woodside ferry, I believe its from the 1940s

Good pictures, where did you find it?

mooching

Don't recognise any part of that.

It certainly looks like the Woodside Hotel in the background but looks too close to the ferry and what would the castlelike turrets on left be where the station should be?
Maybe pic taken even earlier 1920s or earlier?
Can't make out if buses or trams on the right
At one time the river shore was a lot nearer to the pub but that was in the 1800s

The Town hall was completed by 1887, i would think, it would have been in the background.

In all the pics I've seen of "early" Woodside, I've never seen that archway with clock or the turrets before.

From the alignment and the handrails (lower RH side), it looks as if it could be landward end of the floating roadway. Looks like the lower part of an arc lamp bracket on the pole on right.

My guess is late 1890's/early 1900's

I'm sure Bandy will be wallowing in nostalgia at the "proper" buses in the colour pic !!

Never seen that building before either.

On the Emapping Victorian Cheshire site, the c.1875 map is prior to Woodside Station being built, and there is something called a 'Letter bar' where the picture is taken of.
What's a Letter Bar?

"Letter Box" Maybe ??

The photo is probably one of the oldest surviving ones of Woodside Ferry, showing the old arch and pay gates at the top of the original ferry slip. They went out of use when the first floating landing stage and 'new' terminal building (ie the one shown on the 1875 OS map) were built between 1862-4, but remained alongside the new building for some years afterwards. The site of the paygates and the castellated buildings that contained the Ferry Offices would have disappeared during the building of Woodside Station.

Thanks for that info. So, probably 1840's not 1940's

This may help...

http://www.superstock.com/stock-photos-images/1895-26960



with positioning.

I presume "Letter bar" is the name of a ale-house of some sort. "The Letters" was later in Argyle Street (and there is still one in Tatenhall).

also after 1850s when photography was just appearing.
Still no idea what the turrets were?

I'm sure it says 'Letter Box'.

Before the introduction of pillar boxes, in the UK mainland, it was customary to take outgoing mail to the nearest letter house or post office such houses were usually coaching inns or turnpike houses where the mail coach would stop to pick up and set down mails and passengers.People took their letters in person to the receiver or postmaster purchased a stamp(after 1840)and handed over the letter (Wikipedia) The date fits and the location so I think "letter box" is right.

Para's right, though a lot of old adverts I've seen, they are normally called Posting house's. Going back to the map, i think its Bar, not so sure about Letter, trying to think of something else but difficult with Billy already implanting it in my mind.

Could it be potters or otters bar?

This may explain why the Woodside Hotel seemed so close to the ferry in the picture

By 1842, the ferry service had been taken over by the Birkenhead Commissioners.[1] A stone pier with two slipways and a small lighthouse at the pier head were constructed.[3] There followed another period of major rebuilding, which included land reclamation up to the end of the pier. Construction of a floating landing stage in 1861 allowed for combined usage by the ferries

so the turreted building could have been one of these
ADELPHI HOTEl,1, Rose brae
Old Post office Hotel, Rose Brae & 8, Church street
FERRY iNN, Rose brae, Woodside
in 1857 PO directory and 1861mawdsley

As regards the Letter box? query I don't know if this helps
In 1808 a contract to carry mail by ferry from businesses mostly in Liverpool transferred to Woodside from the ferry service further south at Tranmere. By 1818 William Woods had a lease for the ferry service at Woodside but in 1822 Hugh Williams, keeper of the Woodside Hotel, took over the lease. He took the steamer Contess of Bridgewater from the Ellesmere Port ferry service to use at Woodside. On 13 March 1822 the steamer was replaced by the Royal Mail vessel.

Good stuff Derek.

Perhaps a better quality map will solve the problem? As you can see the large scale 1875 map clearly shows a letter box right outside the Ferry Offices. Following the building of Woodside Station and the other buildings alongside the south side of Ferry Approach, the letter box was later moved to the position shown in the postcard below.

For Derek's benefit, I've also included a (poor quality, sorry!) copy of an old engraving of Woodside in about 1850. In it you can just about make out a number of 'turreted' buildings around the top of the Ferry slip. These belonged to the Ferry Company and contained the offices and associated waiting rooms, etc. This style of pseudo-Medieval architecture was extremely popular for a short time in the early 1800s, and similar style buildings appear in old pictures of Birkenhead Ferry, Tranmere Ferry and Rock Ferry, and the same style was used by Jesse Hartley for many of the early buildings associated with Liverpool Docks.

Well done Marty, that clears the Letter Box up.
The 2 adverts below are 1843 and 1878, are they the same place?

Yes, they are. Although it's not clear in the scan above, the Woodside Hotel has the words 'Gough's Hotel' painted across the frontage.

William Harbridge was a local wine & spirits dealer who seems to have started out in what is now Rigby's pub over in Dale Street, where he was the licencee from 1852-1863. The following account of him is from an article on 'Old Liverpool Snuggeries' in The Liverpool Citizen of 10th October 1888: "The Dale-street snuggery has had some noteworthy men as managers, and amongst them I may mention Mr. William Harbridge, who was a model Boniface and endeared himself to a large circle of friends before he started in business for himself in Birkenhead, where, as the host of the Woodside Hotel, he made a reputation which time alone can efface."

Cheers Marty

OK - Marty's overwhelming evidence points to it being 'Letter Box'.
I was assuming 'Bar' meant gate or entrance (as in Toll Bar, or Temple Bar) - and the photograph looked like such a gate. Sorry for bringing in the confusion.