Presumably the 'Whetstone' element preceded the 'Lane' as hinted at by the aforementioned 'Whetstone Meadows', suggesting any such stone was located in a field?
1762 BY nightwalker In Qld Chester Road POST I can find no trace of a coach running regularly between Chester and Woodside Ferry before 4 June, 1762, when it was announced that a new machine with six able horses would set out from the Golden Talbot, in Chester, for the Woodside Ferry Boathouse every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning at 8 o'clock, and take passengers at 4s. each, returning at 4 o'clock on the same day to Chester. The same machine went every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to Parkgate, at 2s. 6d. each. Boats would attend at the Woodside on the above days to carry passengers to Liverpool.
It is somewhat difficult to determine what road the coaches used between Chester and Woodside. At first the route appears to have been from Chester to Bromborough Pool (the present Chester Road); thence by Lower Bebington and Dacre Hill to Tranmere, along what is now Church Road, and down Whetstone Lane to Grange Lane (now Grange Road), and on to Woodside. About 1790 the Old Chester Road was improved and the coaches, after passing Lower Bebington to Dacre Hill, there turned to the right along the Old Chester Road, crossing the Pool (Tranmere) by the bridge, or rather embankment.
As an aside, the origin of the name of Wallasey’s Granny/Grannie/Granny’s Rock illustrates the difficulty of determining the etymology of place names. Although a relatively recent addition to the landscape, we have my version of it being a corruption of ‘granite’, geekus and his old person’s chair, and another suggestion that from a certain angle it looks like the profile of an old woman. Take you pick!
Indeed, especially when it comes to an obviously localized name such as 'Granny's Rock etc. We are upon firmer ground (pun intended) with place-names that have a clear antiquity in terms of them deriving from Norse or Saxon origin, as we have touched upon with 'Whetsone'. Of course that does not suggest, any presumably existing stone in that area, was named at that time, the term though had entered the common tongue.
Although, that said there is not the same degree of probability with considering 'Holt Hill' to be a rendering of the Saxon for 'wood', as detailed previously the more correct Saxon term would be Hyrst (to evolve into Hurst) for a wooded slope or hill.
I'm still curious to learn more of the spot called Whetstone Meadows, is there any map reference or other historical notes on that place?
Holt Hill name - a possible explanation is it is named after a hamlet called Holt. What type of rock was quarried from the Old Chester Road quarries? I seem to recall reading it was used for facing the docks and not as infill behind the facings
Not sure though if they are granites diorites, metamorphic, etc
Seems one study of samples from erratics at that location showed Diopside a mineral associated with Metamorphism, so in that specific case not a Granite
Note though that Sandstone, with it's quartz rich content makes sa very practical Whetstone
I was up in Mersey Park today and stumbled on what could be a granite deposit. There doesn't seem to be any particular reason for it to be there and I don't know if it's always been there (I'm not from around that area)or was dropped as a little feature in the park. The fact that it is only about 500 yards from the top of Whetstone Lane could show there may have been granite deposits in the area being dicussed.
The rock is just as you enter the park after going up Holt Road and turning left into Seymore Street. Straight ahead then into the park there is a house that looks like an old lodge and the boulder is to the right.
I managed to get a piccy of it as my camera was in the car.
Last edited by Stegga; 26th Jan 20127:16pm. Reason: Typo
We have it being either there as an example of a glacial erratic, deposited there for building purposes or as garden /park feature or a cunning listening device planted by MI6 Whichever, there is no Granite in the Bedrock of Wirral's geology.
