River Mersey - Wirral-Wikiwirral

Do you know who owns the River Mersey ?

http://www.rivermersey.org.uk/who-owns-the-river-mersey/

Generally speaking The Crown Estate owns the foreshore and bed on the south west (Birkenhead) side of the tidal sections of the River Mersey, to the centre point of the river. Much of the north east (Liverpool) side of the tidal section of the river is owned by the Duchy of Lancaster. There are a few exceptions to the above and one or two sales of foreshore, or admitted claims from within these areas.

Part of the ancient inheritance of the Duchy was ownership of all foreshores in the County Palatine. Extensive interests were sold during the nineteenth century, such as the Mersey Docks and Blackpool promenade. The Duchy remains the major owner of foreshore between the centre point of the River Mersey and Barrow-in-Furness. The area extends over 50,000 hectares. Historically, foreshores have not been a great provider of revenue. The coastlines, river beds and estuaries now have greater potential value in association with energy, conservation, transport and leisure uses.

Great site, thank you.

Its similar to this one, which has some lovely photos and write ups of the river:

https://gerryco23.wordpress.com/

https://gerryco23.wordpress.com/2012/08/28/walking-the-mersey-dungeon-to-hale-point/

Some lovely pics there Gibbo.

I had an argument the other day with some Aussie twerp who was trying to tell me that there couldn't be any proper beaches around Wirral because the Mersey and the Dee were only inlets.
Well, well, he got a full reply as you know how thorough I can be when needed.

Anyway, at least we communicate now Gibbo

Love the poem..

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
Thatâ€™s how the light gets in.

Do crown estates own the contents of the River as well. ...yuk

There used to be a 'Mersey Conservator' - usually a retired admiral or some other member of teh great and the good, who was appointed to ensure that nothing could be done to the Mersey to prevent its use by shipping - in particular the Royal Navy. They were quite powerful and could stop daft schemes like barrages in their tracks.

I think they have been abolished now, with their responsibilities passing to some ministry. In other words, a power grab by a government that hates independent monitoring.

The Mersey Conservator role has been taken over by the Secretary of State for Transport since 1998

Quote

The Acting Conservator of the River Mersey is a unique position. The holder is responsible for ensuring navigation on, and protecting the environment of, the River Mersey in the North West of England. The Conservator originally acted on behalf of a Commission appointed by The Crown, but now acts for the Department for Transport.
History

In order to maintain navigation on the Mersey the (then) town of Liverpool was granted a Charter by Charles I in 1626. This conferred the right to levy tolls for shipping and to carry out improvements to the navigation of the river. By the 1800s the Mersey was carrying shipping to a much larger area of North West England (for example, it was possible to navigate to Manchester by 1730) and the Corporation of Liverpool believed it needed additional powers to fulfil its role. However, other groups did not see it in their interest to allow any one town to dominate development and the creation of a post for an independent expert, the "Conservator" was proposed. This position was created by 1842, and the Acting Conservator was responsible to a newly created "Commission for Mersey Conservancy", whose members were appointed by the Crown.

The Commission, originally comprising the First Commissioner of the Admiralty, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and the Chief Commissioner of Her Majesty's Office of Woods and Forests, set out the responsibilities of the Acting Conservator:

"... to survey and inspect the Mersey within the limits of the Commissioner's jurisdiction and to report to the Commissioners upon the state of navigation thereof, specifying all the impediments, encroachments, nuisances and annoyances in, upon, or affecting the same, and when and by whom and from what cause such impediments, encroachments, nuisances and annoyances have been created, or have arisen."[1]

The convention that the Hydrographer of the Navy would become Acting Conservator on retirement rapidly developed. This meant that the Conservator typically held senior Naval rank and are often known to history for their previous employment. The most famous former Conservator may be Robert Fitzroy, who captained the HMS Beagle when she carried Charles Darwin to the Pacific and developed some of the first weather forecasts.
Modern duty

In common with their predecessors, today's Conservator's must still make an annual visit. Responsibilities now extend to environmental issues as well as navigation and the (part-time) Conservator works one or two days a week from an office in Central London. There is also an assistant based at the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company offices in Liverpool. The role of the Commission has been transferred to the Secretary of State for Transport.
List of Acting Conservators

(this list is incomplete)

Robert Fitzroy. 1842 -
George Strong Nares. 1896 to 1910[2]
Rear-Admiral Sir David Haslam. 1985â€“87
Mrs Mary Kendrick 1988â€“1998 [1][3]

Interesting posts thanks for starting it granny.

Well done Granny. I can well remember the beaches around the Wirral. I used to spend summers at West Kirby when I was young. As I got older I used to swim off Moreton. Bloody Aussies what would they know?