Woodside, Merseyside

Woodside
Metropolitan county		Merseyside
Region	North West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BIRKENHEAD
Postcode district	CH41
Dialling code	0151
ISO 3166 code	GB-WRL
Police	Merseyside
Fire	Merseyside
Ambulance	North West
UK Parliament	Birkenhead
List of places UK England Merseyside 53°23′35″N 3°00′50″W / 53.393°N 3.014°W / 53.393; -3.014

Woodside is an area of Birkenhead in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is situated opposite Liverpool Pier Head across the River Mersey.

History

The monks of Birkenhead Priory had been granted a charter establishing ferry rights to Liverpool, which was confirmed by Edward III in about 1330.^[2] These rights reverted to the Crown in 1536,^[3] upon the

.

There followed a period of private ownership by local landowners of the numerous ferry services on the Wirral bank of the River Mersey, including at Woodside. By the 18th century, an increase in

With the rapid development of Birkenhead from the 1820s, facilities at Woodside would eventually need expanding. By 1842, the ferry service had been taken over by the Birkenhead Commissioners.[2] A stone pier with two 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 and the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board.^[2] Improvements were made to the ferry's fleet at Woodside in 1890, with the replacement of .

A dedicated luggage boat service, which ferried goods and vehicles across the river, had begun by 1879. The opening of the Birkenhead to Liverpool

On 29 August 1860, Britain's first street tramway was established, running from Woodside to Birkenhead Park. The idea of flamboyant American George Francis Train, the tramway was initially horse drawn. Electrified in 1901, tram services were discontinued in Birkenhead on 17 July 1937.^[5] A preserved Edwardian era tram is on display in the Woodside Ferry booking hall.

Originally built by the

. The station closed on 5 November 1967 and was demolished within a couple of years.

Woodside Hotel

Built in about 1834 to replace an earlier establishment of the same name, the hotel was a busy coaching house and originally had stabling for 100 horses.^[6] Until the land reclamation works of the mid 19th century, the hotel was situated on the riverbank.^[2] The hotel was extended in 1963 with a new lounge 'Gough's Landing', named after a 19th-century licensee.^[7]

The historic building was extensively damaged in two fires on 4 June and 13 August 2008, having been unoccupied for some time.^[8] Deemed structurally unsafe, the remains of Woodside Hotel were demolished without planning permission in October 2008.^[9][10]

Geography

Woodside is situated on the eastern side of the Wirral Peninsula, adjoining the River Mersey to the east. Woodside is about 5.5 km (3.4 mi) south-south-east of the Irish Sea at New Brighton and about 10.5 km (6.5 mi) east-north-east of the Dee Estuary at Thurstaston. The area is at an elevation of between 0–11 m (0–36 ft) above sea level.^[11]

Landmarks

Mersey Ferries Booking Hall

A wooden construction on brick foundations, the 1864 booking hall is a listed building. It remained virtually unaltered until it was extensively refurbished from 1985 in the existing style, with many of the original timbers being replaced.^[2]

The formerly adjoining terminal building behind, of a similar construction, was demolished and replaced, due to poor condition. The passenger bridge and landing stage, which featured in the 1981 film Chariots of Fire,^[12] were also replaced at the same time.

The building houses a cafeteria and a bookings office for the Mersey Ferries.

Shore Road Pumping Station

Located opposite the site of the former Woodside Hotel, the

Memorial garden

A small garden area stands on the north side of the site, between the Bus terminal and the buildings off Shore Road. In the gardens is a stone plinth and a plaque commemorating Norman Tunna, Birkenhead resident and George Cross recipient.^[14]

Resurgam

A replica of the Birkenhead built, pioneering submarine Resurgam, was put on display in 1997 at Woodside. It is positioned near to the ferry terminal, on part of the site of the former floating roadway that once connected to the ferry landing stage.^[15]

U-534

On 27 June 2007, the Merseytravel transit authority announced that it had acquired the German submarine U-534 to display at the Woodside Ferry Terminal.^[16] The submarine was sunk by British bombers in May 1945; it was salvaged in 1993 off the Danish island of Anholt.

The submarine was part of the collection of the

Transport

Woodside is one of two Wirral terminals for the Mersey Ferry to the Pier Head in Liverpool. This terminal underwent a programme of extensive refurbishment in 1985. When reopened on 13 March 1986,^[4] the restoration of the historic booking hall had been completed and the large, dilapidated Victorian landing stage replaced with the current facility.

Woodside Bus Station is 280 metres (310 yards) away from the Woodside Ferry Terminal^[19] and was constructed as an interchange for passengers travelling to/from Liverpool via the Mersey Ferry. It opened in 1991.^[20]

The importance of Woodside as a major transport hub has declined. Woodside railway station closed in 1967, improvements to the

.

The nearest railway station to Woodside is

.

See also

• Listed buildings in Woodside, Merseyside
• Birkenhead Transport

References

Further reading

• Vacher, Francis (1882). The accommodation for discharging, lairing, slaughtering and storing at the foreign animals' wharfs, Birkenhead. Birkenhead: E. Griffith and Son.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Woodside, Birkenhead.

• Official Mersey Ferries website
• Woodside Memories galleries