Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past History Information Request The land behind Eccleshall Road in New Ferry

When we were kids we were told there were military connections to this site. The one I remember all these years later is that under the "big hill" was stored tanks and stuff.

Now i've never believed this but does anyone know what the structure was? It was covered in grass but i'm sure it was iron undereath and have huge metal dors at the end.

Also on site was a warehouse type building and on the perimiter backing onto Eccleshall Road was another buildng seperated into three rooms(?).

There was also something that seemed to lead underground. Don't know how to describe it but overground there was a long straight embankment is the only word I can come up with and at one end was an smallish iron door the route to which had been back filled with coal.

Anyone know what these buildings really where?

Here

Wow I use to play on that hill as a kid, I remember at one end were metal doors about 10/12 foot high and the same at the opposite end.

Also on top I remember about what I can only describe as being about 6 to 8 chimneys, you could not see these when far away but were there I promise.

I grew up in Graylands Road which is connected to Eccleshall Road and was told it was something to with WW1 but can't remember what.

I am interested in any info that is given to as what I was told as a kid may be old tales?

Sorry, most of my maps cut off just above that point, I will keep digging - Eccleshall and Graylands Roads were built around 1912 but the housing went up after this.

There was what appears to be a brook leading to the point you specified but I haven't found any buildings - yet!

From your description of coal and being in a clay pit area I am wondering if it was a small casting works. Generally there wasn't much WW1 stuff around here from what I have seen. There was certainly no need for any defences this far from the continent.

There wasn't a lot of coal. It was just like someone has chucked it there to stops anyone getting to the iron door.

It also could have come from the boat that grounded itself on the mud flats and the locals went and nabbed the coal that spilt off it lol

Thinking about the Brook, if you are looking at where the hill is/was looking towards Liverpool there was a pond like thing about 30/40 yards left of the hill.

Wow loads of childhood memories here.

Isn't the hill, where the fuel storage tanks for Operation Pluto from the second world war were. The pipeline around this point before heading south and on it europe

Can't remember the exact location, I thought I had a picture somewhere.

CLICKY

See that's another story I was told but I didn't believe it.

There were metal things on the top which looking like something fluid would have been pumped out of them though.

There was yeah.

My mum says that it was used for oil tankers etc, and pipes use to take oil to Shell she thinks.
Will ask people I know who live there still some are in there 70's

Ekky2000 is correct. The land behind Eccleshall Road was indeed part of the PLUTO oil pipeline system in WWII. You can find out more about PLUTO at http://www.iwbeacon.com/Pipeline-Under-the-Ocean.aspx

Various locations around the country were used to store oil that could be piped over to Europe once the Allies landed there to push the occupying Germans out. All their tanks and equipment needed a huge supply of fuel, and so the government built the massive pipeline from northern England right the way down Britain to the south coast.

The site behind Eccleshall Road was ideal for one of these storage tanks because it was close to Bromborough Dock (completed only a few years before the war started), where oil could be brought in by ships using the Mersey. The tank was hidden under the artificial hill to protect it from Luftwaffe bomb attack - and of course - its location was kept as secret as possible so that most local residents had no idea of its existence.

Thanks all. So when we were told there wer tanks stored under the hill we'd got the wrong end of the stick and it was storage tanks lol

Looking at the 1970's aerial view on the e-mapping website, you can see the buildings.