Comparing the 1875 map with the online version of the Tithe Map, I suspect the five fields that were purchased were those numbered 448, 468, 469, 473 and 474 on the Tithe, which together form a contiguous plot belonging to Edward Francis French (though the total acreage works out at about 18 acres rather than 16.5). This would suggest that Tranmere Park essentially consisted of the area between Victoria Road and Willmer Road, together with the north side of the top end of Victoria Road up to Church Road. As far as the OS map is concerned, I think it is almost certainly the case that the cartographers simply wrote the name on the convenient empty space next to the estate, instead of attempting the fiddly job of trying to write it across the actual built-up area.
Hi martyFred very interesting now I know where Dingle Rd came from. Interestingly all the houses from Larch Rd to Victoria Rd and Dingle to Derby Rd all had some type of front and back garden, some of them were quite large. Whereas over to Wilmer and up to Derby had virtually none at all. I lived in Dingle Rd and can see my house on the 1876 map. But not sure about the "working class housing", some of the houses were pretty classy and did not appear any where similar to the ones in Larch and Wilmer. Even as far as Raffles very few had front and back gardens.
Wow - I'm overwhelmed by the responses here; a huge thank you to everyone who has contributed so far - admittedly it's going to take me a while to digest all of this.
The photographs and maps are great, exactly what I was after - is there a source I should be looking within for further ground level photographs of this area? I've searched these forums and found many of Wirral but would love to see more of the specific area
It's interesting to read about the 'area' of Tranmere park (as marked on the pre 1900 maps) I wonder if there might be any photographs of the land before it was built on, the land on which Willmer Road and surrounding roads were built on or where best to try and source these from
Again thank you to everyone for this wealth of information :-)
But not sure about the "working class housing", some of the houses were pretty classy and did not appear any where similar to the ones in Larch and Wilmer. Even as far as Raffles very few had front and back gardens.
I don't think I referred to the land being for "working class housing". The essential motivation behind the Freehold Land Society movement was to enable men of working class background to acquire a piece of freehold property and thereby gain the right to vote, as in those days you couldn't vote unless you owned freehold property above a certain value. What they did with the land after they acquired it was entirely up to them; they were free either build on it themselves or dispose of it to a developer at a profit.
I did mean you said Working Class Housing. The document from from the Society mentioned Working Class Housing so I assumed(incorrectly) that the plots would be for Working Class Housing. But all is good, more history of the area is fantastic.
A few more cuttings from the Liverpool Mercury concerning the beginnings of the Tranmere Park Estate. The advert for railings to lay out the plots of land is from September 1854, whilst the first two ballots for allotting the land took place in October and November. The final piece comes from an article on 'Birkenhead and It's Progress' from June 1856.
