Most people have heard of Ilchester Square, but how many people remember St Andrew's Square?



These flats were a similar design to Ilchester Square, but the arch was more pointed. They were located between Conway Street and Claughton Road



The flats were demolished in 1972 to make way for an Asda store (the one with the car park on the roof) which was in turn demolished. The site was pretty much where Europa Square is now.

bloody hell, never heard of it. when did the asda get knocked down?

wow - i never realsied that there were flats there before asda!

phalin - they knocked down the asda and built wilko etc to more or less the same outline (not sure why? old building must have been unsuitable for new use).

You can just see the edge of the flats where Wilson St has been knocked down
278 Combermere 126 Oliver Street

dident thay fined old graves when buildin the flats

MAY OF BEEN AFTER THAT WAS GRAVES THERE GOT TOLD COUCIL HAD CONTRACTORS TO DIG THEM UP THRN PUT THEM IN OTHER LOCATION

Hi, have you got your caps lock on?

Cheers, Chris.

Not now ta.

When I worked in the Pyramids shopping centre I was told that the place was built on an old cemetery ,any one know if this is true

Surely the graves would of been moved to another location if this was the case?

The 1910 map shows a chapel just about where the bus station is now, this may have had a churchyard associated with it.

The little church along side where St andrews flats where had a small school next to it, NO Grave Yard. If you had walked down Grange road in the early 1950s you would have seen a church on the corner of Horatio Street oposite Pykes the jewlers and it had a few graves at the front and the same goes for the church on the other side of grange road at the top of Catherine Street, that also had a few graves at the entrance to the church. St Johns church was slap bang in the middle of where the pyramids is and that had No Graves. Think about why they built Flaybrick {it was so the town centre was not full of grave yards} the only other churches with grave yards attached in the town where St Mary's and St Werburgh's.

I believe that St Andrews did have a graveyard, and the records can be checked at Landican. It was a Scottish church. Needs to be checked though.
The triangle also had a pub at the opposite end to the flats. A family friend lived there till the demolition. I can remember going in them. I think alot of people moved from flats to Queensbury Gardens (flats).

i was talking about this very same pub this morning with a few older gents in work but no one knows what it was called.

nearly opposite it was 279 Little Brown Jug Oliver Street

Sorry I thought you were talking about the picture of
278 Combermere 126 Oliver Street
I lived not far from the flats and in the 60s the nearest pubs to there were
Combermere
Brown Jug
135 Crown Hotel 128 Conway Street 84 Camden Street
116 Manchester Arms 53 Claughton Road

The Little Brown jug waa Yates house and served an exelent pint of Yates Best Mild, it stuck to the glass all the way down the same as a pint of guness but the best mild was not as heavy as guness {happy times} before all this crap that is served in so called pubs these days.

interesting never heard anythink about it.

Hi All.
I remember most of these places quite well.
I went to St John's C of E Primary School until I was 11 years old.
And a number of kids at the school lived in St Andrews Square
and I remember their names too. My family lived in Cyprus Street which now divides the car parks at the back Grange Road.
I remember St John's Church which was where the school had us do the Harvest Festival thing. Another thing I recall was a pub that was tucked into the side of the Co-op department store, 'The Garrick Snug'....still there maybe?
Thompson's Mission I remember perfectly as I come from a big family
and our mum sent us there around Christmas for a Christmas parcel.
I also went to Hamilton Secondary (Mod) school and the building is still there but not a school nowadays.

Arthur

I also went to St Johns school , Tombo mission and Hamilton Secondary
Was the vicar of the St Johns church Mr Howarth and the headmaster of the school Mr Davis
At Hamilton Secondary I was in the same class as Les McAteer
Ilived in Oliver Place where the swings were just of Grange Road

Snug still there pic in pubs topic

What years you talking about
St Johns school 1956 last year for me

Hi.
I attended St Johns from 1860 - 66. Mr Davies was still headmaster. The teachers I remember are Miss Clephon, Tetlo and the name Holroyd rings a bell. Do you remember the big coal fire to warm the class room?

Arthur

You must have been well before my time 1860 - 1866

Just joking
I remember the fire also in the last year a teacher showing us how to hold a cricket bat and altho I do everything lefthanded
except holding a bat or golf club I still blame that teacher

Also remember the nitty nurse in the junior school

When I was a bit older used to play table tennis and 5 a side
football for the church

The only organised sport within the school that remember was rounders or lobbing bean bags up in the air in the gym. And for football they loaded us on a bus and took us to somewhere in tranmere or higher tranmere.
And we had square dancing...perhaps this 'Holroyd' played the piano.
And kids think todays life is too stressful!!

Arthur

now you mention it I remember the dancing in the hall
The girls enjoyed that more than the boys
Football I remember we had a couple of games against other schools
When it was wet the casey was like trying to kick a brick
and the boots had a hard toecap and studs had nails in them to knock into the sole of the boot

I think most of the kids used to play football in their school shoes because their families couldn't afford boots. Those kifs that had boots were the more modern type (xmas prezzies). But 1 or 2 kids had the old boots with hard toe caps. And when the teacher told 2 kids to pick the sides the kids with hob nail boots would get picked first because they would be able to kick the wet casey more than 20 yards...even if they were crap at football they would get picked first.

Arthur

I remember when i was at school and was on the rugby team, my nan got me a real pair of rugby boots (not footy boots like the rest of lads used!!) which had ankle supports and hard toecaps!! The best was Aluminium screw in studs, lethal in the scrum!!!

I have been trying to find out about a Birkenhead Cemetery which was opened in 1900 in Chapel Lane.
http://www.ukbmd.org.uk/genuki/chs/birkenhead.html
This sounds like it might be Birkenhead Cemetery. I have a map from 1909 wwhich shows something that might be rows of graves. The cemetery couldnt have been open for long though. Where did the records go?

Just spoken to my elderly uncle. He lived in St Andrews square as a boy. He said there was a graveyard attached to a St Andrews church. He remembers watching them remove the graves. St Andrews was a Presbyterian church on Conway st built in 1840.

Is this a St John's school reunion topic,yes I went to the same school then Hemy,remember Davis the headmaster and the rev Haworth,when every other school had a day off we would get half a day as we would spend the morning with major threats to our bodies if we didn't turn up for church services,remember Les McAteer and the Scottish dancing in the hall,I hated it,the first few months at Hemy we used to go back to St John's as we were part of a group that got confirmed at St Mary's by the bishop of Chester.

a few pics St Johns school /St Johns church /St Andrews square

The former Woolworths in Grange Road had a crypt below the front 40 feet of the sales floor. This was accessed from the basement stockroom & the way in was an opening in the wall a few feet off the floor.Fifteen or so years ago the Woolworths property manager who looked after the store, who was a renowned practical joker (cellophane on toilet seats etc.) was due to visit to do a survey of this area, which had no lighting in it. A member of staff hid in the crypt with a white sheet over his head & I heard that the result was hilarious.

Bob.

Nice story Bob

Attaching scan of a 1911 OS map of the area around St Andrews Square (it hadn't been built yet)
Somebody mentioned a pub at the end of the triangle, 'The Conway Arms' otherwise known the 'Flat Iron'
I seem to remember graves next to the church in Conway St.
Hope the attachment appears, this is my first posting so apologies if it isn't complete.

HoofHearted

Nice to see a mention of Thombo's Mission. They were the only toys we got at some stages. We all used have a chant "When you go to Thomson's you only get a bun, Ask Mrs Thompson to stick it up......", we won't go into it, a bit disrespectful now. This only well away from the mission by the way. They must have had hearts of gold really but we didn't appreciate that then. Some of the stuff that used to get donated was really good too and if you got a good parcel you was the source of envy amongst the others of your crowd. Used enjoy all the hymn singing and that. It gave us a happy evening during an otherwise dull existance I suppose. I remember the St Andrews Flats, my mum and dad were married in St Johns Diocese, don't know if it was in the church or what but they used to live in Oliver Street. Still pop into the Garrick Snug for a pint when I am in town now and again (Roll on next weekend)

hi how old are you my grandad went to st johns primary school around 1946 or so he was born in 1939

my grandad was there too, he was born in 1939 wat is ur name?

My dad used to drink in there from time to time when the Free Library had a change of owner.

When the patrons provided their own entertainment 'Barefoot Days' was an old favourite, sang in most Birkenhead pubs. The locals added an extra line at the end that went...... ' they were the days of the old tradition, when we got a bun from Thompson's Mission, Oh boy, What joy, We had in barefoot days'.

I always thought that they were the actual true words to the song.

Doh!!

That'll be St johns Church - in between Grange Road and Borough Road

Iwas born and raised in the flats,was there from 1957 till about 1971,family name was Croston,brothers,Jimmy,Ronnie,Roy,Stephen,Allen,me Raymond,David,sisters Muareen and Eileen,most of my family still residing across Birkenhead,as for me left for Canada at 19,well its been 32 yrs,i have just found this site and love it,takes me back to fond times in my life,the square will always be special to me as will Charles Thompson Mission,anyway if anyone out in cyber land remembers me feel free to contact i would love to hear from old St Andrews Square nieghbours.

Welcome to the site sir, you may meet other people you may know on here

was in same class as Roy Croston

dam cant see them grrrr hate t mobile lol

I remember queensbury gardens my nannna used to live there on the bottom though in the maisonettes opposite the weighbridge boozer...bad times they and I was 6 then mate.

I was also in the the same class as Roy Croston,used to knock about with Charlie Dickinson from New Gladstone st.

iremember st andrews square ilived on marion street and used to walk through. i wonder iff anyone has any pictures of marion street and the swings at the bottom on camden street.also cathcart street school iwas there 1952-58.my name is paul hill.

I was born in number 6 wilson street and lived there for 7 years before moving to ilchester road, i also attended st johns school

Are you sure these came down in 1972? I was born in 1971 and lived in Elm Street, just off Hemingford Street and I (vaguely)remember the flats. I think I still have a photo taken outside our house of my Dad standing with his car, a Vauxhall Victor 101 saloon and you can see the flats in the background. I remember the photo being taken so I would have been 2 or 3 then. Mind you, the memory's an odd thing!

Hi my name is Michael Haydn Brothers Tony and Dave I remember Ronnie well, we played together with the brothers Kenny Irvine Jimmy Irvine Davy Waters Davy Jones Chippy Jones we had great times in that Square Then there was Rocker Roach and his brother Tommy Roach who died some years back.

OK MATE I WAS IN THE SAME CLASS IN HEMIE AS U MY NAME IS ROBBIE JOHNSON

Hello, my dad was from the flats and I've just read your post and some of the names you mention I know through my dad. Am not sure what flat number he lived in, I will get that info off him as I've only just registered. His names Teddy Upton brother Eric and sisters Eileen and Ann.

My name was Fowlis when I lived in the flats, your dad and his family lived next door to us in number 66, I was best friends with his sister Ann, mention me to your dad, my older sister is Gloria, and I'm Maureen.. he will know Gloria better as they are about the same age ..I loved living in St.Andrews Square,it had a very warm community feel about the place, and we all knew each other .. but your dad would maybe have told you that

Hi Maureen, did you go to Conway Street School

Last time Maureen spoke on this site was 2nd Dec 2012 8:29pm.

I lived in St Andrew Square the Haydn family along with the roach family,the Jones family, the waters family, the Irvine family, along with lots more yes there was a scotch grave yard there and a steel works and Wilson's printers, you also had a chippy by the swings which has slipped my mind, my local was the Manchester Arms The Conway Arms known as the flat iron because of its shape. And yes I did go to Tombos Mission, which many years ago was a old Quaker meeting place.

Where was the steel works?
I knew some people from St Andrews Square - Crostons, Billingtons and Rocker Roach
Chippie by swings in Oliver Street was Rossi's ?
Do you know the name of the sweet shop at the bottom of Wilson Street.
Knew the lads in Wesley Street better

Just up from Saint Andrews Square it was only a small one yes I knew the crostons and the billingtons and Rocker Roach until 2013 was still alive and living by Trinity Street, sadly we lost Tommy Roach and Ronnie Croston some years ago I think the name of the steel works was called Collins, the name of the shop I do not know but it was owned by a Mr Dixon.

Hi Ray i have just registered with wikiwirral and read some great comments from the fowlers haydens and yourself. I new Ronny very well we whent to hemmy together with davy haden davy waters and kenny sadly he passed away I also whent to school with dougy fowler and gorden I remeber Maureen I also whent to St Johns school and sat next the head masters son dave daves. I loved calling for the lads in the mid and late sixties great times. I worked with ronny on Whites Milk they were in Borough Road opp were i lived on corner of stafford street and Borough Rd the football in the square was great little tommy roach and the joneses and billingtons all got out on the square great great days keep in touch Mogsy Morris

I lived in St Andrews Square until I was about 12 or 13 so we moved out around 1969. The "flats" all had open coal fires which probably contributed to their demolition not long after. I remember climbing up on a wall with my brothers to watch men in protective overalls and masks dig up lead coffins on the Conway Street side where Bob's garage used to be. They also found an unexploded bomb at the garage site when that was dug over. There was also a huge fire and explosion where a couple of the kids from the flats got badly burned when oil/paint drums exploded. I remember one of the kids also over reached for the washing line on the first floor and Curly caught him when he fell. In the weeks leading up to bonfire night, the fire brigade would come and take away all the wood we'd collected and sometimes it would be hidden above one of the arches.

Remember Mr Dixon in his long brown coat and fingerless gloves - we used to wind him up by going in and asking how much penny arrow bars or halfpenny chix were. We never dared do it with Heseltines on Conway St though.

Haydn As in Esther & Pat with SeaBiscuit the dog? I remember the dog was often dressed in kids shorts and T-shirt (or am I losing it?)

I used to love going to thompsons mission as they gave you a large ginger biscuit.In the summer we would go to camp in north wales for a week.Granparents used to live opposite St Andrews square in Claughton road.Dad drank in the jug and went to the social club up the road by the pictures.

Hi do you remember the joneses first names