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Posted By: MissGuided What is this structure? - 8th Aug 2009 10:01pm
OK, possibly wrong forum, so forgive me if it is.

I was at New Brighton today, on the Dips. I noticed this brick structure - grey engineering bricks - made me think railway related. But its not near the railway.

Can someone tell me what it is? Is it just where they have girded up the land so it doesn't slip? It is in front of the tower blocks.

Thanks.

Attached picture nb.jpg
Posted By: ghostly1 Re: What is this structure? - 9th Aug 2009 9:08am
As a guess it might be blocking up caves or tunnels?? I think read somewhere its called the noses and in victorian times there was a lot of caves along this bank.
Posted By: MissGuided Re: What is this structure? - 9th Aug 2009 9:17am
This is apparently Red Noses
[Linked Image]
'The Red Noses are sandstone outcrops above which William Rowson built his home, Cliff Villa. This is possibly the building on the extreme right of the card. Cliff Villa was demolished in 1960. The land is now occupied by a multi-storey building of flats know as the Cliff Estate.
Before its demise Cliff Villa was, in the 1930s, home to the Guide Dogs for the Blind Committee (later the Guilde Dogs for the Blind Association).
The three buildings on the left are Ewart House, Ewart Villas and Rock Villa. Ewart House has since been replaced by the flats of Portland Court.
Card 27, dated 1905, has a similar view of the rocks and houses.'
Source
Posted By: StuyMac Re: What is this structure? - 9th Aug 2009 9:44am
Ill ask my dad today - see if he knows smile
Posted By: UrbanEx2U Re: What is this structure? - 9th Aug 2009 10:30am
tunnels

I have herd there was the worm holes there
Posted By: RUDEBOX Re: What is this structure? - 9th Aug 2009 4:00pm
Have they been 'robbo-d' yet, i wonder?'
Posted By: MissGuided Re: What is this structure? - 9th Aug 2009 9:30pm
Originally Posted by RUDEBOX
Have they been 'robbo-d' yet, i wonder?'
He'll need something to get through engineering brick omg
Posted By: Anonymous Re: What is this structure? - 9th Aug 2009 10:42pm
It indeed the Noses. I also believe that the caves use to stretch all the way to 'Rock Villa' house on Wellington Road and could be accessed via a manhole in the garden but is blocked up.
Posted By: RUDEBOX Re: What is this structure? - 9th Aug 2009 11:10pm
Originally Posted by Snooze
Originally Posted by RUDEBOX
Have they been 'robbo-d' yet, i wonder?'
He'll need something to get through engineering brick omg
dont know what that is. Never saw it or heard of it.
Posted By: Tatey Re: What is this structure? - 10th Aug 2009 6:23am
Originally Posted by Snooze
OK, possibly wrong forum, so forgive me if it is.

I was at New Brighton today, on the Dips. I noticed this brick structure - grey engineering bricks - made me think railway related. But its not near the railway.

Can someone tell me what it is? Is it just where they have girded up the land so it doesn't slip? It is in front of the tower blocks.

Thanks.


I believe that it is just a retaining wall, as many years ago as a kids we used to play there before it was built & I don't remember any caves just there. The rock to the left of the picture was a lot higher then as well!
Posted By: parkgater Re: What is this structure? - 23rd Feb 2011 4:12pm
if you look to the right of the picture of flats known as the cliff,you will see what is left of the railway shunting yard at the warren station,part of the platform is still visible,one of the reasons i know quite a lot about new brighton is that in the fifties when i was very young my father was landlord of the travellers rest bottom of rowson street,i used to spend some time with some of the old timers who worked locally.
Posted By: diggingdeeper Re: What is this structure? - 23rd Feb 2011 4:29pm
The railway was/is set well back from this wall, in fact it was inland of The Cliff.

I believe this wall was built around WW2 and may be part of the gunsite infrastructure.

Warren Station was at the end of Sea Road (which has been shortened), what is now the middle of Links View where it takes a 90 degree turn.
Posted By: jabber_Ish Re: What is this structure? - 23rd Feb 2011 6:53pm
other than wormhole caves, the other cave entrances would have been much lower as the area is backfilled to create the promenade
Posted By: Helles Re: What is this structure? - 23rd Feb 2011 7:44pm
Just a retaining wall and was there when I was a kid so Tatey mate, you can't remember it being built as it was there at least since they built the new prom in the 30's. Mind you, you could be a really old feller for all I know? smile
Posted By: Tatey Re: What is this structure? - 24th Feb 2011 8:35am
Originally Posted by Helles
Just a retaining wall and was there when I was a kid so Tatey mate, you can't remember it being built as it was there at least since they built the new prom in the 30's. Mind you, you could be a really old feller for all I know? smile


Interesting! I certainly do not remember it being there say, 57 years ago when I was a nipper, but you may well be correct. I am sure that that rock was a lot bigger though!!!
Posted By: Helles Re: What is this structure? - 24th Feb 2011 9:12am
It was or were we just smaller? Good photo though and you can see why they were called red and yellow noses can't you? Did you live in Windsor or Richmond street Tatey?
Posted By: Tatey Re: What is this structure? - 24th Feb 2011 6:25pm
Originally Posted by Helles
It was or were we just smaller? Good photo though and you can see why they were called red and yellow noses can't you? Did you live in Windsor or Richmond street Tatey?


No, I was a Wallasey Village lad at the time, just did a lot of wandering around. It was definitely bigger, as was the Granny Rock on the Breck. It was a mountain in those days!
Posted By: Snodvan Re: What is this structure? - 24th Feb 2011 7:08pm
Could well have been built to protect the public from land slips/ collapsed caves etc.

My mum often recounts how she, her younger brother Hugh and lots of other people dug in the collapsed sand at the Red Noses because some young boy had been buried by a sand slip or just inside a cave that had collapsed. The lad did not survive.

Tomorrow I will ask mum what sort of date that may have happened

Snod
Posted By: Snodvan Re: What is this structure? - 25th Feb 2011 6:50pm
I asked mum what approximate date would have been the incident she remembers when a young lad was buried at the Red Noses because of a sand slip or part collapse of a tunnel.

Her best estimate is 1931, and the lad's surname was Bell.

And yes, after that event she remembers there was some "activity" to make the area safer, but she does not know any more details. She and her brothers were simply forbidden to go near - and in those days you generally obeyed your parents instructions.

Snod
Posted By: davew3 Re: What is this structure? - 25th Feb 2011 10:02pm
Just doing a look see and and found this, have a look at the bottom picture, from what I can see,your structure is showing, you will need something like Irfanview to magnify. thumbsup

https://www.wikiwirral.co.uk/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/267637/10.html
Posted By: diggingdeeper Re: What is this structure? - 25th Feb 2011 10:10pm
The structure may appear to be there just in front of the old Cliff house before the high rise block was built, there also appears to be some sort of post/tower in front of the wall.

I'm a bit undecided on this. I seem to remember some work happening on the wall in the 70's and not sure if it changed colour or something then
Posted By: davew3 Re: What is this structure? - 25th Feb 2011 10:21pm
Ran the picture through Irfanview and it looks as if there's a Brick building with a something on top,urinals?? , theres huts all around, small and large and the shadows are from the east.
Posted By: Helles Re: What is this structure? - 25th Feb 2011 11:17pm
Looks like Nissen huts just by the roadway.
Posted By: nightwalker Re: What is this structure? - 27th Feb 2011 12:15pm
[quote=Snodvan]I asked mum what approximate date would have been the incident she remembers when a young lad was buried at the Red Noses because of a sand slip or part collapse of a tunnel.

Her best estimate is 1931, and the lad's surname was Bell.

And yes, after that event she remembers there was some "activity" to make the area safer, but she does not know any more details. She and her brothers were simply forbidden to go near - and in those days you generally obeyed your parents instructions.

If your mum is right, that would tie in with the building of the prom shortly after and this could be a retaining wall. There could have been a gap in the cliffs between the Red and Yellow Noses which needed blocking to allow for the prom infill.
Posted By: davew3 Re: What is this structure? - 1st Mar 2011 9:51pm
Have you had a look at the Cheshire Tithes map ,I do know that the outcrop is shown.
Posted By: LisaW Re: What is this structure? - 2nd Mar 2011 12:55pm
Originally Posted by nightwalker
[quote=Snodvan]I asked mum what approximate date would have been the incident she remembers when a young lad was buried at the Red Noses because of a sand slip or part collapse of a tunnel.

Her best estimate is 1931, and the lad's surname was Bell.

And yes, after that event she remembers there was some "activity" to make the area safer, but she does not know any more details. She and her brothers were simply forbidden to go near - and in those days you generally obeyed your parents instructions.

If your mum is right, that would tie in with the building of the prom shortly after and this could be a retaining wall. There could have been a gap in the cliffs between the Red and Yellow Noses which needed blocking to allow for the prom infill.


A 3 year old and a 15 year old with the surname Bell died in 1927 (Birkenhead district) according to the BMD. I searched between 1925-1937. Could it be as early as that?
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