The History of Wallasey : Part 6

Wallasey In The
Post War Years

1918 - 1939

The Origin and Development of the Moreton "Caravan-Town"

The following Population Census returns for the Parish of Moreton are very helpful in understanding the origin and growth of the "Caravan-Town".

Year
Population
Increase or Decrease
1801
210
1811
230
20
1821
273
43
1831
247
-26
1841
330
83
1851
350
20
1861
351
11
1871
455
94
1881
424
-31
1891
464
40
1901
597
122
1911
989
392
1921
4,029
3.040
1925
9,082
5,053

From these figures, it will be seen that the population, although doubling itself during the century, remained exceedingly small until the early years of the last century. Clearly then, Moreton remained a quiet, rural, agricultural community outside the sphere of influence of the Merseyside conurbation. At the start of the twentieth century conditions began to change.

In 1900, the Corporation of Birkenhead acquired control of Leasowe Common and in the years following people were permitted to live there in tents during the summer months of the year. These people, coming mainly from the poorer quarters of Birkenhead, naturally derived great benefit from living in the fresh air. Unfortunately the strong winds blowing over the Common caused many people to erect bungalows from 1907 onwards. These bungalows were erected on the understanding that they would be removed when the Wirral Rural District Council so requested.

Under these arrangements the number of bungalows increased until 1913 when complaints began to arise concerning the unsanitary conditions of some of them and the Rural District Council decided to serve notices upon all the bungalow owners requesting that they should be moved. Considerable opposition was raised and in subsequent litigation the bungalow owners won the test case, that of Kerr's Field. This was exceedingly unfortunate for since then the judgement given in that particular "has been looked upon by the bungalow owners as something like a charter of freedom". Further litigation followed and then the war years of 1914-1918 left conditions at a standstill.

In the immediate post-war years, the acute housing scarcity on Merseyside resulted in many people following the example set by the post-war summer bungalow dwellers at Moreton and Leasowe, only in their case, the dwellings were permanent habitants The influx of people was facilitated by the sale in 1918 of two very large farms in Moreton to land speculators who, in turn, disposed of them in the form of small plots.The consequences were disastrous. They are well described by Sir. Lynden Macassey in his evidence of the 1927 Enquiry before the house of Lords Committee, extracts from which follows:-

"There became a perfect influx into Moreton of furniture vans, caravans, railway carriages, shacks, and every kind of structure in which a man could live ..... This is what happened, and they exist in hundreds and hundreds. A man would bring a caravan or a furniture van, measuring 6 feet in width and probably 12 feet in length, and in that five and six and seven and up to ten and twelve persons have been permitted to live ..... One of the worst factors was a complete absence of any sanitary conveniences ..... The denizens of these structures ..... Simply disposal of their slop water by throwing it over the ground around and no attempt was made to dispose of the refused and garbage which accumulated ..... The results is that the sanitary conditions of a great part of Moreton are really indescribable ..... and the result of these sanitary conditions is to produce social conditions of the most regrettable character ..... Many of the roads ..... are nothing more than churned-up earth and it is impossible to walk along many of them without going over the boot deep in the mud, and, what is worst than the mud, the foul water and filth which is allowed to accumulate on these roads as a result of insufficient drainage being provided ..... Actually some of the roads are made up with ashpit refuse, with garbage, so much so that on some of them you can only pick your way as a result of considerate persons who have placed large stones here and there and bits of wood from which you can step in the course of your progress. Until quite recently (1925) no lighting whatever was provided for the whole of this district; there was not even one single public oil-lamp in a district with something like 8,000 persons and an important district, too"

Later, in the evidence submitted to the Committee, extracts were quoted from the 1925 Reports of the Wallasey and Wirral Medical Officers which revealed even more vividly the state of affairs existing in that year. Parts of these extracts are well worth repetition:-

"Moreton demands special treatment in any health report which deals with N.W. Cheshire, not only because it has championed a retrogression to mediaeval conditions, but also because the failure of its experiments must be obvious to all who think"
1925 Report of D. Yeoman, Medical Officer of Health for the Wirral

"If the vital statistics of Moreton are as favourable as reported, Moreton stands as a unique example of the value of light and air in the preservation of health; for if we exclude the influence of light and outside air in my view the worst slum in any large town in all other respects compares very favourably with a large number of the caravans in Moreton; and if there is the urgent necessity to clear away the majority of the caravans".
1925 Report of Dr. Barlow, Medical Officer of Health for Wallasey.

Later in his report, the Wallasey Medical Officer of Health goes on to describe the condition of one of the worst fields in the following words:-

"It contained some 150 bungalows in all stages of disrepair, bounded on one side by a foul smelling stench perhaps 2 feet deep, on another by a ditch of about the same depth filled with stagnant water; all absolutely unprotected and crossed by planks in two places. The main places between the bungalows called by courtesy paths were simply churned up and with planks here and there they cross the most perilous parts. Some of the bungalows were actually standing in pools of foul water, while the water had disappeared below others leaving a filthy mud behind. In two spots were placed in the midst of a mass of bungalows the closet accommodation provided for their use. This consisted of whitewashed dilapidated enclosures made of rusty, decayed galvanised iron and wood. In one part of the enclosure, with a concrete floor containing many holes, were placed side by side four pail closets about 2 feet 6 high and therefore, totally unsuitable for children; and immediately behind and within the same curtilage compounds, there were deposited large bumps of petrifying matter of all hints, including human excreta. How such a state of affairs is allowed to exist in the 20th Century is beyond comprehension, and unless one had actually seen, one can hardly believe it possible".

These were the conditions that existed in the period prior to the absorption of the area by Wallasey. The Bill for extension was first proposed and rejected by a poll of the rate-payers in 1925 but on the revival two years later, there was a slight majority in favour of the Bill and, in spite of consideration opposition from the Wirral Rural District Council and others, the Bill became law on 22nd December, 1927. Soon after much was done to improve the conditions. Roads were constructed, bridges were built over streams, sewers and drainage mains were laid-out and most of all, most of the caravans and bungalows had been removed (2,000 in the first 5-years).

Kerrs Field, Moreton
Kerrs Field, off Pasture Road, in 1925. The dwellers lived in makeshift homes, including bungalows, old railway carriages and old buses. The flooding was frequent and it was said that they went shopping to Moreton in punts!

The removal of the caravans and bungalows necessitated the putting into operation of various housing schemes both by Corporation and private enterprise. Accordingly, the Council purchased building sites and erected 200 parlour houses in the Reeds Lane area with a further 322 houses, mostly of non-parlour type, on the Pasture Road site. To these Corporation houses must be added the number of houses of varying sizes built by private enterprises to suit tenants or owners of all classes. Up-to-date these total 487 houses. Many of these houses were built in small scattered groups but three compactly-built areas should be noticed as follows :-

No. 25 - Saughall Grange Estate 134 houses
No. 27 - Pasture Road Estate 116 houses
Nos. 23, 44 and 46 - Reeds Lane Estate 118 houses

All these houses were erected under Town-Planning agreements with the Corporation at the maximum rate of 12 houses per acre.

Meanwhile, further building schemes were carried out on the eastern part of Wallasey. The Corporation Housing Schemes were particularly important and consisted of the following :-

Under 1923 Act
Leasowe Road Estate - an attractive lay-out of 100 houses of 3 or 4 bedroom type, which were sold at the freehold price of £640 and £725 respectively;
Under 1890-1925 Acts
Oakdale Road Estate - 92 houses of non-parlour type and including 24 Cottage Flats. These were built with a view to providing alternative accommodation for the dispossessed tenants of the Mersey Street Unhealthy Area, and Children's Playground was provided in the scheme;
Under 1930 Act Act
Mersey St. Estate - 72 non-parlour type houses built in 1935 on the site of the demolished Mersey St. Area.

The private building estates vary in size from small ones of 10-50 houses to big ones with 100-250 or more houses. The small areas mainly represent either small vacant patches of land here and there amongst the built-up area or else the sites of large houses which have been demolished.

Examples of the former type are as follows :-

No.
Name and Place
No. of Houses
1. St. George's Park. New Brighton 44
2 Sudworth Estate, Mount Road 49
4 Treforris Road Estate, Gerard Road 14
6 The Willows, Grove Road 36
14. Breck Road - School Lane Estate 16
19 Belgrave St. Estate, Martins Lane 38
31. Bridle Road Estate, Seacombe 20
32. Kent Road Estate, Mill Lane 20
35 Brackenhurst Drive Estate, Holland Road 36
36. Bellefield Crescent Estate, Mount Road 25

Housing Estates of the latter type ie. sites of large houses and their extensive grounds, include the following :-

9. Clare Lodge Estate, Claremount Road 11
17. Poulton Hall Estate, Mill Lane 28
21. Zig Zag Hall Estate. Seabank Road 33
26. The Laund Estate, Broadway Avenue 22

The remaining estates, chiefly large ones, were built mostly on the open land west of the main built-up area, ie. west of the line running along Rolleston Drive, Belvidere Road, Torrington Road, Woodstock Road, Oxton Road and Gorsey Lane. the following are the larger estates :-

No.
Name and Place
No. of Houses
3. Oarside Estate, Mount Pleasant Road 114
5. Green Lane Estate 112
7. St. George's Road - Claremount Road Estate 266
8. Rolleston Drive - Claremount Road Estate 250
20. Ripon Road - Sandy Lane Estate 151
30. Breck Hey Estate, Wallasey Road 219
33. Palmerston Road - Marlowe Road Estate 503
39. Mosslands Drive Estate, off Leasowe Road 156
41. Gorsey Lane Estate 132

The majority of these houses were built 12 to the acre, the outstanding exception being the Gorsey Lane Estate. This Estate, situated in the southern part of Wallasey near the industrial zone, consisted of working-class houses with a density of 18 per acre.

Bellefield Estate, 1927
St. George's Park, 1927

Over the next few years further estates were built in Green Lane, Leasowe Road and Reeds Lane, as well as over a great part of Moreton. Accordingly, the control vested in the Local Authority by the recent Town Planning Acts became important in the preservation of amenities and the provisions of roads, open-spaces and the like.

The Willows, 1927
Lymington Road, 1927

The Post-War Development of New Brighton

The Wallasey Corporation Bill of 1927 not only included the extension of the Borough boundaries, it gave the Local Authority power to proceed with the construction pf promenades and the related Baths and Boating Lake that made a marked difference in the importance of New Brighton as a sea-side resort. These changes inaugurated a new era in the life of the northern part of the Borough.

The decline of New Brighton as a notable resort towards the end of the 19th Century has been covered in a previous part together with the attempts of the Corporation to rehabilitate it by the substitution of a new promenade and the Victoria Gardens and Marine Park in place of the notorious 'Ham and Eggs Parade'. Beneficial as these improvements were they did little or nothing to change the fundamental role of New Brighton as a "day-tripper" resort. Proximity to the big towns and industrial centres of Liverpool and Birkenhead with the consequent cheapness and rapidity in reaching New Brighton have made it a day-time resort for the peoples of these towns and more particularly the working-class people and their children. On reasonably fine days in summer, large numbers of these came by ferry, or by bus in the case of Birkenhead, and on Bank Holidays there was a tremendous influx of such visitors. The following statistical averages concerning passengers carried on the three ferry services in the mid 1930's are very illuminating in this respect:-

Summer and Winter Daily and Monthly Variations
Turnstile
Daily
Passengers Monthly
July
39,193
1,608,739
December
20,296
618,427
Increase : Summer over Winter
18,897
996,312

Average Number of Passengers at the Bank Holiday Period
Easter
Whitsuntide
August
354.000
266,000
346,000

The general statistics show that for the five seasonal months of the year, May to September, the average number of ferry passengers is 750,000 per month means that approximately 275,000 enter the district as "trippers", the regular daily passengers as contract holders being in addition to these numbers. To these of course, must be added the large numbers brought by bus from Birkenhead and by charabanc and train on day-trips from further afield.

While realising the importance of this function as a play-ground and resort for the working class people of the immediate neighbourhood, the Merseyside conurbation, the Corporation of Wallasey, stimulated no doubt by the desires of the Boarding-House and Shop Keepers of New Brighton, spent over £1,000,000 on facilities for recreation and amusement that attracted many period-visitors to the district and placed New Brighton among the foremost sea-side resorts of Northern England. >>>

In the 1930's various schemes were accomplished including :-

1. The extension of the Promenade from Marine Park to Harrison Drive which included the Marine Lake.
2. Marine Lake of 10 acres utilised for rowing-boats, motor-boats, and miniature motor-boats for children. Already, from the two summers following its opening in 1934, over 1,000,000 people had used it.
3. New Brighton Bathing Pool, the World's largest open-air bathing pool with accommodation for 2,000 bathers and 10,000 spectators. Opened on the 15th June 1934, it was used during the remainder of that summer by approximately a quarter of a million bathers and these combined with spectators to bring the total number of visitors to only a few hundreds short of a million.
4. A capacious car park, in the immediate vicinity of the Bathing Pool and Boating Lake.
5. Sunken Gardens with Tennis Courts, Bowling Greens, Putting Greens, etc.

New Palace, New Brighton
An early plan of 1935 of the New Palace on New Brighton Promenade. Initially there were to be 20 shops in the front and a new cinema. Also, inside was to include a dance hall, restaurant and an ice-skating rink

In addition, the New Brighton Pier was purchased from a private company in 1928 and after a complete reconstruction was opened with an attractive promenade and cafe, lounge, band-stand and Yacht Club premises. At the Harrison Drive part of the sea-front, the Derby Bathing Pool was opened in 1932 and provision was made for residents and visitors alike in the construction of Beach Chalets. Shelters, Cafes and other similar amenities.

The affects of these additions to the existing sea-side amenities of the northern part of the Borough had been considerable. The old appeal that New Brighton had for "day-trippers" had been enhanced. In this connection, the other factors must be borne in mind, namely :-

1. The remarkable development of motor charabanc day-trips in the post-war years of the Great War. Since the opening of the New Brighton Baths charabanc parties had come from most parts of Lancashire, Cheshire, the Potteries and the Midland;
2. The opening of the Birkenhead Mersey Tunnel. This in itself had greatly facilitated communications by road from Lancashire and the North and was greatly used by motorists, cyclists, and charabancs in reaching New Brighton.

Although the influx of day visitors had been more marked than ever, there has also been some improvement in the number of period-visitors.

The Provision of Public and Private Service and Amenities

During the post-war period considerable changes and improvement had been made in regard to the provision of the public services and amenities that were necessary in any urban community. A detailed analysis of these developments is not essential here, that is rather the province of a social survey of the Borough, but certain of the main features can be indicated under their respective readings.

I. Transport Services. In this connection, the chief facts to be considered are concerned with the provision of better means of internal communication within the Borough, and especially from various in the ferry services themselves.
a). The Ferry Services have been greatly improved by the provision of additional and more powerful ferry-steamers including the following:-

Year
Names
Capacity
1927 "Wallasey" and "Marlowe" 2,225
1932 "Royal Iris II" 2,000
1934 "Royal Daffodil II" 2,000

Meanwhile, improvements were being carried out at each of the three landing stages and approaches. At Seacombe in 1926, a new landing stage and a three track Floating Roadway were installed at a cost of £204,000 to overcome the difficulties or transporting vehicular traffic. Later, between the years 1930-1933, work on a new Terminus was completed at Seacombe which resulted in the doubling of the dimensions of the Main Booking Hall and of the large Gangway bridges. The new buildings also provided the necessary offices, an extensive covered park for motor cars, and covered approaches to the bus loading stations. the new terminus was officially opened on 19th April 1933. At Egremont Ferry, certain reconstructions that had been carried out in 1929 were rendered useless for a period through a large steamer, 'British Commander', collided with and destroyed the pier in 1932. Since then, however, a new structure had been placed in position which included a new bridge of 160 feet length. Egremont pier reopened on 1st August 1933. Somewhat similar improvements were carried out at New Brighton Ferry in 1934 when a large new passenger bridge was installed.

Thus, in every possible way, the Local Authority had strived to keep pace with the demands of modern Wallasey in regard to the provision of water-transport services to and from Liverpool both as regards passenger and vehicular traffic and in the interest of residents and visitors alike.

b). Road Transport, in similar fashion, had kept pace with modern requirements for speed, comfort and safety in so far as Public Services were concerned. The Tramway Services, the origin and development of which were outlined in Part 4 were gradually replaced by motor-buses running along the same and other additional routes. In particular, the new routes, besides facilitating movement in the existing built-up-area, provided services to link up with the newly added of Leasowe and Moreton with the eastern area and the ferries. Through inter-communication with Birkenhead was provided by the joint services instituted between Seacombe Ferry and Charing Cross and between Liscard Village and Charing Cross. These services, began in 1921, were added to in 1929 by an additional joint-service between New Brighton and New Ferry.

In 1935, the route mileage operated amounted t some 31 miles and the fleet of buses consisted of 11 single deck and 83 double-deck covered vehicles. All parts of the Borough were now served by some fifteen routes. Most of these routes were connected with the three ferries and more particularly with Seacombe Ferry where in rush hours, with all vehicles available, the frequency of the bus services varied from two to ten minutes.

II. Water, Gas and Electricity Services.

Following upon the rapid expansion of population in Wallasey during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the demands for such services as the supplying of water, gas, and electricity steadily increased.

a). The Water Supply was first commenced in 1858 when the Wallasey Commissioners obtained powers to construct water works at Poulton where the first well was sunk and pumping engines installed in 1859, at which date the Water Tower in Mill Lane was commenced. Prior to this date, the inhabitants of Wallasey had upon various streams and private wells at different spots in the district. The water obtained from this first public-supply well was very unsatisfactory owing to the high sand content. A fresh well was sunk adjoining the first and later, in 1872, an additional well was bored at Poulton. Until 1894, these two wells constituted the whole supply of the district but in that year the present Liscard Pumping Station was opened on a site near Seaview Road.

As time passed and the demands of the populace increased negotiations with Liverpool Corporation and later with Birkenhead Corporation resulted in the provision of further water supplies from the reservoirs of these two authorities at Lake Vyrnwy and Lake Alwen respectively. By these negotiations large supplies of pure and soft water were obtained and mixed with the hard, pumped water from the local New Red Sandstone. The supply from Liverpool was to extend over a period of 30 years terminating 1935. Accordingly, from August 1935, the supply was stopped and the deficiency was met by obtaining additional supplies both of soft water from the Birkenhead source and hard water from the local wells. This latter supply has necessitated the construction of a Water Softening Chemical Process Plant.

b). Gas and Electricity Supply. The provision of a public gas supply dates back to 1860 and since that date at varying intervals improvements and additions were made which included the Gas Works in Gorsey Lane. The public supply of electricity naturally is of later origin and may be said to have begun in January 1897, when current was supplied for lighting from a single-phase generating station at Seaview Road. The demands for additional power in connection with the development of electric Tramways and industrial concerns resulted in the building of a new Generating Station in Dock Road, Poulton, the plant of which started up in August 1915. By 1934 the operation came under the control of the Central Electricity Board under the National Grid Scheme.

c). Schools and Libraries

These essential social services were provided by the Local Authority in accordance with the requirements of a residential area such as Wallasey. The origin of the first Grammar School has already been traced and for a long time the entire responsibility for education in the Parish rested with the Trustees of the Grammar School. After 1839, however, Elementary Schools began to appear in the district as well as several private establishments. The first school, the Liscard National School was erected in Liscard Road and still stands opposite the ambulance station and today is the Wirral Metropolitan College. By 1861, there were five National Schools, each attached to a Church of England. Other Church Schools at that date included St. Alban's Catholic School, the Seacombe Wesleyan School and the one founded by the Calvinistic Methodist. Further developments took place during the century, especially after the 1876 Elementary Education Act, but the most important construction of Schools followed upon the creation of the Local Education Authority for Elementary Education, under the 1902 Education Act. Since that date the following new Council Schools or extensions to existing schools have been built and opened :-

Manor Road
1905
St. George's Road
1907
Poulton
1908
Vaughan Road
1908
Higher Elementary
1908
Extension to Somerville
1912
Church Street
1916
Egerton Grove
1928
Barnston Lane, Moreton
1930
Extensions to Upton Road
1931
Alterations to Manor Road
1932
Gorsedale Road
1934
Alterations to Somerville
1934
Catholic School, Moreton
1935
Coronation Avenue
1938

Considerable attention had also been given to Secondary Education in the Borough. The Grammar School moved to the Withen's Lane site in 1911 and was enlarged over time. The High School For Girls acquired the Mount Pleasant Road premises and opened in 1909.

In 1919 the Borough decided to take responsibility for the disabled children of the parish by taking over a special school in Lucerne Road, which had been run by the Children's Aid Association. Initially the plan was to move the school to a new one in Walkers Croft, off St. Georges Road, but the plan was dropped and in 1928 the school was transferred to the large mansion Ellery Park.

In 1920 the old Town Hall in Church Street, Egremont, which had been built in 1873 and later to be heavily damaged during a German air-raid in World War II, became the a centre for the evening classes transferred from Wallasey Grammar School.

In the same year saw the delayed opening of the Oldershaw School for Boys and Girls in premises that originally were intended for Council Schools. There was also a Secondary Girls School in Rowson Street, the Maris Stella Convent School which was organised by the Catholic body of that name.

Other important educational activities included the School of Art in Central Park, aswell as a comprehensive system of evening classes.

The Hadow Report in 1926 advocated new organisaton of separate schools for all children over the age of eleven. In consequence of this new policy Gorsedale Senior School was built in 1934; and in the same year Church Street Elementary School, which had been built in 1916, became a Juniors Boys, Junior Girls' and Infants School. One of the earliest Board Schools, Riverside, which had been 'all-standard', was also reorganised as two Junior Schools and an Infants' School. The last school to open during this period was Eastway Council School (Eastway Primary School today) which opened in 1939.

Libraries

Wallasey in the 1930's had a number of libraries:-

1. a large Central Library in Earlston Road, containing Lending and Reference Libraries and the usual facilities for quiet reading, for lectures and the like;
2. the South Branch Library, in Borough Road, Seacombe.
3. a small branch in Wallasey Village; and
4. another small branch in Moreton.

d). Open Spaces and Recreational Facilities

During the closing years of the nineteenth century the local authority took steps to acquire certain patches of land for the purpose of Open Spaces and to provide recreational facilities for the growing population. By the 1930's there were 32 public parks, commons and other open spaces of a total of 313 acres. The existing areas varied in size from about ½ acre in the small recreation grounds to the 56 acres of Leasowe Common.

In these parks and other open spaces there is the following provision for playing organised games

Football 22 pitches in 6 parks
Cricket 4 pitches in 2 parks
Hockey 4 pitches in 2 parks
Tennis (hard court) 19 courts in 3 parks
Tennis (grass court) 4 courts in 3 parks
Bowling 20 greens in 6 parks
Putting 2 greens in 1 park
Children's Playgrounds 9 grounds in 8 parks

Apart from these public facilities there was also the Warren Municipal Golf Course and innumerable private tennis courts, the Wallasey and Leasowe Golf Links and nearby, the West Cheshire and Bidston Golf Links.

e). Shopping Areas.

In regard to the number of shops Wallasey was more than abundantly provided for. There is an indepth look into each area of shopping in Wallasey which I recommend further reading and is featured on the History of Wallasey website :- 'History of Wallasey Shopping'. The district had many small groups of shops or single shops scattered about. Many of these shops were converted houses which grew as the residential areas grew. However, there was a ratio of 1 shop per 10 persons which was far too high in the interests of both shop-keepers and local populace. This resulted in shops changing hands many times or standing empty for long periods.

A view of Wallasey Road in 1936 with St. Alban's Road to the right. Central Market is on the left and the old Wellington Pub is in the distance,

A factor of marked importance in the understanding of the problems related to shopping areas in Wallasey is that of the competition affected by the close proximity of the Liverpool shopping district (as again seen today with Liverpool One). The effect of this can readily be appreciated when it is pointed out there is only one shop (Liscard branch of the Birkenhead and District Co-operative Stores) of any size or magnitude in the whole of the Borough with a population of nearly 100,000 people. Most towns of similar size elsewhere have a regional function to perform in respect to trade as also in respect to other aspects of their economic and cultural life. Consequently, they usually have large shops that are a magnet to the house-wives for miles around. Wallasey had no function of this character, other than as a playground or sea-side resort for the Merseyside conurbation; it was overshadowed by Liverpool. Thus apart from the ordinary everyday requirements provided by the dairies, butchers, grocery stores and many others, the Wallasey people relied to a great extent upon the large trading houses and shops such as Lewis's, Blackler's, Owen Owen's, the Bon Marche and Cooper's. These concerns with their large turn-over can offer goods for sale frequently at lower prices than the small Wallasey shops. An added attraction, of course, was the greater quality of goods they can display. Furthermore, associated with shopping was the feeling of having a "day's outing' (as is today with a visit to Cheshire Oaks) which provided a break in the house-wife's usual routine of domestic activity. Many utilise the opportunity to visit a Liverpool Cinema or Theatre either at a matinee performance or, after meeting their husbands who were usually working in Liverpool, at an evening performance.

In the 1930s better transportation between the Wirral and Liverpool, the Mersey Tunnel being the most important of these changes, meant most of the big shops could offer daily or weekly deliveries with Wallasey.

Liscard went through a major regeneration in the 1930s. One of the main new features was the building of Coronation Buildings in Wallasey Road which opened in 1938. Previously the site was private dwellings and Central Market. The Market was built in the 1920s and had many stalls which sold meat, fruit, vegetables, fancy goods and secondhand books.

Central Market, 1937