Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past History Information Request Was this a hotel

Was Birkenhead Cycles in Conway Street once the Prince of Wales Hotel.
Looking at 1916 Wilmers Street directly there's no 258

In 1864 Morris & Co.'s Directory of Cheshire not sure if it's his home address

On my list of closed pubs, incomplete. As written "Prince of Wales" (Old Argyle). Could this be the Argyle Hotel, 96 Argyle St, Birkenhead?

The 1911 census, 258 Conway St doesn't appear to be a pub or hotel.

The 1880 Morris Directory, image below,

The 1881 census has John Kelly living at 5 Bridge St, occupation, Restaurant Keeper. I think he could have possibly been in charge of the restaurant in the Prince of Wales Hotel.

it's not big enough! a pub or maybe even a guest-house/lodge type thing perhaps, hotel i doubt it. the cycle shop doesn't seem big enough but i suppose internals of buildings do change over time.

Argyle Theatre used to be called The Prince Of Wales

It was, but it changed its name to the Prince of Wales in 1876.

I don't know what it was but the whole building is very elegant and seems well built. Shame it was ever chopped about.

I think 2 of the addresses were of where he had lived and the Prince of Wales part was where he worked.
.
To confuse me even more looking in Ian Boumphreys Pub book 2
there appears to be 2 other Prince of Wales Hotels of about the same time.
3,5,7 Bridge Street and 21 Cleveland Street

AND now have to search for an address for Prince of Denmark
(1 suspect a very early name for the Hamlet/Dispensary/Gallaghers)

That takes care of Mr Kelly, Bridge St. What about Mr Roberts and Conway Street?

Some more facts Derek to help you or confuse you.

The 1851 census has John T Coghlan, Chester St, Victualler. It has no name or number of the establishment. It is the first property enumerated in Chester St, after Mortimer Terrace, it's likely to be where you think.

1881 shows Sarah Halliday, 21 Cleveland St, Carpenters Arms.

1891, Elizabeth Taples, 21 Cleveland St, Boarding house keeper

1911, Thomas Clarke, 21 Cleveland St, Beerhouse Keeper

1916 directory, 21 Cleveland St, Prince of Wales Inn

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The Liverpool Mercury for 10th of June 1853 records that a Londoner by the name of James Gale, known as the "Flying Eagle", was attempting the feat of walking 1,500 miles in 1,000 successive hours "on the grounds adjoining Mr Coghlan's Hamlet Inn, Birkenhead."

The Prince of Wales in Conway Street appears to have been a beerhouse rather than a 'hotel'. John Roberts applied for a full licence for the property at the Annual Licensing Session on 25th August 1864 (see below), but the application was refused. He applied again the following year, and his son John Roberts junior applied in 1866, but both of these applications were turned down as well.

Thanks for the info bert and marty99fred


Could be that land is now the police station car park

So the Hamlet could be in the running for being one of Birkenhead's oldest (still serving beer)pubs.

re The Prince of Wales Conway St, just wondering if in the first 30 odd years or earlier if the buildings were usually big fine buildings with open tracts of land between them that was eventually built on for rented accommodation for the workers.

Nowadays it appears they can't match the amount of building they did then even though their houses were more solid than some of the tiny boxes they throw up today

Poor Dears - the Crown was 'a full 400 yards away'...!
I suppose the Queens on the corner of Park Road East was to posh for the 'class of persons' likely to frequent the PoW !!!