Woodside is an area of
Birkenhead
Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...
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 (), and encompasses of the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula. Major settlements include Birkenhead, Wallasey, Bebingt ...
in
Merseyside
Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...
, England. It is situated opposite
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
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 ...
across the
River Mersey
The River Mersey () is a major river 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 h ...
.
History
The monks of
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 chur ...
had been granted a charter establishing
ferry
A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...
rights to Liverpool, which was confirmed by
Edward III
Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...
in about 1330.
These rights reverted to the Crown in 1536,
upon the
Dissolution of the Monasteries by
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
.
There followed a period of private ownership by local landowners of the numerous ferry services on the Wirral bank of the River Mersey, including at Woodside. By the 18th century, an increase in
stage coach
A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...
traffic from
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...
spurred the growth of the transportation of passengers and goods across the river.
With the rapid development of Birkenhead from the 1820s, facilities at Woodside would eventually need expanding. By 1842, the ferry service had been taken over by the Birkenhead Commissioners.
A stone pier with two
slipways
A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a Inclined plane, ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and ...
and a small
lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Ligh ...
at the pier head were constructed.
There followed another period of major rebuilding, which included
land reclamation
Land reclamation, often known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new Terrestrial ecoregion, land from oceans, list of seas, seas, Stream bed, riverbeds or lake ...
up to the end of the pier. Construction of a floating landing stage in 1861 allowed for combined usage by the ferries and the
Mersey Docks and Harbour Board.
Improvements were made to the ferry's fleet at Woodside in 1890, with the replacement of
paddle steamers
A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine driving paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, whereby the first uses were wh ...
for
twin screw steamers.
A dedicated luggage boat service, which ferried goods and vehicles across the river, had begun by 1879. The opening of the Birkenhead to Liverpool
Queensway road tunnel on 18 July 1934 hastened the demise of Woodside's luggage boats, the service ending on 21 July 1941.
On 30 August 1860, Britain's first street
tram
A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...
way was established, running from Woodside to
Birkenhead Park
Birkenhead Park is a major public park located in the centre of Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. It was designed by Joseph Paxton and opened on 5 April 1847.
Birkenhead park was designated a conservation area in 1977 and declared a Grade I N ...
. The idea of flamboyant American
George Francis Train, the tramway was initially horse drawn. Electrified in 1901, tram services were discontinued in Birkenhead on 17 July 1937.
A preserved
Edwardian era
In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century that spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King Ge ...
tram is on display in the Woodside Ferry booking hall.
Originally built by the
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...
in the 1870s,
Birkenhead Woodside railway station was a mainline terminus, with services direct to
London Paddington. The station closed on 5 November 1967 and was demolished within a couple of years.
Woodside Hotel
Built in about 1834 to replace an earlier establishment of the same name, the hotel was a busy coaching house and originally had stabling for 100 horses.
Until the land reclamation works of the mid 19th century, the hotel was situated on the riverbank.
The hotel was extended in 1963 with a new lounge 'Gough's Landing', named after a 19th-century licensee.
The historic building was extensively damaged in two fires on 4 June and 13 August 2008, having been unoccupied for some time. Deemed structurally unsafe, the remains of Woodside Hotel were demolished without planning permission in October 2008.
Geography
Woodside is situated on the eastern side of the Wirral Peninsula, adjoining the
River Mersey
The River Mersey () is a major river 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 h ...
to the east. Woodside is about south-south-east of the
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...
at
New Brighton and about east-north-east of the
Dee Estuary at
Thurstaston. The area is at an elevation of between above sea level.
Landmarks
Mersey Ferries Booking Hall
A wooden construction on brick foundations, the 1864 booking hall is a
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
. It remained virtually unaltered until it was extensively refurbished from 1985 in the existing style, with many of the original timbers being replaced.
The formerly adjoining terminal building behind, of a similar construction, was demolished and replaced, due to poor condition. The passenger bridge and landing stage, which featured in the 1981 film ''
Chariots of Fire
''Chariots of Fire'' is a 1981 historical drama, historical Sports film, 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 Summer ...
'', were also replaced at the same time.
From 2019 until 2023 the building contained a food court and bar, but the ferry terminal as a whole is currently closed for refurbishment and due to reopen in the summer of 2025.
Shore Road Pumping Station
Located opposite the site of the former Woodside Hotel, the
Shore Road Pumping Station
The Shore Road Pumping Station is a pumping station in Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, England.
It was designed by engineers James Brunlees and Charles Douglas Fox and built in the 1880s as part of the Mersey Railway.
The building o ...
was a visitor attraction until 2008 when it closed to the public. Built in the 1870s, the 'Giant Grasshopper' engine is a working example of a large steam pump, which was used to clear water from the
Mersey Railway Tunnel.
Memorial garden
A small garden area stands on the north side of the site, between the Bus terminal and the buildings off Shore Road. In the gardens is a stone plinth and a plaque commemorating
Norman Tunna, Birkenhead resident and
George Cross
The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational Courage, gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, ...
recipient.
Resurgam
A
replica
A replica is an exact (usually 1:1 in scale) copy or remake of an object, made out of the same raw materials, whether a molecule, a work of art, or a commercial product. The term is also used for copies that closely resemble the original, without ...
of the Birkenhead built, pioneering
submarine
A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...
''
Resurgam'', was put on display in 1997 at Woodside. It is positioned near to the ferry terminal, on part of the site of the former floating roadway that once connected to the ferry landing stage.
U-534
On 27 June 2007, the
Merseytravel
Merseytravel is a public transport body and the passenger transport executive of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority responsible for delivering Public transport and other transport functions in the Liverpool City Region. It was origin ...
transit authority announced that it had acquired the to display at the Woodside Ferry Terminal. The submarine was sunk by British bombers in May 1945; it was salvaged in 1993 off the Danish island of
Anholt.
The submarine was part of the collection of the
Warship Preservation Trust at
Birkenhead Docks, which closed on 5 February 2006. For technical reasons and to facilitate economical transportation to its new site, the vessel was cut into four sections. It will be displayed in this form to allow visitors better access and visibility. Beginning on 10 March 2008, the sections were transported by
floating crane over a number of days. The exhibition opened on 10 February 2009 and closed in 2020. There are plans to build a new visitor attraction on the site.
Public art and memorials
The area is home to a number of murals by graffiti artist Brezaux, including tributes to
Glenda Jackson
Glenda May Jackson (9 May 1936 – 15 June 2023) was an English actress and politician. Over the course of her distinguished career she received List of awards and nominations received by Glenda Jackson, numerous accolades including two Academy ...
and
Paul O'Grady who were both born locally. There are also a sculpture depicting the
Birkenhead drill and a plaque commemorating the
HMS Thetis tragedy. At Monks Ferry, there is a plaque dedicated to
Miguel Grau Seminario
Miguel María Grau Seminario (27 July 1834 – 8 October 1879) was a Peruvian Navy officer and politician best known for his actions during the War of the Pacific. He was nicknamed "Gentleman of the Seas" for his kind and chivalrous treatment ...
whose ship
Huáscar was built at
Cammell Laird
Cammell Laird is a British shipbuilding company. It was formed from the merger of Laird Brothers of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century. The company also built railway rolling stock until 1929, ...
.
Transport
Woodside is one of two Wirral terminals for the
Mersey Ferry
The Mersey Ferry is a ferry service operating on the River Mersey in northwest 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 12 ...
to the Pier Head in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
. This terminal underwent a programme of extensive refurbishment in 1985. When reopened on 13 March 1986,
the restoration of the historic booking hall had been completed and the large, dilapidated
Victorian landing stage replaced. In 2024, the landing stage and linkspan bridge was removed for another replacement.

Woodside Bus Station is opposite the Woodside Ferry Terminal and was constructed as an interchange for passengers travelling to/from Liverpool via the Mersey Ferry. It opened in 1991.
The importance of Woodside as a major transport hub has declined. Woodside railway station closed in 1967, improvements to the
Merseyrail
Merseyrail is a commuter rail network which serves Merseyside and adjacent areas of Cheshire and Lancashire in the North West England, North West of England. Merseyrail serves 69 Railway station, stations, 67 of which it manages, across two lin ...
network following the construction of the Liverpool Loop a decade later, the opening of the more centrally located
Birkenhead bus station in the late 1990s and the diversion of several bus services to terminate in Liverpool instead, were all contributing factors. However, some local bus services still use the terminus and until 2023 tram services were occasionally run between the site and nearby
Wirral Transport Museum.
The nearest railway station to Woodside is
Hamilton Square station on Merseyrail's
Wirral Line. Services run to Liverpool,
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...
,
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, on the bank of the Manchester Ship Canal. In the 2021 Unite ...
,
New Brighton and
West Kirby
West Kirby () is a coastal town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. In the north west of the Wirral Peninsula and at the mouth of the River Dee, the town is contiguous with Hoylake. It lies within the historic county bo ...
.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Woodside, Merseyside
*
Birkenhead Transport
References
Further reading
*
External links
Official Mersey Ferries website
{{authority control
Towns and villages in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral
Birkenhead
Transport in Merseyside
River Mersey