Egremont

Nelson Hotel, Egremont

The Nelson Hotel, Trafalgar Road, dates back to 1860. Peter Walker was the first landlord. Bass Brewery changed its names in 1996 to just Lord Nelson when Robert Owens was the pubs landlord.

The Long Pull was in Tobin Street, Egremont, until the First World War. It got its name from the steep incline from the shore, an incline on which many a heavily-laden horse-drawn cart encountered difficulty.

The Great Britain Hotel, King Street

Close by was the Hen and Chickens Hotel on King Street which opened in 1857. The pub was renamed as the Great Britain Hotel. in 1891 and was demolished in 1957.

Shepherd's Rest, 1978

Shepherd's Rest in Darlington Street opened in 1896. In 1957 the pub was demolished and a new one opened on the site. By 2012 the Shepherd's Rest closed and was demolished.

Situated in Union Street was the 'Union Vaults'. The pub only had a short existence. Opened in 1896 and closed in 1930. By 1952 the building was demolished.

The Wellington Hotel stands in Pool Road and opened during the First World War in 1915. Mary J. Oliver was the first licensee.

Early print of the Egremont Ferry Hotel

The Egremont Ferry Hotel is one of three ferry hotels which sprang up with the growth of a shuttle-boat service between Wallasey and Liverpool.

The other two have either been demolished or converted to flats. The original Seacombe Ferry was demolished to make way for a smaller pub, which in turn was demolished. The New Brighton Ferry had become the Chelsea Reach, then later converted to flats. However, the Egremont Ferry continues.

Situated exactly half-way between Liscard and Seacombe, the house was built by Captain John Askew in the early 1820’s as a dwelling house and store. Askew, a ferryman, called it Egremont after his birthplace in Cumberland. In time the surrounding area took the name.

Askew was, by all accounts, a dynamic man. He had made his fortune slave-trading and settled down in Egremont, plying passengers and cargo from a slipway outside his door, across the Mersey to Liverpool.

Ale first flowed in the Egremont when the Coulbourn brothers bought the house and boats around 1850. The new pub took the name Egremont Tap (because there was already a Ferry Hotel at number 12 Tobin Street). For the first 50 years the pub was a free-house until Bents took it over in 1900. The following year it was bought by Higsons and the name was finally changed to the Egremont Ferry in 1925 after the Tobin Street pub had closed.

Egremont Ferry Hotel, 1911

The first licensee was recorded in 1850 as William Halliday. The owners of the hotel were Birkenhead Brewery who kept changing its name (known as Egremont Tap at one point) until eventually being called the Ferry Hotel when a pub of that name at number 12 Tobin Street had closed in 1925.

In earlier days, particularly the turn of the last century, streams of day-trippers and holidaymakers provided good business for the pub, particularly in summer. Hundreds of families used to gather to enjoy the particularly fine stretch of sand outside its doors.

The Ferry Hotel at 12 Tobin Street opened in 1887. Charles Brindley held the first licence. By 1925 the pub had closed and converted to a private house. Askew Close now occupies the site.

Old painting of Mother Redcaps

Mother Recaps, 1918

On Egremont Promenade was 'Mother Redcaps'. Originally the building was built in 1585 and by the early 1700's had become a tavern. It was not until the late 18th Century the tavern was run by the notorious lady who was a friend to smugglers - she always wore a red cap. The building suffered a serious fire in 1888 and was rebuilt in half tudor-mock style. By 1974, after many years of laying empty, the derelict building was demolished.

Rose & Crown opened in 1926 on Poulton Road after the licence was transferred from the old Rose & Crown in Demesne Street, Seacombe, which closed down.

Little more than a country cottage, the Jolly Sailor was in Limekiln Lane, Poulton and opened in 1882. It was a snug, friendly house. A lantern hung over its front door.

The Jolly Sailor, Poulton, 1912

It was serving ale up to the early 1920’s. Sailors from the Birkenhead docks crowded it. It later became a private house.

Eagles Arms, 1978

The Eagle Arms was on Rankin Street, corner of Limekiln Road. Originally the building was two cottages which was erected in 1837 and were part of a row of thirteen terraced houses, the pub being the first two, until the rest of the terrace was demolished in the 1960's and houses built on the site.

In 1866 a famous local character, "Blower" Davies, opened his corner house as a small bar. As its popularity spread, Blower extended the pub into other rooms on the ground floor and eventually into the house next door.

In the early 1970's the pub went through a major alteration and redecoration programme which turned several small "snug" type rooms into one large room divided by the bar.

By 2009 the pub had closed and in 2012 converted back into two cottages.

The Pool Inn and Pinfold, 1841. The pinfold was a walled enclosure for stray animals.

View from Breck Road of the Pool Inn, c1910

The old Pool Inn faced down Poulton Bridge Road, thus standing a little south of the last one. Although not dated, it was believed to go back to the seventeenth century.

It was white-washed, with ornamental curved gables of the Dutch type. Near it stood a circular pinfold for cattle.

A stream ran past it from Mill Lane. Nearby was the village water pump. The building – and the pump – disappeared over a century ago. The building which replaced the old Inn was demolished in 2010.

The Poulton Victoria Sports and Social Club opened in December 1964 on Poulton Bridge Road. The outstanding feature of the 'Poulton Vics', when it opened, was the concert hall which could accommodate 550 people.

Originally the club was in Limekiln Lane and had been the headquarters of the 'Poulton Vics' football club which was established in 1935.

After the new club opened the old club premises continued for a time as their football headquarters and gymnasium.

The Plough Inn, Breck Road, 1900's

On Breck Road stood the Plough Inn. The pub was granted a beer licence in 1881 but closed by 1918. The old building is now a private residence.

The High Seacombe Hotel, later the Seacombe Ferry Hotel, c1840

The Seacombe Ferry Hotel in Victoria Place was originally mentioned in the Alehouse Register of 1561. Between 1819 - 1839 Mr. Thomas Parry was the owner of the hotel. Thomas modernised the hotel. There were gardens, bowling green, a summer house and even an American-style bowling alley. Thomas also ran a ferry service between Seacombe and Liverpool.

Above sketch is Stokes Seacombe Ferry, c1870 Below is Stoke's Seacombe Ferry on the right with the Marine Hotel, the tall building on the left, in the 1880's.

By February 1853 John Stokes had become the new licensee. Elizabeth Stokes became the new licensee in 1877 and a year later in 1878 the hotel was rebuilt on reclaimed land which included a new Seacombe Ferry terminal building.

The Seacombe Ferry pub, 2008

By 1970 the Hotel part had closed and by 1976 the old Hotel was demolished and replaced with a new smaller pub. In 2011 the pub lost its licensee after a serious brawl involving more than 40 people. The pub was demolished soon after.

The Abbotsford Hotel opened in 1850 and was in Demesne Street, close to Mersey Street – which was demolished in 1964 to make way for the skyscraper block of flats. ‘Mersey Court’. A large, busy house, with some noisy Saturday nights.

The Rose and Crown to the right, 1926. Tram-lines being laid by the Wallasey Corporation

The Rose and Crown was in Demesne Street. The pub opened in 1879 and the first licensee was Thomas Henshaw. In 1928 the pub closed and the licence was transferred to the Rose and Crown in Poulton Road. At 39 Demesne Street was the Revenue Hotel. The pub opened in 1883 but closed in 1930 after a compulsory purchase order by the Wallasey Corporation.

A lesser known pub in Demesne Street was the Life Boat Inn. Opening in 1879, Henry Bubby was the licensee. In 1908 the Magistrates refused to renew the licence of the pub and the following year the Life Boat Inn closed.

The Queen's Arms, 1962

Other pubs in the area included ‘Elephant & Castle’, Demesne Street, which opened in 1915. The ‘Queen’s Arms’ (opened in 1903) was on Borough Road and the first licensee was James Jackson. Between 1915 - 1952 James wife, Louisa, was the long time licensee. ‘Leasowe Castle Hotel’ opened in 1879 and was also on Borough Road. All three pubs were demolished by 1964 when many properties in the area were cleared under the Wallasey Corporation clearance order.

The Marine Hotel, 1875

The Marine Hotel, 1978

Most will remember The Marine Hotel on Birkenhead Road which was also known as ‘Brassey’s’. The pub was formerly two fisherman’s cottages and dated back to the late 18th Century. The pub opened in 1891 and closed in 1992. Pat Ruck and John Fielding were the last licensees. Another pub on Birkenhead Road was the ‘Bee Hotel’ (later renamed as O’Sheas and now a corner shop at the junction with Wheatland Lane) which opened in 1878.

The Bee Hotel, 1930's

The Swan Hotel, 1978

On Dock Road was the ‘Swan Hotel which also opened in 1878. The nickname of the Swan Hotel was 'The Blazing Stump' and the story goes that an old seadog with a wooden leg used it to poke the fire. In those days pitch was used as a wood preservative, which is probably why his wooden leg caught fire when poking the fire one time too many - hence 'The Blazing Stump.'

Due to its location near the Wallasey Docks majority of the customers who visited the pub came off the grain or ore boats. The pub would be thronged with Norwegians, Greeks, Germans, Swedes and Arabs and local people. When the pub was full the place had an unusual and interesting flavour because of this rare variety of people.

The 'Stump' days were numbered when less and less ships visited the Wallasey docks. The building still stands but is derelict.

The Five Bars Rest, 1978

The Five Bars Rest at 61 Borough Road opened in 1900 with Henry Smethurst as the licensee. By 2010 the pub had become the Seacombe Social Club. Just next door on Church Road was the Prince Alfred Hotel. Thomas Jones was the fist landlord of the pub when it opened in 1891. By 2014 the pub had closed and the building turned into flats.

Prince Alfred, 1978

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The Griffin Hotel is to to the left of the ladder, 1908

On Borough Road was the Griffin Hotel. The first licensee was E. Hendrick in 1857. In 1927 Joseph (Leo) Walker became the new licensee. He came to Wallasey from Liverpool in the same year. However, he died a year later at the age of 48. It is interesting to note he had a very interesting career. He had been a superintendent at Southport Zoo, where was also a familiar figure as a lion tamer. He was also an accomplished wrestler. The pub closed in 1964, as with a few others in the area, under the Wallasey Corporation house clearance scheme.

Above: The Stanley Arms Hotel, 1960's Below: The Stanley Arms Hotel, 1983

The Stanley Arms Hotel opened in 1839 at 76 Borough Road. Thomas Odell was the first landlord. The pub closed in the 1980's and the site developed for housing.

Early drawing of The Grosvenor Brewery, c1880

The Grosvenor Brewery in Borough Road opened in 1870 with Paul Evans as agent for Younger's India Pale Ale. It was the oldest established breweries in Cheshire. A new brewery was constructed in 1876 which could brew three times the previous quantity of ale per week. The new building was constructed by John Ellis from Seacombe. In 1899 they were taken over by Chester Lion Brewery. The brewery closed by 1903.

At 37 Borough Road was the Leasowe Castle Hotel which opened in 1879. In 1920 Spragg's Higson's Brewery, together with the Griffin Hotel, purchased the pub for £19,500. By 2014 the pub closed and remained empty.

Top of Borough Road is The Sandbank. The pub opened in 1987 and was formerly a Barclays's Bank.

View of the Dale Inn, Poulton Road

The Dale Inn once stood at 13-15 Oakdale Road. Charles Fair was the first landlord in 1904 though he had been at the Dale Inn since 1892. Charlie was too young to hold the licence originally so had it made in his brother's name, Jack. Both the Fair brothers were interested in land and horses. They built whole rows of houses in Oakdale Road and Wheatland Lane in their spare time and even won horse-trotting championships all over the North-West. Charlie went on to manage the Dale Inn for 36 years and died in 1950. By the mid 1970's a new Dale Inn was built on Poulton Road, near Lloyd's Corner. However, by the late 1990's the pub had closed and soon afterwards demolished. A supermarket now occupies the site.

The Mona Castle, 1978

The Great Float, Seacombe

In Wheatland Lane is the Mona Castle. The pub opened in 1882 - Richard Caton was the first licensee. The pub still stands today. Opposite the pub once stood the Great Float. The pub dates back to 1864 when it was an Argyle Brewery pub - later Birkenhead Brewery. In 1940 a German incendiary bomb fell on a billiard table after an air-raid but burnt itself out with no casualties. In November 2012 the unoccupied pub was gutted by fire and the following year the building was demolished.

The Bird In Hand, Seacombe

The Bird In Hand in Oakdale Road opened in 1865. In 2013 the pub was up for sale but was demolished a year later and bungalows built on the site.

Brighton Hotel, 1978

Brighton Hotel, Brighton Street, opened in 1882 with Albert Graham as the first landlord. Brian Welch was the landlord in the 1980s/1990s. By 2012 the pub closed and the premises remain unoccupied.

Moreton

Plough Inn, Moreton, c1905

The earliest known references to Plough Inn and Druid's Arms, Hoylake Road (formerly Birkenhead Road), are made in reports of horse racing on the sands of Leasowe and Moreton between 1672 and 1732. The report, which was reproduced in the Moreton Gazette in January, 1946, told how the bookies on the shore did a brisk business with the Moreton village folk, most of whom spent their winnings at the “Farmers Arms,” the “Plough” and the “Coach and Horses.” On the basis of this it seems fair to assume that the Plough has been serving ale since at least 1600.

Plough Inn, Moreton, 1931

The original Plough was a solid, stone structure. Smaller than its successor, it served West Cheshire and later Chesters’ ales until a later building replaced it in 1931. The history of the old pub is hazy but definitely long.

As with the rest of Moreton, the pub’s past is steeped in flood-water. It was not until the 1950's that extensive flooding had stopped being a common feature of Moreton life.

One name linked inseparably with the pub is Joe Wharton. For many years the old building was known as “Joe Wharton’s Plough Inn", while he sold pints and cockles inside its doors. In his day there was no big brewery politics. He owned and ran just how he wanted and sold whatever beer he wanted.

After Wharton retired, passing the Plough on to a Mr. Henry Gordon, Threlfalls took it over. With the new brewery came the big brick building which replaced Joe Wharton’s old grey stone house.

On 30th May, 2010 the pub closed and was shortly afterwards demolished.

The Coach and Horses, 1920's

The Coach and Horses has long been the centre of Moreton. More of the estate’s romances, friendships and disputes are settled there than in any other single place.

The “big ‘ouse”, as it is better known to locals, is also the most imposing building on Moreton Cross. Its sandstone walls, ornate turrets and timbered exterior are a pleasant reminder of the days when breweries still spent money and imagination on their pubs and architects could think in terms other than squares.

The “big ‘ouse” and “cathedral” nicknames were attached to the pub because it was the biggest, grandest building for miles around when it replaced the original Coach and Horses in 1928.

The original building was a tiny stone house which had served ale for centuries. It was first referred to by a reporter who visited a race meeting on Moreton shore in the late 1600s and wrote to a friend about the way the villagers would rush up to the Plough, the Coach and Horses and the Farmers Arms to spend the money won from the bookies.

Mr J. Tarrant was the first licensee when the pub opened in 1857. However, one man inextricably linked with the history of the pub is former manager Sam Morris. Sam took the place over a few years before the First World War. At this time it was running into problems, as it was only a “six-day” house – Sam’s predecessor, Jack Critchley, had lost the right to open on Sunday because the police caught him selling ale after hours.

“Old Sam”, as he was known, did a lot to put the old pub on the map. A man of stern principles, he spent his spare time as a church warden. With a full, dark beard he is said to have looked much more of a church warden than a publican. There was no cellar in the old pub and he would walk quietly from table to table with a big jug full of old ale, sternly pouring and collecting.

In the early 1920’s Sam gave up his freehouse status and went in with the Birkenhead Brewery Company. They soon decided a rapidly expanding community like Moreton needed a bigger pub, so plans were drawn up for the present structure. It opened in February 1928 after the brewery had closed their Red Lion in Willaston so as to transfer their precious seven-day licence to the new pub.

The Coach and Horses, 1928

When it first opened the pub changed its name from Ye old Coach and Horses to the modern Coach and Horses. It had a bath where customers could douse themselves for a few coppers and a special room where unaccompanied men or women were not allowed.

“Old Sam” Morris moved into the new pub as soon as it opened and survived to put it on its feet before dying about 10 years later. By that time he had been selling ale to Moreton folk for 30 years and had grown from the quiet fellow who served ale from a jug to local village folk to the proprietor of a huge hotel in a mushrooming estate.

The Armchair, Hoylake Road, 1979

The Armchair, Hoylake Road, opened in February, 1979. The pub was named after two topiary armchairs which adorned an earlier cottage that once stood opposite.

On the corner of Hoylake Road and Acton Lane is the Grange Hotel. The pub opened in 1939.

The Grange Hotel, Moreton

The newest pub to open in Moreton is Wetherspoon's Mockbeggar Hall which opened in August 2000 on Hoylake Road.

The Millhouse, Millhouse Lane, has a short history. Originally called the Dog and Duck when opened in 1983, the pub changed its name in 2000. By 2014 plans were to build flats on the site for the over 55's.

Morton Arms, Pasture Road

Morton Arms in Pasture Road opened in 1961 with Johnny Connor as the first landlord. Kenny and Alison Daniels once ran the pub for many years from 2003. In 2014 the pub closed.

Jean Cope was the first landlady of the Clipper when it opened in 1964.

The Farmers Arms, 1930

Farmers' Arms on Netherton Road opened in 1857. The new pub opened in 1934. In 1940 a German bomb caused a crater in the middle of Netherton Road which also caused damage to the pub. In 1963 the forecourt was extended.

The Farmers' Arms, 1934

Leasowe Castle Hotel, c1910

Leasowe Castle Hotel in Leasowe Road was converted into an hotel by the then owner Mrs. Boode. Unfortunately Mrs. Boode was killed when she was thrown from her trap on Breck Road. A memorial can be seen near where the road crosses over the Mersey Tunnel approach roads. In 1895 the Leasowe Castle opened as a fully licensed hotel. However it was sold in 1911 at auction to the Trustees of the Railway Convalescent Home for £11,750. Today it is again a hotel offering accommodation and catering for weddings.

Leasowe Hotel, 1956

On Reeds Lane once stood the Leasowe Hotel. The pub opened in 1850 with Lewis Beausine as the first landlord. By 1935 the old pub was demolished and a new one built called the Traveller's Rest after it took its name from the Traveller's Rest in Wallasey Village which had previously closed. The new pub was built in a Tudor style with rustic, narrow bricks and reconstructed portland stone. twisted chimneys with green Westmoreland slate.

The interior of the pub was spacious and convenient, with large vaults, parlour, lounge, and dining hall and service rooms. The vaults were panelled and fitted in bird’s eye maple, whilst the cosy parlour was panelled in walnut and the seating upholstered in Royal blue.

The lounge, which had a loggia and a view on to the bowling green, was treated in a similar manner as the parlour, but the panelling was in Australian black bean. The dining room was finished in oak, panelled to seven feet high with a handsome fireplace and entrance.

The furniture consisted of oak table and chairs. In this room meals were served. The French casement doorway lead on to the paved terrace, which overlooked the bowling green which was added in 1936

In 1940 the name changed again to the Leasowe Hotel. Herbert Shaw was the landlord at the time. By 2005 the Leasowe Hotel had closed and apartments now occupy the site.

The Oyster Catcher, 1978

The Oyster Catcher, Twickenham Drive, opened in 1961. William T.Gibbs was the first licensee.

Saughall Arms Hotel, 1950's

Saughall Arms Hotel, 1959, after the renovation.

The Saughall Arms Hotel dates back to at least 1864, when Thomas Langley was the licensee. By 1912 it had become a West Cheshire Brewery pub when the licensee, Miss Ann Jane Mealor, was paid £28 per annum as the tenant. In 1931 the two cottages which adjoined the pub were demolished. In 1958 the Saughall Arms Hotel was reconstructed and extended at the cost of £19,987.

Willows Hotel, 1959

Willows Hotel opened in the centre of the village in 1959. Harry Cameron was appointed as first licensee. Another pub that opened in 1959 was the Overchurch Hotel at 129 Royden Road. John S Flowers was the licensee.