Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past History Information Request Birkenhead Park Horse

Apparently the last working horse in Birkenhead Park was retired in 1969, Has anyone got any information on this as far as, Where was it stabled? who was his Keeper at the time of his retirement?

Thank you.

I always understood it was stabled somewhere over where the Council greenhouses were in Top Park. I remember the horse and the big green cart it pulled. Always fascinated by those big nags.

The last working horse in Birkenhead was called Tommy, and he was indeed retired in 1969. His keeper was a man named Glyn Jones who lived at 489 Corporation Road. In late 1968 the Corporation still had two working horses, Tommy, and Prince who worked in Flaybrick Cemetery. They were still used for carting loads of leaves, logs and hedge-trimmings because many of the paths in the Park and Cemetery were too narrow for a tractor and trailer and, particularly in the Cemetery, they were less noisy than machines. The new Parks Superintendent Walter Briggs, however, considered them a "relic of the past", and claimed it was now difficult to justify the cost of their upkeep as battery-powered vehicles that could do the same job were readily available, so their days were numbered.

Excellent info Marty, thank you very much.

Marty,

Does your knowledge stretch to knowing if a Mr Candeland also worked with the horses, late 50s early 60s, perhaps another team owner or assistant to Mr Glyn Jones.

Cheers
Bert

It's not a name I recognise. My mother's uncle, Dick Hornby, used to be in charge of the horses that were based at the Depot in Cleveland Street, but he was long retired when I were nowt but a lad; I think he was working for the Corporation in the 1930s and 40s. I used to be fascinated by all of the books on horses he had which had those wonderful illustrations which had layers of tabs that you could lift up to show the horse's anatomy from skin, through blood vessels and muscles, right down to the skeleton. They were works of art. Sadly, he's long dead now and the books are long gone...

Thanks Marty,
apparently the Birkenhead news done a piece on the gentleman around 1960, a newspaper clipping long lost so it could be a trip to the archives, needle in a haystack springs to mind.
Its a pity the way these old books go missing.

cheers
Bert