Mount Pleasant Road
Mount Pleasant Road is named after the large house that once stood where Mount Primary School stands today. It was a fine house, set in its own grounds. Wensley Tyrrell Jacob, J.P., lived there in the 1890s. The house was demolished to make way for the building of Wallasey High School which opened in September 1909 for 250 girls. Originally the school was established in the Liscard Concert Hall in Manor Road. With the re-organisation of Secondary Education in the 1970's, the name was changed to 'Weatherhead High School'. The school was to close in 2004 and demolished soon after. Mount Primary School now occupies the site though the old caretakers building still remains.
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Weatherhead School, 1913 |
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Albert Terrace |
Beginning from the Rake Lane end of the road, there used to be a paved yard with small houses on either side. This was known as 'Albert Terrace'. It was typical of the old 'court' type of low-class dwellings that was seen in other parts of the town, with a communal pump, midden and privy and was paved with large flagstones. There were six houses in the main court and, in 1891, Alfred Tushingham's greengrocer's shop was on one corner (No. 7) and the 'Plough Inn' (No. 11) was on the other. Most of the people who lived here were mostly labourers. The houses were demolished soon after the Second World War. John Varty had a long association with the 'Plough Inn' which stood directly opposite the Quarry Recreation Grounds. The pub was originally built in the mid-1850's and ceased trading in the late 1920's. The building lay empty for a fair number of years before being demolished to make way for some senior citizen bungalows which occupy the site today. Behind the 'Plough Inn' was the Upper Brighton Mineral Water Company.
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View of the Plough Inn at
11 Mount Pleasant Road |
Further along Mount Pleasant Road is certainly one of the oldest structures in the area, 'The Telegraph Inn', which dates back to 1841. 'The Telegraph' is said to have functioned as a kind of ship's chandlery or store initially, and the name of the pub is probably derived from its operations in the early days. With its natural elevated position the premises were used to send telegraph messages by means of flags to ships upon the river and in Liverpool Bay. Old maps and local directories clearly show that the building was trading as a beer house in the 1850's and by the 1870's 'The Telegraph' was operating as a kind of grocer's store with the added facility to sell beer. The owner at this time was James Milnes who passed away in 1880 leaving his widow, Caroline, 51, to retain the business. During the 1890's Caroline employed her son, James, and his wife Elizabeth, as 'grocers assistants' which gave them good experience because by 1900 Elizabeth was listed as the owner. Remarkably, it is not until 1904 that 'The Telegraph' is granted as licensed premises. By the outbreak of World War One the premises was under the management of Mr. James Todd and for more then forty-years was to remain in the Todd family, ending with Mrs. Annie Todd in the 1950's
On the opposite side of the road running along (Upper) Rowson Street and around the bottom edge of Mount Pleasant Road is the Quarry Recreation Ground. This is the site of the old quarry that was owned by Mrs. Mary Ann Maddock which, in turn, passed through the family and on to James Smith. The four-arched entrance to the bowling green has stone work with the inscription :-
"Friend to the Poor, generous to all good works
Erected in 1912 A.D. In grateful remembrance of James Smith 1841 - 1909, who converted this quarry into a pleasure ground".
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View of D.H. Jones grocery on the corner of Wentworth Avenue, 1909 |
Numbers 4, 6 and 8 on Mount Pleasant Road were demolished in the mid 1950's. 'Liscard Lodge' was located back from Mount Pleasant Road and dates back to the 1830's. The residence was approached from two gates which opened onto a drive with trees on either side which ran to the house. Whilhemina Fletcher was the occupant in 1897. The house was demolished in 1910 and the site was later occupied by Wallasey Secondary Technical School which opened in 1938, offering technical education for boys and girls. The boys department was on the ground floor and the girls' department on the first floor. By 1960 the boys had moved to Mosslands Drive and the girls to Oxley Avenue in Leasowe and the building became Quarrymount School for Girls. >
Along the same side of the road was Jim Hayes, the team owner, who had his stables in the area and James Martindale was connected with a telegraph company. At No.18 was Charles West, a professor of music. Duncalf and McFall, the haulage company, had No.10. Hankin and Jones were the grocers on the corner of Coronation Avenue and Mr. White had the newsagents. Mr. David Jones started the grocery business on the corner of Wentworth Avenue and it was carried on by his son and he was a noted grocer in that part of the town for many years.
On the other corner was Broadbent's the bakers, which later became Munro's. Houghton's were the butchers and Mr. Mole had the fruiterer's shop. On 21 December 1940, during the blitz, a direct bomb struck No.40 - No.44, killing Robert and Florence Turner at the adjoining No.2 Pleasant Street. The block of buildings were demolished and garages now occupy the site on the corner of Pleasant Street.
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Challoner Cycle shop at
51 Mount Pleasant Road |
On the other side of the road, from Sandrock Road, were various businesses including Syd Skingley, the tobacconist. Later Embees, the bathroom and plumbing suppliers, would open their business in 1957. Further along was Arthur Challoner Cycle Shop, Gore and Antell Confectioners and the laundry owned by Fred Waite.
Kirkway was only a pathway in the early 1900's and was not made into a proper roadway until the houses were built in the 1920's. Almost facing Mount Road was 'Breckhey' and this was the home of T.Raffles Bulley who was a local magistrate. He lived here in the early 1900's. He and Mrs. Bully did much in helping the poor living in the cul-d-sacs off Field Road. Mr. Bully died on 4th February, 1921. On the opposite corner, No.56, is the large building 'Devon House' where William Bell once lived. It was originally called 'Deva House'.
Going down the hill of Mount Pleasant Road we see some interesting houses. "Fern Cottage" and "Ivy Cottage" were actually built as one house in 1854 and were later made into two separate semi-detached houses, the latter having an additional building added on at the rear of the house. The original deeds are between Charles Kynaston Mainwaring and Robert Halsem, who was a stonemason. The land surrounding the plot was owned by Mr. Bulley on one side and Mr. Cooke and Mr. Huguenin on the other two. Behind what is now "Ivy Cottage" there was a well which was used by the locals for their water supply. Mr. Robert Haslem sold the house to John North and the Reverend James North as soon as it was ready. J.H Wilson sold the house to James Rowe in 1861. In 1870 the property passed to Edward Hodgson Harrison, who later sold it to J.G Parker who, in turn, sold it to John King in 1892. From Alfred King it was brought by James Winterbottom. In 1920 Joseph Creston purchased "Fern Cottage" from H. Winterbottom and E. Leitch.
Nathan Harrop lived in "Ivy Cottage" in the early 1900's. Mrs. H. Ball was the occupier at one time and then in the 1920's Isaac Dixon, who was a surveyor, came to live there. Edmund Harvey was a resident of "Fern Cottage" in 1920.
Robert Gould, the stockbroker, owned "Gorsey Hey" in the early 1900's. He lived in the house for many years. Charles Field was a manufacturing chemist who was at "Woodleigh" and after his death the family stayed on and eventually the daughter, Miss Agnes Field, became the resident. Mr. Alfred Brown came to live in the large house later.
Moses Hughes, the well-known builder, lived in the large detached house called "Sunny Bank". On the lintel of one of the lower side windows is the date of 1875 and the initials W.E., which stand, no doubt, for Winifred Evans and his daughter-in-law. Mr. Hughes was a Welshman and came from Llanfairfechan and he came to live in Wallasey as a young boy. He lived in Seacombe with his Uncle Evan, and on leaving school he went into the building trade. As a young man of twenty-two he went to live in New York and he worked for an American building firm. On his return to Wallasey he set up a building business and was responsible for the building of many houses in the town. The houses were built of common brick and the red pressed face brick. They were well built and a large number still stands today. They include houses in Rake Lane, Dalmorton Road, Vaughan Road, Earlston Road and several other roads in the town. Moses had his yard in Rake Lane and advertised houses for sale in New Brighton, Liscard, Seacombe and Blundellsands. The more modern houses in Green Lane, Bayswater Road, Bangor Road and others were also built by his men. He was a tall, slime gentleman and was always well-dressed and wore a bowler hat. He had two sons, Herbert and Gordon.
Other houses on Mount Pleasant Road, which included "Welland", "Holyrood", "Capenhurst", "Kensington", "Nesscliffe", "Bryn Gollen", Craneswater" and "Darley Dale", have been knocked down.
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View of Mount Pleasant Road from Seaview Road, 1909 |
In the early 1900's Mr. J. Postlewaite, the team owner, lived in "Nesscliffe". He also owned the quaint little "Round House" at the bottom of Magazine Lane. The Oarside Dairy Farm was where Oarside Drive is, hence the name. They had a a large field for their dairy cows and a fleet of horse-drawn milk floats. Some were more like traps, having two wheels. Oarside Farm was one of the first dairies to have bottled milk. Mr. G.J Blackburn was the owner of the Farm in the 1900's and he sold it to William Brooks, who carried on the dairy and picnic grounds. The cows used to graze in the fields, which are now covered with roads and houses. Dan Hannan lived in Mountpleasant Cottage in 1897.
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As mentioned earlier there has been bomb damage caused by the Blitz during the Second World War but it was not just confined to the corner of Mount Pleasant Road and Pleasant Street. During the Wallasey Blitz between August 1940 - January 1942 further bombs were to fall in and around Mount Pleasant Road including one hitting the bottom of Laburnum Road, one hit the house on the corner of Oarside Road and Kirkway, two fell on Glen Park Road, another one fell on the house opposite the school and finally two bombs fell on Weatherhead High School.
