Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past History Information Request two questions to fellow historians!

I favour the "turning a blind eye" theory, many of the other explanations post date the usage of the term.

I am sure more than one clock was visible from Liverpool, though I've heard this in reverse that only one clock of the Liver building was visible from Birkenhead.

Riveters losing eyes I suppose is equally plausible.

I think the reason why I've always associated the term 'one eyed city' as being "purely a Liverpudlian expression" is because I've only ever really heard it said by Scousers about Birkenhead. I've always thought of it as being quite a derogatory term and it's not one we would normally use ourselves as davew3 so aptly suggests.

Birkenhead always had aspirations to become a great city of the future but these hopes were largely mocked, particulary in Liverpool. Historically, there was always a great rival between the two ports and it's well known that the Liverpool authorities did everything they could to prevent Birkenhead threatening their monopoly. Littlestan could well be right in his suggestion that this is quite an old expression and linked with Irish politics and the Fennians but perhaps there's also an element of this mockery in the way it's come to be used.

Although Beasley may have spoken of the "one eyed English on the Cheshire side of the Mersey", the expression 'one eyed city' is only ever used in reference to Birkenhead, and so I'm assuming that he was refering directly to the English people of Birkenhead rather than Cheshire as a whole.

Maybe because Birkenhead was so fixated (with one eye always on its own future) it was blind to the needs of others. In that sense it was a bit of a cyclops and not so focused on the greater good???

A recent (2008) novel by Liverpudlian Tom Stevens called “Oxfords Circus” which is about the Police and is set against the backdrop of the 1981 Toxteth Riots, has a couple of more down-to-earth interpretations:

http://books.google.com/books?id=vt...one-eyed%20city%20birkenhead&f=false

I thought phrases such as "one eyed hole" etc meant the place smelled like pi$$ or was full of pricks. I could be wrong though.

You're a cultured man nightwalker! I'll read that one myself when me migraine gets better...

Can't say I'm as cultured as you. Bacterial, yes. Cultured, no!

I'm blind in one eye, would that have anything to do with it?

Could it have been a jealous remark belittling the fact that Birkenhead was one of the main ports for the import of cattle compared to Liverpool - one hide becoming one eyed.

thanks special K that's what I thought I remebered being told, but the other stories are very intersting as well, so thanks everyone who contributed

thank you uptoncx, thats the place

I often wondered what it meant? "when as the saying goes " you have got one eye in birkenhead, I always thought it was because you had a turn in your eye? OH WELL

The Wirral is kind of phallic in shape and the word peninsular almost starts with penis...

The term "One eyed trouser snake" is fairly recent, probably the middle of the last century - although made famous by Monty Python later on. One eyed city, predates this considerably

Found throughout years away that the terms for each other changed. An uncle of mine, died quite recently at 98 yrs, always referred to Liverpudlians as "Hodge Eaters", shortened in his fashion to "'odge 'aters".
I think Woolly Backs were originally those Scousers who emigrated to North Wales and their offsprings, who still spoke with Liverpool accents but over the years it has been used to refer to anyone the other side of the Mersey.
Always found that Scousers like to dish it out but can't take it when you have a go back, that's why I liked the City of Culture one "Instead of bricks your cars left on stacks of books".
Listen to Roger Phillips and you've never heard such a city full of victims i.e. it's never their fault.
By the way I am married to one, so mixed marriages do work.

I’ve been asking around my old Birkonian mates about where One-Eyed City comes from. Most haven’t a clue and others come up with the standard Mersey Tunnel and Cammel Lairds riveters stories. However, one clever sod pointed me in the direction of a novel called ‘Waterfront’ written in 1934 by a Liverpudlian, John Brophy, who is apparently pretty famous in literary circles. Apparently he is credited with putting a lot of scouse slang in print for the first time. Sure enough, I found the following in ‘A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English’:

“One-Eyed City, the. Birkenhead: C.20. (John Brophy, Waterfront, 1934.) Mostly among ‘Liverpudlians’. In full, the one-eyed city of undiscovered crime: while the city was very rapidly expanding, the city’s police force was constantly inadequate.”

This could tie in with the ‘turning a blind eye’ suggestions. In truth, this is probably one of those questions which will never be satisfactorily answered.

i remember Olivieris my mum worked in cafe a bit further along from there ,you went down some steps to it next door to taxi s that was in the 70s