Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past Wirral History Parkgate

Parkgate, 1969. Hardly changed at all

Apart from the tide

and the marsh?

and the lack of litter!

That is a lovely picture showing the beach Pablo| How much that differs to now,with the marshes, is quite remarkable.
There never seems to be much litter on the front, at least I have never really noticed any Oxtonhill. If there is it's probably windblown icecreams.

was the marsh "planted" to become a conservation area or has it just overgrown?

It has just developed over the years as the River Dee became more silted up. Someone else will be able to add to that I am sure.

You should take a trip Cathie, if you can. You'd notice the difference.That is the difference with the marshes. The promenade is almost exactly the same, as Pablo says.

1969? An age when the country still had some law and order, and people knew everybody in the street. Great pic! Those lads will be in their fifties now.

I often go, especially The Old Quay for a carvery :0) I was just wondering how it got like that xx

I think I read that the silting up of the Dee Estuary started in earnest when they canalised the river (parallel to the Flintshire shore). A long revetment/training wall was built from John Summers Steelworks out to almost opposite Flint. The navigable channel was then close to the Welsh side. With little "scour" on the Cheshire side, it silted up. Spartina grass started growing which increased the silting and and and ......

If I manage to locate the book with the information in I'll quote it later. DON'T hold your breath!

i used to deliver to the private black and white school on the right of pic. inside is quite amazing, its like a rabbit warren in there.i also use to take my nan and grandad for ice cream there when i first past my test, happy days. great pic. max

thats not beach you can see granny, its marsh grass. Its was like that in the early 50s

Thanks Jimbob, just had a little zoom. How right you are.Beach was a nice thought tho'.( I don't remember the early 50's)

I thought Parkgate was also famous for some seafood "Thingy". Can't for the life of me remember what it was, I was only saying to my wife(aussie)that next time we go we should try some - she not impressed - me laughing> Hang on was it winkles and cockles in vinegar???

or shrimps ?

That's it petzl, shrimps, fancy forgetting that "Put another shrimp on the barbie".

This is what it used to look like c1925

More stormy weather at Parkgate.
(from 'Yesterday's Wirral' books)

The black and white school was Mostyn House School. Note the air raid siren on its roof and no traffic, in this 1940s photo.

wow bri really enjoyed them pics. max

Looking at the picture I meant litter in the marsh.

Oh sorry! Can't help there, the marsh grass looked like beach to me, until I was corrected.

This is a good view of the beach taken from the roof of Mostyn house

Pinz is quite right. The end of the marsh was what is know as "Broken Bank", and still is. It was so named because it became broken soon after being built in the 19 century. It remained so, until the RAF expansion period, which was in the 1930's when the RAF re-armed. The Army rifle range was on the edge of RAF Sealand much further back (I have maps), but they were kicked off and into the marsh where they are now, just behind the Broken Bank. However, it was tidal, so they finally repaired the bank, by various means, I have a wartime OS map that shows a narrow gauge along the Broken Bank, and along the training wall to Flint, obviously building them up.

After that, the marsh started to silt up fast. I have RAF aerial photos that show the marsh from ww2 onwards, and it is much more silted up now, than it was in the war.

There is a (very useful ??) layer of radioactive Caesium 137 in the marsh, deposited from leaks at Windscale, so it is fairly easy apparently to measure silt deposited as the deposition dates are known. I think the half life of Caesium 137 is 31 years, so it is decaying pretty fast.

The same is also true for the Mersey Estuary.

Yes it was shrimps.

I am sure they used to be advertised originally as "Potted Parkgate Shrimps" to "Parkgate Potted Shrimps".

John

I loved them, couldn't get enough. Seems to me they had a sweet taste combined with the vinegar and pepper. Absolutely gorgeous.
I've never been able to replicate that taste. Did I tell you I like shrimp?

http://www.nytimes.com/recipes/1271/Potted-Shrimp.html
Try this recipe; it's a good one. The result freezes well too.
Just remember that when you come to eat it, the potted shrimps need a very slight heating, just enough to melt the butter.
Serve with dry Melba toast.
This just doesn't work with anything other than the tiny shrimps, such as you used to get at Parkgate: the French call them Crevettes grises.

Thanks Chris, looks good, I'll try it out.

not so many cars around then,but famous nicholls ice-cream shop still there old school closed now, part of it is now shored up with scaffolding,what a shame its empty now, anyone now what will happen to it

what a lovely clear pic pablo

I like Nestonlads picture too Sunnyside.

Can anyone say more about the layer of Caesium 137 in the marsh. Does that affect the wildlife at all and if it is further up near Thurstaston, would it affect the cockles etc., thus making them contaminated?

Pinz is usually tuned in on these sort of things. Maybe he knows.