Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past Wirral History River Mersey - Frozen - 1895?

One of my most vivid memories is of two lads carrying in the school milk in a crate which had been left outside and it was just a solid block of ice. That was in the days when we still had school milk, of course. What amazes me now is how we survived those terrible months of cold when houses had no central heating and most of us didn't even have proper warm clothing. No one seemed to think much of it and just got on with it as best they could - today it'd be a national catastrophe. Apologies for going off the subject of the frozen Mersey.

Sorry I can't help with this. My gran, born 1888, would have remembered it. It just reminds me of how important it is to talk to your older relatives; if not, once they're gone, the memories are lost.

Many thanks one and all for your input
I'll sent him the one of Egremont and I'll keep searching
Yoller how right you are about no central heating or warm clothes in those days - I lived in seacombe about 200yards from the mersey - bloody cold!!! - but it was our playground

Thanks to all

Buddy

Here's one more for you, but still no horse I'm afraid, only a ferryboat.



The other side of the Wirral wasn't much better, in that same winter there was an iceberg in the Dee, estimated as over 12 foot high and 50 to 60 foot wide.

Thanks uptoncx

I'll send him those also

Buddy

Yep started snowing on Boxing day if I remember rightly? Used to dive into the snow drifts because they were so deep until they froze of course. Anyone else have to get water from a stand pipe in the street because ours had all frozen up?. Central heating what was that? Brrrrr!

excellent pics guys thanks for Sharing

I've got vague memories during that winter of welding generators being lent out by Lairds to thaw out water mains.

All mains and most service pipes were iron/lead then. Stick one connection on the pipe at the end of your street. Using a long cable from the generator, connect the other lead at the far end of the pipe and apply a low voltage with a few hundred amps behind it for a few minutes. Pipe warms up just enough to melt the blockage !

Does anyone else recall this ?? Wouldn't work today of course. Most of the system is plastic/alkathene !!

They experimented with a similar scheme on the live rails of the London Underground (surface section). Putting a short on the ends of a long length of rail warmed it enough for ice to melt off the top of it. It cost a fortune ! Sorry - off topic AGAIN !

Yes it this defo happened. The crew of HMS Conway moored at Rockferry state in their crews log:

"28 Feb 1895 The Mersey was frozen from shore to shore. "

wow never thort that the mersey could freez i remember walking along the canial`s wen i was a kid ther wear a foot to a foot an a half thick but ther minute to the mersey nice pics thanks for sharing.

some more pics borrowed from "yesterday's birkenhead"

My mother was born in 1901 and she told me that she remembered the River Mersey being frozen over when she was a little girl.
Les Roberts

Welcome, Walter. Where in Shropshire are you? I'm in Shrewsbury.

If I had of thought on I could of looked this up today as I was working in the archives and had the 1900 Birkenhead news paper out.

I've got a copy of my great great grandfathers obituary from the Birkenhead News. It mentions him remembering ice skating on the frozen Mersey when he was a young lad !