Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past Wirral History The Pyramids, Birkenhead

Need help with this pic. On the right there are 2 bus shelters, opposite the further one there was a little shop which sold foreign stamps. Can anyone remember the name?

Also, I'm inclined to think that the ornate lamp standards are a hangover from the days of trams (finished 1937) & carried the power lines.

I remember the stamp shop, but not its name. As well as stamps, it sold cigarette cards and coins and I think it was run by a chap from Darwen in Lancashire. Further down, across Whetstone Lane, the Wirral Pets shop was on the corner and further down from that, a fishing tackle shop. On the opposite side of the road from the stamp shop was a shop that sold clocks, called Tempus Fugit (Time Flies).

The pet shop later moved to oxton rd opposite the Windsor pub mid 1960s then moved to top oxton rd by vale pub. The fishing tackle shop was called Hitchell's or Mitchell's ran by very old couple.

I thought the bloke who ran the stamp shop was a miserable old g*t. The name Forshaw or Crawshaw or some other...shaw comes to mind. I remember Tempus Fugit & the pet shop too. I used to wait at that bus shelter after visiting my gran in Windsor St. for the 64 bus to take me home; Irvine Rd. was my stop, next stop after the Rovers.

The Pet shop was called Wirral pets, and i think when that closed down Birkenheads first Sex shop took over the building.

wirral pets shop became a restaurant. The sex shop was a couple of doors down

Cheers for that, probably ate half the stock.

the name of the pawn brokers was Bentleys

there were 3 Bentleys I can recall
1 Grange Road
2 Bottom of Exmouth st just round the corner in Conway st opposite the Meadows pub
3 in the Haymarket on a row of shops between Jackson st and Thomas st

any more?

Have noticed in old pics Irwins shops seems to have been a few spread about Grange rd , Upton, and Laird st to name a few

There's an Irwins by the roundabout in Wallasey Village and another on the corner opposite Fairs cameras in Bebington.

I worked in Wirral Pets 1970 and later again in 1972. Wirral Pets originally had Whetsone Lane, one opposite the Claughton Arms, one in Old Chester Road and then they bought the big shop in 51 Oxton Road. It was started by Len Thomas. His admin manager was Anne Walker. Gradually the firm was centralised to just Oxton Road and the others were closed. Whetstone Lane alwasy had problems with the cellars flooding. 51 Oxton Road was haunted and most of the staff would not go to the top floor. What had been bedrooms were used as storerooms and the door were's were very old fashioned with latches instead of doorknobs. Len ran a large wholesale pet business from there as well and had customers as far as Shrewsbury. There was a lady called Betty who managed the shop downstairs, Janet Kennedy and Helga Lane were two of the shopgirls. They both lived on the Woodchurch. Before Wirral pats opened a tyre place had been run from the back of it. There was still a set of 1930's knock on wheels complete with the tyres in the cellar. Len eventually sold out and the business moved up the road.

...could be wrong but I think quite a few of the Irwin shops got bought out by Tesco in the 60's/70's. Think the old Tesco shop in Pensby Rd, Heswall was originally an Irwins, before Tesco moved to Telegraph Road.

There was an Irwins top of the hill from The Village, Lower Bebington.

Wonder what happened to Helga Lane?

Do you remember the shop opposite Allisons/Beatties that sold proper liquorice root, tiger nuts and such like.

Hey! Don't like the sound of someone crunching tigernuts!

Seriously I do remember that shop.