Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past History Information Request Seacombe to Egremont - sea wall

What was it like on board? any photos?

I did have some photos but they've gone AWOL...

My overwhelming memory is of rust! It could have done with a coat of sealant/paint or two. Fixtures and fittings all looked original (including moth-eaten mock-velvet on some of the seat coverings) but it was functional (shower = hosepipe) rather than luxurious!

Thanks for that Ros,

It would be great if the Mersey could have all the old ferries in service again, including the sinking Iris, but this is fantasy....

Im interested in the ferry stuff but i would really like the original 'topic' answering-what where the concrete blocks for?

I thought I had a stab at that earlier in the thread - something to do with the ferry coming alongside

I remember the excavations around the headland where Egremont Ferry was as part of the 1996/1997 wall works - some large cast iron gear wheels were unearthed - part of the original machinery that used to extend and retract the end portion of Egremont Ferry. A consequence of the large tidal range in the Mersey. The end of the landing stage could be extended or retracted from a motor house on the prom.

One of the Contractor's engineers got a whole load of old coins from under the line of the old ferry landing stage once excavations commenced - he had a metal-detector. All the coins must have been dropped by people passing on and off the old ferry.

Apologies, i thought this was a theory!

I posted this on wrong thread I think

As a lad in the 50's I often swam off these Blocks when the tide was in, we use to call them the 'Boomdocks' and I was led to believe they were part of the Egremont Ferry Pier that had been struck by a ship in 1947 and was dismantled, incidently the building is part of the old ferry buildings and was used for a social/youth club for some time in the 50's. out of sight with just the canapy showing is the main ferry building which was used by the West Cheshire Sailing Club to store dinghies and where I learnt to sail.

nb; we always swam on the incoming tide because they released raw sewage from Liverpool when the tide was going out and you had to dodge the 'Mersey goldfish'.