Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past Wirral History Old Chester Road

Known locally as the Monkey Steps.

I remember the sandstone cottages on Old Chester Road. They were white washed and protruded out making the road very narrow. The chip shop in Croften Road was run in the 40's / 50's by Mrs Garnet.

There used be an old cottage opposite the green lane station, would have been number 20 or22 maybe, it was supposed to have a well in the front room, and there was a rumor of tunnels that run to birkenhead priory. It had raising damp on the walls which were said to have been high tide. Only went in there a couple of times, kid who lived there was nicknamed "snotty ronnie" cause he never owned a handkerchief.
The other source of mystery was at that time that the quarry close to the monkey steps , had tunnels and had supplies that were left over from ww2

There's loads of info. here on the Tranmere Air Raid Shelters.
Just do a search for "tranmere tunnels". (Include the quotes).

does anyone know or have any photographs of any of the said above shops or streets around old chester road? regards

There is another Old Chester Road topic running on this site click here.
In the Pubs section, there are photos of the Queens Arms / Yard and the Prince William.
A local book, published last year 'The Changing Face of Tranmere' has a number of pictures in it, including the 'White Cottages' and loads of other useful info.

A few photos of the Green Lane end of Old Chester Road in the mid-1960s, and a view of the same area in 1977 from the top of the flats in Sidney Road.

hi marty. thankyou very much for these pictures. i remember sidney flats aswell as the other 3 that were in sidney road. i dont remember the other pics as i was 5 when i moved to the area. however its good to see what it was like. do you know wether the two cottages in one of the above pics was situated opposite the pub named the crooked billet? i do remember the field opposite that pub as i used to play there as a kid. there was also a bit of grass land a bit further along towards green lane, opposite a building thats still there and makes signs. i was wondering if the cottages were situated there instead?

thanks

The White Cottages were indeed almost directly opposite the Crooked Billet, which is the pub on the right in the final photo. The site of the cottages is the plot partially bounded by the hedges on the opposite side of the main road.

Thank you for posting those pics, they brought back many happy memories, can I ask where you got them from are they your own collection etc?

My Uncle's Mother used to run the Golden Fleece pub which was just up the road on those pics. I was born in Orchard road again just off those photo's so I knew that area very very well.

Thanks for posting the Pics
My Wife has just looked at the pics and they also bring back memories she was also born in Orchard road. lived in the area from the 50s until the 70s

Oh what was her name.. pm me if you want.

does anybody have any old photos of old chester road, rockferry? i was kindly sent some on here....much appreciated, marty. i have been looking for a few years for old pics of the other end of old chester road which had shops called: kellys the butchers, my mums shop, galviers (newsagents), and various other shops along there. or does anybody know of anywhere i might find these?

regards

does anybody have any pictures of the top end of old chester road.......around st pauls road, well lane areas? regards.

I would love to see photos of that area as well. Blue Bird Cafe, Franks the butchers,Taylor's shoe shop and Rostances on the corner . Happy memories !