandstone outcrop on the Wirral Peninsula. The land was bought by Hoylake District Council between 1897 and 1974. The village of Caldy is nearby. Including Stapledon Woods, the whole area covers ...
,
Eastham Country Park Eastham Country Park (or Eastham Ferry) is a country park located in Eastham, Merseyside, Eastham, Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Wirral. The park is situated next to the River Mersey and covers an area of . Facilities at the park include a visi ...
, including the Victorian Pleasure Gardens,
Hilbre Island The Hilbre Islands ( ) are an archipelago consisting of three islands at the mouth of the estuary of the River Dee, the border between England and Wales at this point. The islands are administratively part of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirra ...
,
North Wirral Coastal Park The North Wirral Coastal Park, on the Wirral Peninsula, England is a coastal park including public open space, common land, natural foreshore and sand-dunes. The park lies between Dove Point in Meols, and the Kings Parade in New Brighton, and ...
, Thurstaston Common and Thor's Stone and the
Wirral Way The Wirral Country Park is a country park on the Wirral Peninsula, England, lying both in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in the county of Merseyside and in the borough of Cheshire West & Chester in the county of Cheshire. It was the first ...
. Ness Botanical Gardens are part of the
University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...
and have won many awards. The visitor centre at
RSPB The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a Charitable_organization#United_Kingdom, charitable organisation registered in Charity Commission for England and Wales, England and Wales and in Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, ...
Burton Mere Wetlands Burton Mere Wetlands () is a nature reserve on the Dee Estuary straddling the border between Cheshire, England and Flintshire, Wales. It is run by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and incorporates the older Inner Marsh Farm ...
provides birdwatching facilities in the Dee Estuary nature reserve. Places of architectural interest include
Hamilton Square Hamilton Square is a town square in Birkenhead, Wirral, England. This Georgian square, which was designed by Edinburgh architect James Gillespie Graham, has the most Grade I listed buildings outside London (after Trafalgar Square). It is named ...
, Rock Park and
Port Sunlight Port Sunlight is a model village and suburb in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside. It is located between Lower Bebington and New Ferry, on the Wirral Peninsula. Port Sunlight was built by Lever Brothers to accommodate workers in it ...
. The view of the buildings on Liverpool's
Pier Head The Pier Head (properly, George's Pier Head) is a riverside location in the city centre of Liverpool, England. It was part of the former Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City UNESCO World Heritage Site, which was inscribed in 2004, but revoked in ...
when crossing on the
Mersey Ferry The Mersey Ferry is a ferry service operating on the River Mersey in north west England, between Liverpool to the east and Birkenhead and Wallasey on the Wirral Peninsula to the west. Ferries have been used on this route since at least the 12th ...
is famous. Many villages of the Wirral such as Burton are also well preserved with their characteristic red
sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
buildings and walls. The old port of Parkgate also attracts many visitors. The arts are well represented by the
Lady Lever Art Gallery The Lady Lever Art Gallery is a museum founded and built by the industrialist and philanthropist William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme and opened in 1922. The Lady Lever Art Gallery is set in the garden village of Port Sunlight, on the Wirral ...
at Port Sunlight and the Williamson Art Gallery in Birkenhead. The historical sites include
Birkenhead Priory Birkenhead Priory is in Priory Street, Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. It is the oldest standing building on Merseyside. The site comprises the medieval remains of the priory itself, the priory chapter house, and the remains of St Marys chu ...
,
Leasowe Lighthouse Leasowe Lighthouse is a historic lighthouse in Leasowe on the Wirral Peninsula in Merseyside, England. The lighthouse was built in 1763 by The Mersey Docks and Harbour Company to guide shipping safely to the Port of Liverpool and is the oldest l ...
,
Hadlow Road railway station Hadlow Road railway station is a Grade II listed heritage railway station and museum in Willaston, on the Wirral Way footpath. It has been restored to have the look and feel of the day the station was permanently closed to passengers in 1956. ...
and the buildings and ancient carvings on
Bidston Hill Bidston Hill is of heathland and woodland containing historic buildings and ancient rock carvings, on the Wirral Peninsula, near the Birkenhead suburb of Bidston, in Merseyside, England. With a peak of , Bidston Hill is one of the highest poi ...
.


Accents and dialects

For reasons that are both social and geographical, accents on the east side of the Wirral tend to show a stronger Merseyside influence than those on the west side.
Neston Neston is a town and civil parish on the Wirral Peninsula, in Cheshire, England. It is part of the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester. The village of Parkgate is located to the north west and the villages of Little Neston and Ness ...
once had a distinctive
dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...
derived from the migrant workers at the Denhall Colliery.


Wirral in literature

*
Sir Gawain Gawain (), also known in many other forms and spellings, is a character in Arthurian legend, in which he is King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table. The prototype of Gawain is mentioned under the name Gwalchmei in the earliest W ...
spent Christmas on the Wirral before his confrontation with the
Green Knight The Green Knight ( cy, Marchog Gwyrdd, kw, Marghek Gwyrdh, br, Marc'heg Gwer) is a character from the 14th-century Arthurian poem ''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'' and the related medieval work ''The Greene Knight''. His true name is revea ...
. : ''The wilderness of Wirral:'' : ''few lived there'' : ''Who loved with a good heart'' : ''either God or man'' *
Olaf Stapledon William Olaf Stapledon (10 May 1886 – 6 September 1950) – known as Olaf Stapledon – was a British philosopher and author of science fiction.Andy Sawyer, " illiamOlaf Stapledon (1886-1950)", in Bould, Mark, et al, eds. ''Fifty Key Figures ...
, a writer, spent much of his life in West Kirby and Caldy, and many landscapes mentioned in his works can be identified. * Jim Bennett, although born in Liverpool has lived for many years on the Wirral and in Heswall. Many landmarks, places and shops are used in his writing. His collection of poems ''Larkhill'' was nominated for the Ted Hughes Poetry Award. * The Wirral is described in
Helen Forrester Helen Forrester was the pen name of June Huband Bhatia (6 June 1919 – 24 November 2011), who was an Anglo-Canadian author known for her books about her youth in Liverpool, England, during the Great Depression and World II, as well as seve ...
's book ''Twopence to Cross the Mersey'' (1974) as a place unreachable and comparably rich from the perspective of a poor girl struggling to live with her family in Liverpool during the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, despite having an aunt in West Kirby and the
Mersey ferry The Mersey Ferry is a ferry service operating on the River Mersey in north west England, between Liverpool to the east and Birkenhead and Wallasey on the Wirral Peninsula to the west. Ferries have been used on this route since at least the 12th ...
costing just two old pence. *
Maria V. Snyder Maria V. Snyder (born April 15, 1973) is an American fantasy and science fiction author best known for her ''Study Series''. Career Her first novel, ''Poison Study'', was published in October 2005, won the 2006 Compton Crook Award for Best Firs ...
named the maximum security prison in her book ''Spy Glass'' after the Wirral, after she was awarded the "Wirral paperback of the year" by school pupils for her earlier book ''Poison Study''. * The Wirral is the setting of the novel ''Awaydays'' by Kevin Samson, published by Cape in March 1998 and filmed in 2009. Set in 1979, the story follows a music-loving young man who hides his middle-class background when he joins a group of hooligans who follow
Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they adop ...
. *
Ramsey Campbell Ramsey Campbell (born 4 January 1946) is an English horror fiction writer, editor and critic who has been writing for well over fifty years. He is the author of over 30 novels and hundreds of short stories, many of them winners of literary awa ...
, a writer, has lived most of his life on the Wirral, and many of his novels and short stories explore landscapes in the area (e.g. Thurstaston Common in his novel ''Thieving Fear'').


Notable people


Television and film

The Wirral has hosted a variety of different films and television programmes. ''
Chariots of Fire ''Chariots of Fire'' is a 1981 British historical sports drama film directed by Hugh Hudson, written by Colin Welland and produced by David Puttnam. It is based on the true story of two British athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a de ...
'' was filmed at various locations on the Wirral including the Oval Sports Centre,
Bebington Bebington () is a town and unparished area within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England. Historically part of Cheshire, it lies south of Liverpool, close to the River Mersey on the eastern side of the Wirral Peninsula. Ne ...
, the Woodside Ferry Terminal, and Bridge Cottage in
Port Sunlight Port Sunlight is a model village and suburb in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside. It is located between Lower Bebington and New Ferry, on the Wirral Peninsula. Port Sunlight was built by Lever Brothers to accommodate workers in it ...
village, while the 1950
Ealing comedy The Ealing comedies is an informal name for a series of comedy films produced by the London-based Ealing Studios during a ten-year period from 1947 to 1957. Often considered to reflect Britain's post-war spirit, the most celebrated films in the ...
''
The Magnet ''The Magnet'' was a British weekly boys' story paper published by Amalgamated Press. It ran from 1908 to 1940, publishing a total of 1,683 issues. Each issue cost a halfpenny and contained a long school story about the boys of Greyfriars Sch ...
'' was filmed in Wallasey and New Brighton. ''
The 51st State ''The 51st State'' (also known as ''Formula 51'') is a 2001 Action film#Action comedy, action comedy film directed by Ronny Yu, written by Stel Pavlou, and starring Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Carlyle, Emily Mortimer, Ricky Tomlinson, Sean Pertwe ...
'' was partly filmed around the docks in Birkenhead. ''
Awaydays ''Awaydays'' is a 2009 British crime drama film directed by Pat Holden and starring Nicky Bell, Liam Boyle and Stephen Graham. It is based on the novel of the same name by Kevin Sampson that was published in 1998. The film follows Paul Cart ...
'', based on a novel of the same name by Kevin Sampson, was filmed extensively on the Wirral. In 2012 the movie ''
Blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the c ...
'', starring
Paul Bettany Paul Bettany (born 27 May 1971) is an English actor. He is mostly known for his roles as J.A.R.V.I.S. and Vision in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, recently starring in the Disney+ miniseries ''WandaVision'' (2021), for which he was nominated fo ...
and
Stephen Graham Stephen Joseph Graham (born 3 August 1973) is a British actor. He is best known for playing Andrew "Combo" Gascoigne in the film ''This Is England'' (2006) and its television sequels ''This Is England '86'' (2010), '' This Is England '88'' ( ...
was filmed on the Wirral. The Queensway Tunnel in Birkenhead is also featured in the Harry Potter film, ''
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1'' is a 2010 fantasy film directed by David Yates from a screenplay by Steve Kloves. The film is the first of two cinematic parts based on the 2007 novel '' Harry Potter and the Deathly Hall ...
'' during the scene where Harry and Hagrid escape on a flying motorcycle and pass through the tunnel. The scene was filmed while the tunnel was closed for repairs. The 2013 film ''
Fast & Furious 6 ''Fast & Furious 6'' (titled on-screen as ''Furious 6'') is a 2013 American action film directed by Justin Lin and written by Chris Morgan. It is the sequel to '' Fast Five'' (2011) and is the sixth installment in the ''Fast & Furious'' franc ...
'' tunnel chase scene was filmed in the Queensway Tunnel. The unused Birkenhead Dock branch of the Queensway Tunnel was filmed as a New York underpass in the 2014 movie '' Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit''. In October 2017, the tunnel branch was used for the filming of the drama, ''
Bulletproof Bulletproofing is the process of making an object capable of stopping a bullet or similar high velocity projectiles (e.g. shrapnel). The term bullet resistance is often preferred because few, if any, practical materials provide complete protectio ...
'', starring
Noel Clarke Noel Anthony Clarke (born 6 December 1975) is a British actor, screenwriter, director, and comic book writer. Rising to prominence for playing Mickey Smith in ''Doctor Who'' (2005–2010), he played Sam in the films ''Kidulthood'' (2006), ''Adu ...
and Ashley Walters. Scenes for the 2016 film ''
Florence Foster Jenkins Florence Foster Jenkins (born Narcissa Florence Foster; July 19, 1868 – November 26, 1944) was an American socialite and amateur soprano who became known, and mocked, for her flamboyant performance costumes and notably poor singing ability. S ...
'', starring
Hugh Grant Hugh John Mungo Grant (born 9 September 1960) is an English actor. He established himself early in his career as both a charming, and vulnerable romantic lead and has since transitioned into a dramatic character actor. Among his numerous a ...
and
Meryl Streep Mary Louise Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Often described as "the best actress of her generation", Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accent adaptability. She has received numerous accolades throu ...
, were filmed around New Brighton. In television, sitcom '' Watching'', produced by
Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...
between 1987 and 1993, was partly set and filmed at various Wirral locations, particularly
Meols Meols (sometimes known as Great Meols) is a village on the northern coast of the Wirral Peninsula, England. It is contiguous with the town of Hoylake immediately to the west. Historically in Cheshire, since 1 April 1974 it has been part of th ...
. More recently, '' Mike Bassett: Manager'', starring
Ricky Tomlinson Eric "Ricky" Tomlinson (born 26 September 1939) is an English actor. He is best known for his television roles as Bobby Grant in ''Brookside'', DCI Charlie Wise in '' Cracker'' and Jim Royle in ''The Royle Family'', and playing the titular char ...
was a follow-up to the film '' Mike Bassett: England Manager'', and featured a fictional football club called Wirral County, a parody of
Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they adop ...
, who Bassett (Tomlinson) managed after being sacked from the England job. It is also believed that the
Lime Pictures Lime Pictures, formerly known as Mersey Television, is a British television production company, founded by producer and writer Phil Redmond in the early 1980s. They produce award winning drama, and entertainment shows, for the international mar ...
production ''
Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on ...
'' films occasionally, on location, on the Wirral. The BBC comedy drama ''
Candy Cabs ''Candy Cabs'' is a comedy drama series shown on BBC One in April 2011. The plot revolves around a group of friends who set up a female-only taxi company in a seaside town in Northern England. It was written by Johanne McAndrew and Elliott Hope a ...
'' filmed external scenes in West Kirby and Hoylake in 2011. Wallasey School featured in Grease: The School Musical on
Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...
in 2009. The BBC Two drama ''
Peaky Blinders The Peaky Blinders were a street gang based in Birmingham, England, which operated from the 1880s until the 1910s. The group consisted largely of young criminals from lower- to middle-class backgrounds. They engaged in robbery, violence, racke ...
'' was filmed at various locations on the Wirral, including
Port Sunlight Port Sunlight is a model village and suburb in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside. It is located between Lower Bebington and New Ferry, on the Wirral Peninsula. Port Sunlight was built by Lever Brothers to accommodate workers in it ...
village. The second series ''
Peter Kay's Car Share ''Peter Kay's Car Share'' is a British sitcom set around supermarket assistant manager John Redmond (Peter Kay) and promotions rep Kayleigh Kitson (Sian Gibson), and their participation in a company car-sharing scheme. The first series was fil ...
'' also filmed at various Wirral locations including Meols and West Kirby. Sky One's 2016 thriller, '' The Five'', starring
Lee Ingleby Lee David Ingleby (born 28 January 1976) is an English film, television and stage actor. He is best known for his roles as Detective Sergeant/Detective Inspector John Bacchus in the BBC drama ''Inspector George Gently'', as Stan Shunpike in ...
shot scenes around the Wirral including in Port Sunlight. The 2017 ITV drama ''
Safe House A safe house (also spelled safehouse) is, in a generic sense, a secret place for sanctuary or suitable to hide people from the law, hostile actors or actions, or from retribution, threats or perceived danger. It may also be a metaphor. Histori ...
'' starring
Jason Watkins Jason Watkins (born 28 October 1962) is an English stage, film and television actor. He played the lead role in the two-part drama ''The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies'', for which he won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor. He has also ...
and
Sunetra Sarker Sunetra Sarker (born 25 June 1973) is an English actress and presenter, known for her roles as Nisha Batra in ''Brookside'', Anji Mittel in ''No Angels'', Zoe Hanna in ''Casualty'' and Kaneez Paracha in ''Ackley Bridge''. In 2014, she took pa ...
filmed several scenes on the peninsula. In the autumn of 2017 filming began in Port Sunlight and Thornton Hough for a biopic about the author ''
Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...
'' starring
Nicholas Hoult Nicholas Caradoc Hoult (born 7 December 1989) is an English actor. His List of roles and awards of Nicholas Hoult, body of work includes supporting work in big-budget mainstream productions and starring roles in Independent film, independent p ...
. A row of cottages in the historic village of Port Sunlight also featured on the 2014 series of BBC Two's ''
The Great Interior Design Challenge ''The Great Interior Design Challenge'' is a British television interior design competition broadcast on BBC Two from 20 January 2014 to 19 January 2017. Each series aims to find "Britain's best amateur interior designers". All programmes in th ...
''. The village also played host to two episodes of BBC One's ''
The Antiques Roadshow ''Antiques Roadshow'' is a British television programme broadcast by the BBC in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom (and occasionally in other countries) to appraise antiques brought in by local people (g ...
'' hosted by former Wirral resident TV presenter
Fiona Bruce Fiona Elizabeth Bruce (born 25 April 1964) is a British journalist, newsreader, and television presenter. She joined the BBC as a researcher for ''Panorama'' in 1989, and has since become the first female newsreader on the ''BBC News at Ten'', ...
. In 2018, the feature film '' Official Secrets'' had two beach scenes filmed at Thurstaston beach on the Dee Estuary.


Transport

The
M53 motorway The M53 is an motorway in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral and Cheshire on the Wirral Peninsula in England. It is also referred to as the Mid Wirral Motorway. It runs between the Kingsway Tunnel, at Wallasey in the north, and the A55 at ...
runs along the length of the Wirral, from near Chester. At the north eastern end, the Wirral is joined to Liverpool by three tunnels under the Mersey: two road tunnels, one from Wallasey (Kingsway) and one from Birkenhead (Queensway), and the
Mersey Railway The Mersey Railway was the first part of the passenger railway connecting the communities of Liverpool, Birkenhead, and now the rest of the Wirral Peninsula in England, which lie on opposite banks of the River Mersey, via the Mersey Railway Tun ...
tunnel. The Wirral peninsula is served by a network of bus routes. These are provided by larger companies whose networks of bus services in the North West of England are extensive, such as and Stagecoach Wirral. Furthermore, the peninsula is also served by many independent bus operators. Independent bus companies which operate on the peninsula include A2B Travel,
Cumfybus Cumfybus is a bus company based in Southport, Merseyside. Its operations were small scale throughout the 1990s, but it has expanded significantly since its incorporation as a limited company in 2002, and in 2010 had a fleet of nearly 100 buses. ...
, Helms Coaches and Eazibus. Most bus services operate from the three bus stations:
Birkenhead bus station 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 Liverpo ...
,
Heswall bus station Heswall is a town on the Wirral, Merseyside, England. At the 2001 Census, the population was 16,012, including the nearby villages of Barnston and Gayton. Before local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974 it was part of the administr ...
and Woodside bus station, although many services start from other interchanges, such as New Brighton, Seacombe Ferry and Liscard Village. The
Wirral Line The Wirral line is one of two commuter rail routes operated by Merseyrail and centred on Merseyside, England, the other being the Northern line. The Wirral line connects Liverpool to the Wirral Peninsula via the Mersey Railway Tunnel, with b ...
of the electrified
Merseyrail Merseyrail is a commuter rail network serving the Liverpool City Region and adjacent areas of Cheshire and Lancashire. Merseyrail operates 66 railway stations across two lines – the Northern Line and Wirral Line, which are dedicated electri ...
network links West Kirby, New Brighton, Chester and Ellesmere Port via many other towns and villages to all four of Liverpool's city centre stations ( James Street,
Moorfields Moorfields was an open space, partly in the City of London, lying adjacent to – and outside – its northern wall, near the eponymous Moorgate. It was known for its marshy conditions, the result of the defensive wall acting like a dam, i ...
, Lime Street and
Liverpool Central Liverpool Central railway station in Liverpool, England, forms a central hub of the Merseyrail network, being on both the Northern Line and the Wirral Line. The station is located underground on two levels, below the site of a former mainline ...
) through the underground Loop tunnel. Another railway line, the Borderlands Line, offers hourly diesel services from (on the West Kirby branch of the Wirral Line) to
Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
in North Wales. Regular
Mersey Ferry The Mersey Ferry is a ferry service operating on the River Mersey in north west England, between Liverpool to the east and Birkenhead and Wallasey on the Wirral Peninsula to the west. Ferries have been used on this route since at least the 12th ...
crossings operate to Liverpool from both Woodside and Seacombe, providing a commuter shuttle and pleasure cruises. The nearest passenger airports are
Liverpool John Lennon Airport Liverpool John Lennon Airport is an international airport in Liverpool, England, on the estuary of the River Mersey south-east of Liverpool city centre. Scheduled domestic, European, North African and Middle Eastern services are operated fr ...
and
Manchester Airport Manchester Airport is an international airport in Ringway, Manchester, England, south-west of Manchester city centre. In 2019, it was the third busiest airport in the United Kingdom in terms of passenger numbers and the busiest of those n ...
. There were plans to introduce commercial flights to nearby
Hawarden Airport Hawarden Airport ( cy, Maes Awyr Penarlâg) , is an airport near Hawarden in Flintshire, Wales, near the border with England and west southwest of the English city of Chester. Aviation Park Group (APG) is based at the airport and provides han ...
in North Wales, but these plans were dropped in 2014.


Sports


Football

* Tranmere Rovers Football Club is the Wirral's only professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
club and play at
Prenton Park Prenton Park is a large outdoor seated association football stadium in Birkenhead, England. It is the home ground of Tranmere Rovers, as well as Liverpool's women and reserves teams. The ground has had several rebuilds, with the most recent o ...
, Birkenhead. They play in
League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
of
The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
. *
Cammell Laird 1907 F.C. Cammell Laird 1907 Football Club is a semi-professional association football, football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The club are currently members of the and play at Kirklands. History The club was established in 1907 as Cam ...
are a non-league football club on the Wirral and play in the
North West Counties League The North West Counties Football League is a football league in the North West of England. Since 2019–20, the league has covered the Isle of Man, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, Cumbria, northern Staffordshire, northern S ...
at North West Construction Stadium formerly Kirklands,
Rock Ferry Rock Ferry is an area of Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula, England. Administratively it is a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. Before local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974, it was part of the county of Cheshire. At the 2 ...
. * Several Football League teams have played at New Brighton including the defunct New Brighton Tower F.C. and
New Brighton A.F.C. New Brighton Association Football Club is the name of two football clubs from the seaside resort of New Brighton, in Wallasey, Merseyside in England. The original club founded in 1921 were members of the Football League from 1923 until 1951, ...
, who most recently played in the
West Cheshire League The West Cheshire Association Football League (commonly known as the West Cheshire League) is an English football league in the county of Cheshire, which also includes teams from Merseyside. Its current principal sponsor is ''Carlsberg'', also sp ...
.


Golf

*
The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...
was played at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake in 1897, 1902, 1907, 1913,
1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...
,
1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...
,
1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
,
1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...
,
1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...
,
1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...
,
2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
and
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
. The Open is due to return to the Royal Liverpool for the 13th time in 2023. The
Women's British Open The Women's Open (originally known as the Women's British Open, and still widely referred to by that name outside the UK) is a women's major golf championships, major championship in Professional golf tours#Women's tours, women's professional go ...
was played at Royal Liverpool in
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
.


Rugby

*
Caldy RFC Caldy Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union team which play in the Championship, the second tier of English rugby, following their promotion from National League 1 at the end of 2021-22. Their home stadium is Paton Field in Thurstaston ...
play at
Paton Field Paton Field is located on Telegraph Road, in Thurstaston, Wirral Peninsula, 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 ...
,
Thurstaston Thurstaston is a village on the Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside, England. It is part of the West Kirby and Thurstaston Ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral and the parliamentary constituency of Wirral West. The village lies on the A540 roa ...
. They are a rugby union club who play in England's third tier, the
National League 1 National One (last season known as National League 1 and previously known before September 2009 as National Division Two), is the third of three national leagues in the domestic rugby union competition of England. It was known as Courage Leagu ...
. *
Wirral Warriors Wirral may refer to: * Wirral Peninsula, a peninsula in the northwest of England, between the rivers Dee and Mersey * Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, occupying the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula * Wirral (UK Parliament consti ...
play at the Memorial Ground in
Clatterbridge Clatterbridge is a hamlet (place), hamlet on the Wirral Peninsula, in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is to the south-west of Bebington and close to the M53 motorway. Clatterbridge is also the name of Clatterbridge (w ...
. They are members of the
Rugby League Conference The Rugby League Conference (RLC) (also known as the Co-operative Rugby League Conference as a result of sponsorship from The Co-operative Group), was a series of regionally based divisions of amateur rugby league teams spread throughout England, ...
. *
Birkenhead Park FC Birkenhead Park Football Club is an English rugby union team based in Birkenhead, Wirral. The club operates five senior teams, a ladies team (Birkenhead Park Panthers) and six junior sides. The men's senior team play in North 1 West at the si ...
play at the Upper Park in Birkenhead Park and compete in the fifth tier of rugby union,
National League 3 North North Premier was a level five league in the English rugby union system, with the fourteen teams drawn from across Northern England. The other leagues at this level were London & South East Premier, Midlands Premier and South West Premier. The ...
. *
Wirral Rugby Club Wirral Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in Thornton Common Road, Clatterbridge, Wirral, England. It has many mini, junior teams from under-7s upwards, and runs colts and four senior men's teams, a ladies team (Wirral Warriors) an ...
founded 1936 by former pupils of
Wirral Grammar School for Boys (Wisdom is the Gateway to Life) , established = 1931 , closed = , type = Grammar school;Academy , local_authority = Wirral MBC , religious_affiliation = , president = , head_label = , head ...
and play rugby union at Memorial Ground near
Clatterbridge Clatterbridge is a hamlet (place), hamlet on the Wirral Peninsula, in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is to the south-west of Bebington and close to the M53 motorway. Clatterbridge is also the name of Clatterbridge (w ...
. * Anselmians RUFC formed 1947 by former pupils of
St Anselm's College St Anselm's College is an 11–18 boys, Roman Catholic, grammar school and sixth form with academy status in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. It was established in 1933 and is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury. It is one of ...
.They play rugby union at Eastham. * Hoylake RUFC * Port Sunlight RFC formed in 1908 by employees of the
Lever Brothers Lever Brothers was a British manufacturing company founded in 1885 by two brothers: William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), and James Darcy Lever (1854–1916). They invested in and successfully promoted a new soap-making p ...
company *
Oldershaw RUFC Oldershaw is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Bert Oldershaw (1921–2006), Canadian sprint canoeist and sprint kayaker * Cally Oldershaw, gemologist and science educator *Dean Oldershaw (born 1946), Canadian sprint canoeist and ...
* New Brighton RUFC *
Wallasey RUFC Wallasey () is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England; until 1974, it was part of the historic county of Cheshire. It is situated at the mouth of the River Mersey, at the north-eastern corner of the Wirral Pe ...


Watersports

*
Hoylake Hoylake is a coast, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is at the north west of the Wirral Peninsula, near West Kirby and where the River Dee, Wales, River Dee meets the Irish Sea. Historic counties of En ...
, in north west Wirral is one of the premier European
land sailing Land sailing, also known as sand yachting, land yachting or dirtboating, is the act of moving across land in a wheeled vehicle powered by wind through the use of a sail. The term comes from analogy with (water) sailing. Historically, land saili ...
(sand yachting) sites, and was host to the week-long European Championships in September 2007 and again in 2011. *
West Kirby West Kirby is a resort town on the north-west corner of the Wirral Peninsula in Merseyside, England, at the mouth of the River Dee, Wales, River Dee. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Cheshire, to th ...
, in north west Wirral has a
marine lake A marine lake is a lake situated very close to the sea, which has a connection to this sea, via tunnels or cracks in the soil. Marine lakes are fed with seawater but are usually also fed with rainwater, meaning that the salt content of the water is ...
for
windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...
, sailing and
sea kayak A sea kayak or touring kayak is a kayak developed for the sport of paddling on open waters of lakes, bays, and the ocean. Sea kayaks are seaworthy small boats with a covered deck and the ability to incorporate a spray deck. They trade off the man ...
ing and hosts the British Open Team Racing Championship (Wilson Trophy) sailing competition. * New Brighton is a popular place for jet-skiing as well as for paddle boarding and kitesurfing. * Sea kayaking is also popular in the Dee and Mersey Estuaries. * Rowing; Liverpool Victoria Rowing Club, despite its name, is and always has been in Wallasey, rowing on the Great Float.


Cricket

* Birkenhead Park Cricket Club * Birkenhead St Mary's Cricket Club * Irby Cricket Club * Neston Cricket Club * Upton Cricket Club * Wirral Cricket Club was founded in 1936 as part of the Wirral Club. The club became noted after recording the game's lowest score in 100 years, on 27 April 2014.


Other

* Neston South Wirral Hockey Club, based at Neston Cricket Club, is the largest club on the Wirral with 8 men's and 5 ladies' sides playing each Saturday. * Oxton Hockey Club was founded in 1888 and is now a National League side.


See also

*
The Wirral Hundred The Hundred of Wirral is the ancient administrative area for the Wirral Peninsula. Its name is believed to have originated from the ''Hundred of Wilaveston'', the historic name for Willaston, which was an important assembly point in the Wirral ...
*
Wirral Waters Wirral Waters is a large scale £4.5bn development currently being built by the Peel Group for Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, England. It is the sister programme of the Liverpool Waters project. Since 2012 the two projects have enjoyed en ...
*
List of people from Wirral The following is a list of notable people who are associated or born within the area known as the Wirral Peninsula. A *Nigel Adkins (born 1965), footballer and football manager *Freya Anderson (born 2001), Olympic gold medal swimmer *Ian Ast ...


References


Further reading

* *


External links


Wirral Archives Service
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