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Posted By: Mark Leasowe Lighthouse - excavation - 4th Oct 2007 6:08pm
I heard the other day that they were digging around
Leasowe lighthouse.

It seems they have found the old foundations of an additional
building that used to be attached to the lighthouse.
If you look at it carfully you can see where it would have
fitted into the side of the light house. Just to the right and the first floor of the now main door.

The prehistory sea snake.
There was an old gentleman hanging around. And he pointed
this "Sea Snake" in the Rock. Its opposite the main entrance
to the light house so you can check it out your self at any time.
Its in the rock for sure and apparently used to have a tail sticking out too.

Apparently the "Germans" would use the moonlight as a guide
across the Wirral to drop there bombs and frequently fly
over where the light house is now. (Thanks to that old man).


Description: Work Has Begun digging.
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Description: Already its taking shape
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Description: Old Foundations
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Description: Tagged and Ready to be Recorded
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Description: Could this be a prehistoric sea snake?
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Posted By: MattLFC Re: Leasowe Lighthouse - excavation - 5th Oct 2007 2:48am
Here is a photo of how it used to look: (taken from www.leasowelighthouse.co.uk)

Some more at http://www.merchantnavyofficers.com/topp16.html

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Posted By: _Ste_ Re: Leasowe Lighthouse - excavation - 5th Oct 2007 3:31am
202N 97E just looks like a housebrick to me whistle
Posted By: MattLFC Re: Leasowe Lighthouse - excavation - 5th Oct 2007 3:36am
lol grin
Posted By: Mark Re: Leasowe Lighthouse - excavation - 5th Oct 2007 10:58am
Good Find smile
Yeh that's what there digging up the foundations,
our friend (Jack) told us.
Posted By: vw_kyle Re: Leasowe Lighthouse - excavation - 5th Oct 2007 2:50pm
good find lads
Posted By: MattLFC Re: Leasowe Lighthouse - excavation - 5th Oct 2007 3:01pm
Lol, he was quite sound that man, I rekon he's the type of man you could just get tons and tons of info out of and probably spend hours with him if you had the time lol.

He even knew straight away about the Bidston sir raid shelters!! As soon as we mentioned the Bidston Tunnel's, he immediately linked them to the air raid shelters under Bidton Hill lol.

omg
Posted By: MissGuided Re: Leasowe Lighthouse - excavation - 7th Dec 2008 10:48pm
That 'sea snake' looks like a large crinoid stem (commonly seen in limestone at Halkyn).
Posted By: mikeyfreedom Re: Leasowe Lighthouse - excavation - 7th Dec 2008 11:04pm
ye they prob did use it as a guide to drop bombs, i got told thats why the liver buildings where never bombed cos when the planes came 1 way up the mersey they done a left at them and half a mile in dropped bombs and when coming the other way done a right and half mile in dropped them. always making sure they got the city centre
Posted By: chriskay Re: Leasowe Lighthouse - excavation - 8th Dec 2008 10:21am
Originally Posted by mikeyfreedom
ye they prob did use it as a guide to drop bombs, i got told thats why the liver buildings where never bombed cos when the planes came 1 way up the mersey they done a left at them and half a mile in dropped bombs and when coming the other way done a right and half mile in dropped them. always making sure they got the city centre


That's quite surprising. I'd have thought that the docks would have been the prime target.
Posted By: Morseman Re: Leasowe Lighthouse - excavation - 9th Dec 2008 10:31pm
Originally Posted by mikeyfreedom
ye they prob did use it as a guide to drop bombs, i got told thats why the liver buildings where never bombed cos when the planes came 1 way up the mersey they done a left at them and half a mile in dropped bombs and when coming the other way done a right and half mile in dropped them. always making sure they got the city centre


Doesn't really compute as there are many landmarks they could have used. New Brighton baths for one, tower building, fort perch rock. The river itself was unique so once here I don't think they had much bother finding the targets which were usually the docks. Okay they missed a lot but so did ours over their country. smile

Did you know that they had a Morse light on top of the Liver buildings flashing Morse to convoys gathering at the bar? I was told that and can believe it.

That great Liverpool historian Frank Carlisle was on Radio Merseyside today talking about the wreck of a world war two German fighter that was at a school in Liverpool. He said it had been shot down here which is patently nonsense because no German fighter had the range to reach this side of the country. Bombers obviously but not fighters.

I remember being told by a guy from here that he was talking with a German and when he mentioned the bombing of Merseyside the German said impossible, Liverpool could not have been bombed because they never had the range. Well it must have been woodworm that brought all those buildings down he replied. Not sure if the joke wasn't lost on the German though?



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Posted By: Doctor_Frick Leasowe Lighthouse Excavation 2007 - 25th Apr 2009 4:02pm
Leasowe Lighthouse Excavation 2007

The National Museums Liverpool (NML) was commissioned by Wirral Council to carry out a community dig in Wirral on the 24th September 2007 as part of Wirral’s contribution to the European Capital of Culture Year of Heritage. The project was undertaken by NML’s Field Archaeology Unit with a team of experienced professional excavators from the museum under the direction of Dr Robert Philpott, head of the unit.

The dig focused on Leasowe lighthouse, which was used as a base for the duration of the project. Three or four smaller trenches were also be excavated close to the shore at Meols, based on the results of test-pitting undertaken earlier in the year. These were close to areas which produced finds or structures in the 19th century.

Prior to the excavation Dr Philpott, head of the unit said:
“The project is timely as a major new book is being completed on the ancient finds from Meols, to be published later this year by Oxford University. The book places the remarkable Meols finds in a national context. The site is of national importance yet we know very little about how much survives of the early settlements. The research for the book will now be followed by fieldwork, including excavation, field walking and surveying to shed light on settlement and activity connected with the important ancient port at Meols.”

After 4 weeks of excavation the project finally shut down and all agreed that the work was both interesting and valuable to take part in. Among the finds are the walls of a stable block, chimney pots, welsh slate, discarded glass and even a small 19th Century porcelain doll's head. There were initially some ideas that the floor of the building was slate, and flat slates were found, but small holes in them suggested they had been used as roof tiles, and then, as they were lifted a brick floor started to be revealed underneath.


Full Story



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Posted By: hoseman Re: Leasowe Lighthouse Excavation 2007 - 25th Apr 2009 4:05pm
Is it true that many years ago they found a Roman burial in that area??
Posted By: Doctor_Frick Re: Leasowe Lighthouse Excavation 2007 - 25th Apr 2009 4:29pm
I havent heard that mate but there is a grave yard further out under the sea, prob dating 17th or 18th century. There is lots of Meols & Moreton now under the sea. A project is currently underway to reveal how much is still there.
Posted By: hoseman Re: Leasowe Lighthouse Excavation 2007 - 25th Apr 2009 4:34pm
Yeah, pretty clued up on Moreton, Meols and Hoylake. Lived there most of my life. The burial was just something i read / heard about years ago.
My mum remembers the fossilised forest off Hoylake in the 60`s.
Posted By: diggingdeeper Re: Leasowe Lighthouse Excavation 2007 - 25th Apr 2009 5:15pm
Thanks for that Fricky, I knew it was going on but last time I looked they were being very tight lipped. Good one!
Posted By: bert1 Re: Leasowe Lighthouse Excavation 2007 - 25th Apr 2009 5:38pm
Originally Posted by hoseman
Yeah, pretty clued up on Moreton, Meols and Hoylake. Lived there most of my life. The burial was just something i read / heard about years ago.
My mum remembers the fossilised forest off Hoylake in the 60`s.



The fossilised forest, would that be the submarine forest mentioned in the perambulation of the hundred of wirral at Hoylake.
Posted By: Anonymous Re: Leasowe Lighthouse Excavation 2007 - 25th Apr 2009 5:49pm
Seem to recall reading that Leasowe Lighthouse was built on a foundation of cotton bales !!?? Provided some stabilisation on soft ground. A bit like the L'pool-Manchester Railway was laid on bundles of brushwood over Chat Moss, to stop the line sinking.

Did they come across any evidence of the bales I wonder ?
Posted By: Snodvan Re: Leasowe Lighthouse Excavation 2007 - 25th Apr 2009 6:13pm
Originally Posted by Pinzgauer
Seem to recall reading that Leasowe Lighthouse was built on a foundation of cotton bales !!?? Provided some stabilisation on soft ground. A bit like the L'pool-Manchester Railway was laid on bundles of brushwood over Chat Moss, to stop the line sinking.

Did they come across any evidence of the bales I wonder ?


Pinz,

I also remember being told a story of Leasowe lighthouse being built on bales of cotton. The story came from my grandfather and was that the cotton bales originated from a wreck in the area. I guess I was told that story around the mid 1950s

Snod
Posted By: bert1 Re: Leasowe Lighthouse Excavation 2007 - 25th Apr 2009 6:31pm
Maybe just a myth as was the Liver buildings having cotton bales as foundations.
Posted By: diggingdeeper Re: Leasowe Lighthouse Excavation 2007 - 25th Apr 2009 6:48pm
Winchester Cathedral effectively floated on a peat bog using a raft of beech trees for hundreds of years.
Posted By: bert1 Re: Leasowe Lighthouse Excavation 2007 - 25th Apr 2009 6:56pm
Originally Posted by diggingdeeper
Winchester Cathedral effectively floated on a peat bog using a raft of beech trees for hundreds of years.


I think beech trees would be more effective than cotton DD.
Posted By: bert1 Re: Leasowe Lighthouse Excavation 2007 - 25th Apr 2009 7:03pm
The chief buyer of cotton for Liverpool, who would go to all corners of the earth to get it died and on his headstone was, Gone but not for cotton.
Posted By: Doctor_Frick Re: Leasowe Lighthouse Excavation 2007 - 26th Apr 2009 9:31am
Originally Posted by bert1
The chief buyer of cotton for Liverpool, who would go to all corners of the earth to get it died and on his headstone was, Gone but not for cotton.



Ha Ha ha good one
Posted By: hoseman Re: Leasowe Lighthouse Excavation 2007 - 27th Apr 2009 9:05pm
I read the same of Moreton/Leasowe lighthouse built n cotton bales from a wreck!
Posted By: BMW Joe Re: Leasowe Lighthouse Excavation 2007 - 27th Apr 2009 9:23pm
Click here for the Leasowe Lighthouse excavation topic back in 2007

Click here for the Meols Petrified Forest topic
Posted By: ZipperClub Re: Leasowe Lighthouse Excavation 2007 - 14th Aug 2014 11:57pm
Just reading some past posts, makes interesting reading.
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