Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past History Information Request Central Park, Wallasey

I remember that murder - I think it's come up on another thread. It was about 1977 or therabouts - I went past the gates by the lake at the Deveraux Drive entrance one Saturday morning and it was all sealed off.

There was one park keeper in particular who was fearsome - not just at closing time! I remember us hiding in some bushes by the rose gardens and getting chased...

No-one's yet said whether it's possible that the lake could be drained --- ???

Also, another memory from the early 70s of seeing some huge fish in the lake - moving so fast through the water that there was a wake - someone said it was a carp. It was a hot afternoon and plenty of people were around to see it.

the lake did get drained a few years back

as for the parkies, the parks would be a better place these days if we still had them !

I totally agree, I remember a parkie called Dennis who chased me round the park many a night.......thank god he never caught me ha ha

I was born in 1945 and lived close to Central Park and in all honesty I think of her as being my 'Alma Mater', I stole my first kiss there, also had my face slapped for the first time, learned to value my friends and to avoid trouble (in the form of the Parkie), I can trace my passion for fishing back to the days when net and jam jar in hand we chased the sticklebacks around the lake or climbed into the forbidden lake (too deep for children!) to try for the elusive carp reported as being there, never seen or caught!
Near to the front entrance to the Art School overlooking the ornamental gardens was a shelter that before being re-furbished around 1957 had ‘private’ closed off rooms where you could ‘entertain’ your latest girlfriend and if you were lucky be allowed a kiss and cuddle, nothing more or you had a red cheek to show your ‘mates’, not street cred! Shame the council changed it what a loss to generations of Wallasey school boys.
Another area popular amongst our age group was the ‘swings’ located between the Art School and the Cricket Club, one trial of manhood was to be raised up to fit your arms through the rings of the ‘maypole’ and then spun around by your mates until you yelled to stop, were sick or fell off, great wish they still did it!
Standing up on the bars of the Witches Cap whilst it was spun extremely fast with the resulting yawing induced by your mates was also very popular.
There was a ride that out shone all others it was the ‘swing boat’, this could be manned alone or more dangerously by two brave souls, you could in theory sit on the ride while the other two heroes tried to out do each other, but I never saw it done.
The Swing Boat was swung backwards and forwards with greater and greater effort until it reached it’s maximum limit and banged against the supporting frameworks cross piece, this occasionally resulted in one or both riders to be thrown off.
One lasting memory is of the original Toilet and Changing rooms near the Tennis Courts and Lake, the WC’s where a row of six or seven cubicles connected by one wooden trough that had constant running water, one child, it wasn’t me, made a paper boat which was place in the trough, set on fire and allowed to coast along roasting chestnuts as it went!
Many happy times were had, fun and good natured foolery, Oh how I wish you still could do so without being non-pc.

Brilliant memories! Thanks for sharing! (I wonder if I'm the only person to have ever seen the carp then???)

We called it the "jerker" but our swing park was the quarry in Rowson street. Looking back it was extremely dangerous for riders and anyone who wandered near it.