WikiWirral Share a Little Learn a Lot about your Wirral
Forum Statistics
Forums65
Topics76,373
Posts1,033,356
Members14,590
Most Online16,551
Feb 2nd, 2024
Who's Online Now
6 members (3 invisible), 9,776 guests, and 431 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters
sunnyside 45,164
MattLFC 22,315
Mark 21,269
granny 17,791
_Ste_ 16,345
Newest Members
Pasttraveller, LiamW1897, EricB, H2OH2O, Jasontodd
14,590 Registered Users
New General Forums
Hi to everyone
by PaulRobson - 15th Apr 2024 1:18pm
Last person to post wins...
by GaryB - 9th Oct 2007 9:15pm
New Wirral History
Grange Road Co-Op
by Erainn - 6th May 2024 3:08pm
ST Hugh Birkenhead and Maris Stella NB
by terrier - 20th Apr 2023 7:33pm
Possible crop marks in Landican?
by tomstevens - 21st Apr 2010 4:53pm
233 Caledonia Inn 68 Market Street
by derekdwc - 6th Jan 2009 12:32am
Top Posters(30 Days)
lincle 4
granny 3
Topic Replies
Paddle Steamer Waverley
by gregory66 - 7th May 2024 10:42pm
Grange Road Co-Op
by bert1 - 6th May 2024 5:18pm
233 Caledonia Inn 68 Market Street
by diggingdeeper - 5th May 2024 6:13pm
ST Hugh Birkenhead and Maris Stella NB
by gregory66 - 5th May 2024 5:57am
garage wanted
by diggingdeeper - 4th May 2024 2:01pm
Looking for an old engine
by diggingdeeper - 3rd May 2024 2:36pm
Restaurant/pub with outdoor seating - Bromborough
by capitulinagarage - 3rd May 2024 12:55pm
What song are you listening to?
by GaryFromWirral - 3rd May 2024 5:36am
May
M T W T F S S
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30 31
Top Likes Received (30 Days)
casper 1
Top Likes Received
bert1 14
Mark 4
casper 4
Gibbo 3
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 7,098
Wiki Addict
OP Offline
Wiki Addict
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 7,098
[youtube]v=pDNyShTcfuE[/youtube] A little bit of History

Google Ads
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 3,621
Forum Guardian
Offline
Forum Guardian
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 3,621
Oh yes! remember going on those boats and feeding the ducks . Happy days .

Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 417
Smartchild
Offline
Smartchild
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 417
Beautiful film, I have very fond memories of Raby Mere in the 50s and 60s, hiring rowing boats in the afternoon and using the penny "electric shock machine" and the "what the butler saw" all very tame stuff by today's standards I'm afraid, delightful film to watch. Thank you for posting it.

Joined: May 2010
Posts: 3,447
Forum Guardian
Offline
Forum Guardian
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 3,447
Don`t forget the swing boats round the back .. happy days.

Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 4,868
Forum Veteran
Offline
Forum Veteran
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 4,868
I remember Raby Mere too, from the 40's/50's. Half a dozen of us used to join hands and use the electric shock machine; good value. Don't remember the swing boats.


Carpe diem.
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 17,791
Likes: 3
Wiki Master
Offline
Wiki Master
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 17,791
Likes: 3
What a lovely film, portraying the beauty and tranquillity of what life used to be like. Hard to imagine now, but I'm sure it's still something we all yearn.
Thanks Snowy.



Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.
~Chief Seattle
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 576
Smartchild
Offline
Smartchild
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 576
What an interesting film. I never realised Raby Mere is man-made, created to power a water mill.

I remember the row of wonderful old slot machines, which always looked battered and neglected. They're probably worth a fortune today as antiques.

The swing boats were in an enclosure at the side of the mere. The last time I remember using them was about 1977, when we took our little son on them. I don't know how long after that they continued to operate.

Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 209
Addict
Offline
Addict
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 209
I think the same family that ran the amusements at Raby Mere operated a similar setup at Loggerheads in North wales.

Joined: May 2010
Posts: 3,447
Forum Guardian
Offline
Forum Guardian
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 3,447
Well spotted snowhite,most enjoyable,
Originally Posted by yoller
What an interesting film. I never realised Raby Mere is man-made, created to power a water mill.


I couldn`t find any old pictures of the swing boats round the side but did find one of the Old mill house,am sure the out building was still there in the early 70s

[Linked Image]

The History behind it .. clicky>> Mill House Raby Mere

Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 417
Smartchild
Offline
Smartchild
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 417
In the 40s, we used to go on a "Sunday School" trip to Raby Mere, on a Charabanc (coach for the youngsters) it seemed to take hours, when I got a push bike in the 50s I realised it was only up the road so I went there frequently. Quite a popular place at the time.

Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 576
Smartchild
Offline
Smartchild
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 576
There's a passage in the famous Victorian novel Her Benny - a tearjerker about two Liverpool waifs - where they are taken on a day trip across the Mersey.

Benny and his frail sister Nelly get off the ferry at Eastham and make their way towards Raby Mere. The description of the woods, fields and flowers is idyllic and poor little Nelly thinks she has gone to Heaven.

By chance, they meet up with a Sunday School party consisting of hundreds of children and are given a cup of milk and a bun. It's a perfect day out before returning to their daily grind of poverty and want in Liverpool.

Her Benny, by Silas Hocking, was written in 1879, so it shows you Raby Mere was a popular beauty spot even then.

Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 703
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 703
Always had a hankering to wind up that rack-and-pinion sluice gate and drain the lot in a torrent down Brotherton Park. Never had the nerve, or the handle! Kids!!

Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 4,868
Forum Veteran
Offline
Forum Veteran
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 4,868
Originally Posted by yoller
There's a passage in the famous Victorian novel Her Benny - a tearjerker about two Liverpool waifs - where they are taken on a day trip across the Mersey.

Benny and his frail sister Nelly get off the ferry at Eastham and make their way towards Raby Mere. The description of the woods, fields and flowers is idyllic and poor little Nelly thinks she has gone to Heaven.

By chance, they meet up with a Sunday School party consisting of hundreds of children and are given a cup of milk and a bun. It's a perfect day out before returning to their daily grind of poverty and want in Liverpool.

Her Benny, by Silas Hocking, was written in 1879, so it shows you Raby Mere was a popular beauty spot even then.


I think I'll buy that book; your short description actually moved me to tears.


Carpe diem.
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 576
Smartchild
Offline
Smartchild
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 576
Yes, it’s certainly worth a read. It’s very much a morality tale of the triumph of Christian virtues - Hocking was a Methodist minister. But the descriptions of the appalling conditions in Victorian Liverpool are apparently based on his first-hand knowledge. And the plight of poor little Nelly the match-seller, standing barefoot in the cold at the Pier Head, is guaranteed to break your heart.


Moderated by  Mod 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Random Wirral Images

Click to View Topic.
Newest Topics
Grange Road Co-Op
by Erainn - 6th May 2024 3:08pm
garage wanted
by robin47 - 3rd May 2024 5:53pm
Plastic sheds
by muzzy2 - 2nd May 2024 2:41pm
turkish sofa
by Jasontodd - 29th Apr 2024 8:24pm
For Sale & Free
Member Spotlight
kimpri
kimpri
birkenhead
Posts: 3,558
Joined: October 2008
Today's Birthdays
There are no members with birthdays on this day.
New Wirral Info
Help Needed for Virginia Creeper Removal
by Rinchen - 28th Apr 2024 2:08pm
Wanted Gardener
by dodie - 24th Apr 2024 1:09pm
Plymyard House
by Granada - 23rd Apr 2024 2:35pm
recommendation, please
by muzzy2 - 16th Apr 2024 7:39pm
News : New Topics
turkish sofa
by Jasontodd - 29th Apr 2024 8:24pm
italian furniture
by Jasontodd - 29th Apr 2024 7:07pm
leather sofa set
by Jasontodd - 29th Apr 2024 4:47pm
West Kirby flood defences
by Excoriator - 10th Apr 2024 10:45pm
Sunak and Reality
by diggingdeeper - 4th Jan 2023 12:56am
New Enthusiast Forums
garage wanted
by robin47 - 3rd May 2024 5:53pm
Plastic sheds
by muzzy2 - 2nd May 2024 2:41pm
Looking for an old engine
by TheComputerLab - 27th Apr 2024 3:11pm
Pigeon breeder
by lincle - 22nd Apr 2024 8:17am
Car paint jobs
by PaulRobson - 15th Apr 2024 9:54pm
Popular Topics(Views)
5,072,890 WIKI WALK CHAT
4,020,155 Spotted!
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5