A fly in the ointment guys..I'm reading a book at present called Wirral gleanings ,although it makes no reference to the Aerodrome it does say and there is a map from 1909 and the land where the golf course and the station are was all salt marshes .I suppose things might of changed in the eleven years before it opened but wouldn't that have been a major engineering task to drain them.. I am in the process of trying to get an appointment at the archives to do a little more research
That's a surprise, Jonno. The Golf Club was established in 1913, at least as a 9 hole course, on the land to the seaward side of the Fender/Birket. Also, the railway pre-dates 1909 by several decades, including Bidston station. See extract below from "Railway Stations of Wirral" It's quite clear looking at pictures & maps of the area that the rivers Fender & Birket have been artificially channelled; On an Ordnance Survey map of 1904, the Birket has clearly been channelled by then, but the Fender, which now joins the Birket at right angles (ignoring the final kink) at that time cut straight across what is now the later addition to the Golf Course & joined the Birket about 1/4 mile further downstream. So, it looks as if a start had been made on drainage of the marshes by 1904. Jonno: if you go to the archives, could you see if there's any reference to the building of a sea wall? I would have thought that it would have been necessary. My 1904 map does show an embankment between Leasowe lighthouse & Leasowe Castle.
The railway is on the map and the station is where it is today .I will check on the sea wall for you no probs Chris.I think the wall from the castle to the lighthouse would of been constructed in some way when they built the castle or they would of been trapped on high tides,this is just speculation on my behalf....:>
Last edited by jonno39; 12th Feb 20084:34pm.
It all makes perfect sense expressed in dollars and cents ,pound shillings and pence
I've just been looking at the area on Google Earth. Looking at elevations above Mean Sea Level, most of the area is lower than the ridge of higher ground running along the shoreline, which is on average between 20 + 30 feet. In particular, Bidston station is only about 6 Ft. & most of the Golf Course is between 2 & 12 Ft. I can see now why it was salt marsh. Fascinating. Jonno; If you make an appointment with the archives,I wouldn't mind coming up if you fancy some company.
not at all if you can let me know whens best for you(rough window of opportunity)and what you would be interested in looking at i will book us in.you have to let them know what you are looking for incase it has to be brought from archives..:>
It all makes perfect sense expressed in dollars and cents ,pound shillings and pence
Me and Chriskay have scoured the archives and spoke to the experts in the Wirral Museum and there is no record what so ever about the aerodrome ,there were only two recorded aerodromes on the Wirral ,the private one on Leasowe road and Hooton park which was on the site of what is now vauxhall's
It all makes perfect sense expressed in dollars and cents ,pound shillings and pence
To me, there's no doubt that it existed, witness the poster, although someone at the museum suggested it might have been a hoax. This I absolutely do not believe. My suspicion is that the first event at Easter 1920 was not a great success & it didn't re-open.
According to the Book mate The Seacombe Branch.. Never knew that there was trains to seacombe ?????? It closed to passengers in 1960... The line was removed for the Steel works..
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