Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past Wirral Now and Then oldish aerial pic of tunnel entrance

on right hand side of pic halfway down did these used to be the flats I only knew as the Priory Buildings
Don't know their proper name

I think google map has placed Town Station in wrong place

is the tunnel opening Liverpool side

I would say thats the Liverpool side, my father was in the Army guard of honour (Kings Regiment) for the King opening it, I have a photo somewhere, I'll try and find it. I think if was Birkenhead you would see the old market in it.

the birkenhead town station marker should be below Borough Road East in that large green rectangle shaped space as that was were it once stood (we went their back in October) and the tunnel opening pic is on the Birkenhead Side.

Excellent photo. Here is my effort of a comparison from Google Earth.

it's interesting to see Town, Woodside and Monk Ferry stations on that one picture

I'm sure this on the forum somewhere, but no harm posting again for those who haven't seen it. [youtube]HkyYqkPbXv8[/youtube]

I can see Woodside & Town stations, but I think Monks Ferry is off the picture. On the attached map, you can see the curve of Ivy St. & where the tunnel finishes, but I think the station was on the other side of Church St., which is just out of the picture.

This picture was used as the frontispiece of the book "Outline Plan for the County Borough of Birkenhead", produced in 1947.(I recently obtained a copy in mint condition, complete in its slip case). The date of the picture is a puzzle; the tunnel entrance seems almost complete, but the Woodside ventilation shaft is not there. I think I can see a crane at the site where it will be built. The Sidney St. ventilation shaft is there, looking completely built. I've tried to find out when the Woodside shaft was built, without success.

What a great picture! I think it must have been taken between 1925 (when work started on the tunnel) and 1934, when it was opened. It's probably earlier than 1934, because the tunnel entrance works do not look as though they are finished.
The flats on the right-hand side of the picture that derekdwc mentions were actually called Priory Buildings. There was an almost identical set of tenement flats further towards the river down Ivy Street (just off Church Street), called Abbey Buildings. Part of these flats can also be seen on the extreme right of the picture (however, I may be getting the names of the flats transposed).
Town Station and Woodside Station are clearly visible, but not the Monks Ferry terminal. The old Birkenhead Market is the long building on the left of the tunnel.