Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past History Information Request how old is this road surface?

how old is this road surface?
Just behind where the Woodside Hotel used to be.
Was this how some of the roads were originally laid or could it have been laid like this for the benefit of horses when there was a stable there?

http://www.yoliverpool.com/forum/showthread.php?13310-Cobbled-Streets-and-Areas-of-Liverpool

A thread from a Liverpool forum which may shine a light.

It has been said, by archeologists, that cobble roads were being made in Britain before the Romans. The curvature of the road allows water to flow away and the cobbles prevent ruts forming and give horses a better grip. Although noisy under horse and cart, etc, straw would be laid where peace and quiet were required.

No ides derek, however after carefull thought I can confirm it looks smoother than the roads lately :-)

Hope you find out the answer, my guess would be for horses but it's a guess.

Noticed these at the main Birkenhead Park entrance and wondered if they were originals from when the park was built

There are some of these on duke st near the dock, people keep stealing them.

When I was a kid, half the streets were cobbles. If you dig under the present tarmac, most of them are still there, some with tram lines.

On very hot days we would play with the bubbling tar that was between them and get battered for coming in covered in the stuff.

Just for clarification, cobbles are the rounded ones, as in the first pics, although they can also be larger. The squared off ones, as at the Park Entrance, are setts. Roadways were almost exclusively made from granite setts, although wooden ones were also used. They gave a flat but often slippery surface.

Thanks chriskay for that info



Noticed this one in the Masonic Hall.
Actually was told these are specially ordered pieces of rock (granite) which they order which are called rough and smooth and when someone joins the masons they are given a rough one and told to take it home and just using a hammer and chisel make it into a smooth one

If i can just add, both types are cobbles, as Chris says, outside the park entrance, they are granite cobble setts, setts being more uniform in size and shape, the cobbles in the first pic are Duckstone cobble.

Wonder if there is any connection to a cobbler?
You'd think a person who laid cobbles would be so named

yes thats the type that are by the docks derek.

i`ve never noticed that old telephone box near the park entrance too, not many of those around

I was a Street Mason(flagger) back in the sixties for Birkenhead Council and did some work on cobbles around Laird St. Buggers to work with. In the older parts of town they were generally found at intersections. Did not do much work as they were virtually maintenance free. I only did a little bit thank God. Did some work on the granite kerb and guttering(some of it 10-15ft long and about 12inches deep and 6 inches wide) now that was hard work. There used to acres of it up at the council depot at Flaybrick. No cranes in those days all loaded and unloaded by hand. Thank fully cutting them was fairly easy. Must be why I have this problem with my stomach muscles.

Was it like the street I lived in.
The front doors always open so the kids were always in and out every 5 minutes