Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past Wirral History Birkenhead Cattle Trade

Hi
my grandad worked at Woodside Lairage, somewhere I have some headed paper (blank), as well as a tally marked MDHB (or C!) and a number 65 on it. It has a ring through the centre of it - Ill try and get some pictures of the items if anyone wants them
Barry

hi. I was interested to read about your grandfather who once lived at wantondale cottage on resthill rd, storeton. I have recently purchased the property & the adjoining house & land and wondered if you have any old photographs you could share with me please? thanks, steve

There is a licenced slaughterhouse located in New Ferry, it's at the back of the butchers on Old Chester Road opposite the old Kwik Save (now Somerfield?).

used to know a guy that did a bit there,apparently he had a go of the bolt gun?

I was a slaughter man at tranmere abbatior from 1975 to 1985 was your dad working there then . i think he may of been as the knocking box you describe was not installed till the 1980s the boss was a man named tommy atkins or ago and his side kick george carney both are sadly dead now

I remember arriving on the Leinster from Dublin in 1958 and she docked at Birkenhead first to let the cattle off and then sailed over to Princess Dock to let the people off.

I know someone who was the dcck estate manager who I think was responsible for the lairage and other things on the docks.
If anyone wants any info I could phone or email him to try and put you in touch

I have just looked at the pics of Tranmere slaughter house I worked there from 1975 to 1985 they brought back so many memories of people long gone . The picture of the back of the slaughter house with the black and white walls we painted them when we were kids . the door ways led to the hay shed the cattle pens and sheep pens and at the big gate at top of the picture there is a small room that is were the stock man stayed to unload and feed and water the live stock . The picture were there used to be dinking water behind that wall used to be the pig pens and the pig slaughter house

Me and my brother used to play in the docks and spent hours wandering round the rotting cattle sheds where the cattle were delivered by ship. There were wooden ramp type things that the cattle would be herded off the ships by, leading to a kind of wooden 'path' that led to the sheds. There were stalls and some mangers (I think) where the cattle were kept before being driven to the abbatoir. (this is mid to late 80s)

that would be Edge's Butcher on New Chester Rd.

my grandfather was a cattle dealer who brought cattle over from Dundalk in Ireland to the Lairage at Woodside. This was probably from around 1910 onwards to the late 1930's. His wife and 3 children lived in Dundalk until 1914 when they came over to join him in Birkenhead. They lived for a time in Hamilton Square.They eventually had 7 more children. The 3 eldest sons worked at the Lairage for a time.

My father was a joiner for MD&H Co. He used to repair the sheds etc around the dock estate.
The cattle run from Woodside to Wallasey lairage was wood planking and must have been around 7 foot high (I was a kid then) and he and his mates had the job of maintaining it. I remember this thing used to run just along the edge of the river wall to take up as little space as possible and was probably about 3foot wide, to stop the cattle turning back on themselves. Anyway, one day they were inside the run, replacing rotten/broken planks when there was a rumbling....there was a stampede of long horn cattle heading their way and their only eascape was over the top....only one guy got his directions wrong and almost ended up in the river.
My, how they all larfed....

my grandad and his brother came to birkenhead about 1900 bringing a herd of cattle for slaughter from county mayo .his brother went on to the u.s.a. but grandad stayed and married and lived his life in upton. molong