Leasowe Wallasey Wirral

The name 'Leasowe' comes from the Anglo-Saxon Leasowes or 'Meadow Pastures'. Its sand dunes are the largest such system on the Wirral. Much of the area is at or below sea level and is protected by the coastal embankment. The great housing shortage of World War I brought many people to Moreton and Leasowe and makeshift homes were made from old tramcars, huts and wooden bungalows. Many people suffered from bronchitis, other lung problems and rheumatism. Houses built in the early 20th century were often flooded and unsanitary, but after about 1926 new roads and drainage were put in by the Borough Council, and much new housing was developed. Along the embankment between Leasowe and Moreton are the remains of fortifications built during the Second World War. Moreton, Lingham and Great Meols have been occupied since before Roman times. Moreton became part of the Parish of Bidston and was the wealthiest and most productive part of the area run for the Birkenhead Priory. Although it was allowed to become run down during the early 1800's, the introduction of the Wirral Railway Line in 1866 brought day-trippers from Liverpool and further afield. By 1900 Moreton was again thriving and was even being recommended by doctors as a place for a holiday or a place to live because its fresh air and clean sea was seen as beneficial for conditions such as rheumatism. Moreton's association with health attracted the attention of Margaret Bevan who chose Leasowe as the place to build the Liverpool Open Air Hospital for children with tuberculosis - later to become the Leasowe Children's Hospital when the National Health Service came into operation in 1948. (a sign of the times: The buildings were later demolished and 'luxury apartments and houses' were built on the site.)

I am not exactly sure where Leasowe starts and Moreton ends. Moreton Shore on some maps is actually marked Leasowe. But, for the purposes of this site, its Moreton. Leasowe station is nearer my former home in Moreton than Leasowe but because Moreton also has a station, Leasowe station is in Leasowe!! As is the Birket River, the sandhills, Leasowe Castle etc. But Leasowe Lighthouse is in Moreton!

Leasowe Pillbox
(I look at this and then at the German fortifications in France - one shell would have demolished this!)

Shortly after World War two ended, and well before ration books became extinct, there occurred amongst the populous what is nowadays termed a baby boom. Leasowe and its environs did not escape this development and it was soon realised that existing schools serving the catchment (Leasowe Primary, Lingham Lane, Barnston Lane to name a few) would be unable to cope with this increase in little ones. And so it came to pass that after performing their times tables the council decided to site a new school on Twickenham Drive. And they named it after the nearby river. Birket County Primary school opened for business in 1954 after taking over the building used by Leasowe Primary school. Initial intake was drawn from local pupils and prospective second years of other schools - principally Lingham Lane in Moreton. So no more catching the number 4 double decker from Castleway North. Most five year olds had accomplished this daily adventure quite alone after initial chaperoning by their elders became a bore. Some even made life more interesting by boarding the 4a that plied quite a different route and didnt pass the school. Sadly, one small girl was lost to an accident along the way.

The infant school was smaller than Lingham Lane and so was the playground, a place where crates full of small cool glass milk bottles produced small cool white moustaches at playtime. Jammy dodgers were sold as accompaniments.( I have this information on the good authority of Paul Child.) Then there was the nearby Jungle Jim climbing frame. It was an achievement to reach the top chimney shaped section where you could experience Twickenham Drive and the rest of the world spread out before you from the dizzying height of just over eight feet.

At playtime the girls divided into skipping and chanting groups whilst the boys just ran around aimlessly chasing things. That playground was real good fun. It didnt take long for young Mafioso to start pushing their thumbs into it in Summer after discovering outdoor chair sessions had left behind positional grid maps. This was also a smooth place where young Stirling Moss and Fangio, seated dispassionately in their well oiled Dinkys, often collided head on with sandals.

Nearby the new junior school was rising up from the ground; concrete dust was everywhere and bit by bit the porta-cabin style classrooms were giving way to more substantial structures of plaster, putty, Walpamur and the never to be forgotten aroma of council trade gloss. The teachers also used such materials to good effect as evidenced in this photo of the School Nativity play, Christmas 55.

Readers and musicians Peter Earl, Janice Hawkins, Dianne Caldwell, Shelagh Stephens, George Moor, Linda Fay, June Coan, Paul Child, Vivienne Almond, John Murphy, Susan Blake,??, Anthony Clarke.

Shepherd 1.? (Good disguise) Shepherd 2. ? Shepherd 3. Philip Williamson. Donkey.

Some of the cast were from the year below. If you look closely top right you will see that even at that time, in Bethlehem, smoking was strictly prohibited.

By now class had settled in to a semblance of a routine. I used to meet up with Dexter Arnold at the side entry at the top of Murrayfield Drive. We would then run to school, do morning lessons, run home for lunch and then back again on a full stomach to partake of afternoon lessons. Dexter was the only boy who owned a pair of real American baseball boots - I never asked from where he got them as they didn't seem to help him run any faster. After lessons we would generally saunter home in groups that broke now and again to look in on the progress of the new shops being built at the side of the school. Was there going to be another sweet shop to rival the one near Castleway? Yes, even a chippie.

This particular area was awash with construction bricks and stones and on the odd occasion these were used to settle arguments by way of chucking competitions. I still carry the image of a bloodied Baz Beaumont Jones fearlessly standing his ground hurling back ten to the dozen he was receiving from four others. Somehow they all made it into class the next day.

John Breeze also fell foul of the wastelands. He slipped on the way to school and somehow managed to show all and sundry the complete inner workings of a patella. This was for some of us our first practical in anatomy. Whilst all the lads marvelled at the sight of a white bony and bloodless knee cap the girls had already sensibly run off - and arranged for an ambulance.

Shelagh Stephens also reminds me of something most reading this will have surely forgotten. It was classmate John Breeze who won the competition to design the Birket primary blazer badge. And here it is showing the local River Birket flowing under a bridge.

Leasowe was a new post war community and we in part represented the first born to these buildings after the apprentices and their charge hands had worked their magic. The essence then was clearly on erecting semis quickly and economically so that a restorative workforce in Merseyside could be accommodated. One testament to this somewhat risky approach is that despite having sand as foundations the houses in my road (Murrayfield) with their large gardens still stand proud some 60 yrs later.

A new Church (St Chads, Castleway ) soon followed (June 1955) and this was oft full to capacity at Sunday evensong where Reverend Jeacock pronounced and helped to slip holy mortar between the family bricks. I no longer see too many churches requiring those small wooden folding chairs lined up behind the pews He was a solid man, elected by vox populi despite others being favoured by those sat on higher ecumenical rungs. The rev Jeacock's wife tended to the new generation by starting up the brownies, cubs, girl guides and scouts. A Roman Catholic Church and school followed some years later. I add that initial services in 1957 held for the nearby Leasowe estates used the main hall of Birket Primary School.

Returning from this external social knitting to Birket Primary , here's a picture of us all appropriately still in angelic mode -1956. (Thanks to Barbara Tattum and Linda Fay for helping complete the majority of the girls names) We were once again under the wing of Mrs. Evelyn Male who had helped us bond in the very early days by giving up her weekends arranging bird watching and taddy catching expeditions for a few kids at a time. The figure of eight, a large issue pond was not far away from her home off Reeds avenue and this invitingly contained sticklebacks, frogs, leeches and lost shoes. B row. Stewart Carson, Dexter Arnold, Stuart Bradford, George Moor, Philip Williamson, John Breeze, Paul Child, Brian Kelly, Michael Christenson, John Murphy.

3rd Row. Valerie Sutch, John Speed, Geoffrey McKie, Raymond Craig, Anthony Clarke, John White, Stuart Bowden, Paul Ashbury, David Birkett, Shelagh Stephens,
2nd Row. Susan Parry, Barbara Tattum, Marianne Harbour, Janice Hawkins, June Robson, Vivian Almond, Pamela Boughey, June Coan, Lesley Ellis, Jane Boyer, Susan Blake, Patty Webster, Dianne Caldwell.
Front row. Gillian Ledsham?, Linda May?, Edna Stapleton, Jane Darwin?, Yvonne Paul?, Linda Fay holding sign, Susan Cuthbertson, Gillian Watson, Christine Smith, Lesley Swift, Karen Jensen.

Catharine Yates (absent that day)

Where not fully sure of name - a ? Inserted.
Mrs. Male also had a box in class - something called an anthology box. In this you could find short poems and inspirational adages. She was a bit of an inspirational guru on the quiet...

Children at Birket Primary were initially divided into four houses and, much like the system used for thousands of years at Hogwarts, 'house points' could be earned. These were generally verified through a visit made on their todd to Headmaster Ted Hughes who would examine the work, twitch and then elevate it by stamping it with no less than the Birket Primary School address stamp. Somehow, this one approach lovingly sums up the ideology of the time.

Each house carried the name of a famous maritime explorer, Raleigh, Frobisher, Drake and Cook, perhaps confusing to those littl uns hatted as Raleigh but living in nearby Frobisher, Drake, Cook or Shackleton Roads. Each child had a house pin and each house a caricature. This was positioned along a coloured horizontal banner set on the back wall of the school hall where it represented the cumulative house point total over the year. - A highly visual four lane race that sometimes even moved between assemblies. Shelagh Stephens remembers well another purpose for that back wall. Taped like Monday's washing were rows of large A1 sized paper sheets, each carefully lettered with the words of a hymn. I guess the purpose of this was to either to avoid allocating budget to the purchase of hymn books or to surreptitiously test the eyesight of every littl'un in the hall during assembly or music practice. I had quite forgotten why it is I can always remember the words of carols at Christmas. The power of repetition.

Mrs. Blossom took over the class in 1957. Ever keen on developing artistic skills, once in control, she stretched us with an outdoor production of a bit of Richard the third in which yours truly was to play the man himself. My parents crafted the costume. An old sheet became the tunic, a cardboard box the shield and helmet. There was even a cracking wooden sword, painted steel and completed with a wound garden wire grip. Yes I would be famous at last. But the sun came out in earnest that week and the hay fever and hives kicked in. Like the Martians in the War of the Worlds I was denied my moment of triumph, laid low by lifes minutiae. In this abridged write up I spare you the sight of this 50's warrior threatening a Kodak Brownie.

My first experience of Vancouver was through my primary school, Birket Primary. My teacher in the second year juniors, Miss Blossom, took an exchange with a teacher from Vancouver, Mr Childs. She departed for a year teaching on the west coast of Canada and Mr Childs arrived to teach us in our little backwater of Leasowe. Fair exchange is no robbery so they say. Miss Blossom soon sent over a pack of letters from her children in Canada and these were distributed out to us, our first experience of having a pen friend. I cant say that my correspondence was very successful but it was early days. When she returned after her year abroad Miss Blossom brought with her some serious photographs of a train journey through the Rockies. These were projected on to the classroom wall and my enthusiasm for geography and travel was born. Mr Childs returned to Vancouver with a more tangible souvenir, Miss Johnson, a fellow teacher at the school who was to become Mrs Childs

Footpath that led from Embankment to Telegraph Lane and Leasowe (1 mile). Further along the path it has been opened to cars.
Not sure why the sign says Leasowe Bay, its Liverpool Bay.

Zoom shot of oil rig out to sea off Leasowe/Wallasey (its actually off Southport but visible from Leasowe)

I was born in Hull, Yorkshire and, at a very early age, moved to Wallasey, to Monks Road I believe. From there we moved into what was then the new post war estate of Leasowe (71 Twickenham Drive). It was in a three storey block of flats, (71 being in the middle 'X' marks the spot) opposite my favourite haunt then, the sweet shop! (See below) Brian Lloyd emailed me in August 2006 to tell me that these shops were: Greengrocer; Grocer; Sweet Shop and Chemist. The grocers was called McCulloghs. These few shops are now residences. I remembered a sweet shop and a grocer but not sure what the other one (or two) were. I attended Birket Primary School from the age of 5. I had a red three wheeler trike. I was riding it along a new road, Franklyn Road, I think which was behind the flats. A young lad called Les Appleton threw a brick from the window of one of the partially built houses, it hit me full in the face, blood everywhere. My mum told me I was carried home by a workman; with a very apologetic Leslie in tow. I grew up and got to know Les again, in Moreton, as a teenager. But he died young, very sad.

Oyster Catcher Leasowe (where I learnt to play darts (aged 16) there was me, Steve Hollywood, Albie Thompson, George Lowden. I still play League Darts even now. I can remember playing darts one evening when the police came in on a 'raid'. I actually had to ask a copper to move so I could get my pint off the bar!

The Market Gardens, or part of, taken from the flyover on Leasowe Road 4th Feb 2009. Image two shows the remains of the sand hills at the rear. Green Lane is between the gardens and the dunes running right to left. Telegraph Lane leading to Green Lane bottom right. Apart from the barrier, its pretty much as I recall it in the 1960s.

I rather fancy that the images of shipping is false as the mockbeggar sandbanks stopped any shipping from doing what there were doing! Artistic licence?

The Leasowe Sanatorium For Crippled Children and Hospital for Tuberculosis, to give its full and original name, later became known as the Liverpool Open-Air Hospital, Leasowe, and finally Leasowe Hospital.

To tell the story of the hospital, one name above all stands out and that is Margaret Beavan (born 1877, died 1931). She was the driving force, admired by all, she was known affectionately as the 'Little Mother of Liverpool', also not quite as complimentary - the 'Mighty Atom' and 'Clever Beggar'. Even at school, she did not like to lose and though only small, she entered all sports with great determination. She later became Head Girl and even at this early age she was endeavouring to help the poor in some way. Her first effort was to cajole the other girls in joining her in giving a Christmas tree to the poor of the dockland. She eventually went on to Liverpool University. Whilst there, she joined the Kyrle Society, who were philanthropists, who gave money out of their own pockets to help the poor. Upon leaving University, she rented a small room in the middle of the slums, as an office. During this time she came to the notice of a Mr A V Paton (he was later knighted), who was a remarkable man who devoted all of his time to helping children and the West Kirby Convalescent Home for Children (the first of its kind in the country).

With his guidance, they started in 1891 the Invalid Children's Aid. It was built around a London model founded a few years earlier. It was mannered by volunteers who tried to help sick children to go to the country for convalescent. It was haphazard and disorganised affair. They literally picked children up off the streets. It was starting to get beyond the means of the Kyrle Society, so they had to look for help somewhere else, and in due course, they joined with the Crippled Childrens' Workshops that was doing well. This led to a name changing and a new start. So in January 1908, the Invalid Children's Association was founded. The name was to change again when in 1919 it became the Liverpool Child Welfare Association. Margaret Beavan was its chief from its inception in 1907 until her death in 1931. The Association's work covered a large area, although it started in Liverpool, its work stretched from Runcorn to Ellsemere Port to Bootle and Birkenhead, and the surrounding areas. By the 1970s, all its work had been taken over by the National Health Service and the Department of Health and Social Security. The Association still exists but only as a legal entity. It still owns its premises in Copperas Hill which was rented to the Women's Royal Volunteers Service, but is now closed.

Margaret Beavan became the first woman Lord Mayor of Liverpool in 1927/28. She also officiated at the break-through of the first Mersey Tunnel (the Queensway) in 1931. She caught a cold and developed pneumonia and died. She was also a Magistrate and spent all her life as a volunteer worker.

The first mention of a Sanatorium for T.B children occurred on the 16th December, 1911. At a Committee Meeting, after communication with the Medical Officer of Health and the Education Committee, it appeared that they were to receive a grant of up to 3/5th's of the capital cost. The next meeting held on 23rd January, 1912, Sir G. Newman of the Whithall Board of Education, indicated that as far as he could see from the plans submitted, the Sanatorium would get approval from the Board; and as regards to capital expenditure, it would be prepared to make a grant of £70-£90 per bed and 50% of maintenance costs for all children sent by the Municipal. By this time, a site had been found in Leasowe. The Board of Education sent a number of staff down the next day to inspect the site.

At another meeting on the 13th February, 1913, it was confirmed that the site was acceptable. The deeds were drawn up and the Association was incorporated. Everything was set in motion - an appeal was sent to over 5,000 in Liverpool with regard to the Leasowe Sanatorium; a parliamentary list of donations had already reached £6,731; there were four sums of £1,000 by George Holt, Miss Holt of Holt Shipping Lines, Mr H Harrison of The Harrison Shipping Lines and Mr A V Paton in memory of his wife. Further donations from the Brocklebank family were received also many others soon swelled the coffers.

The next step was to purchase the land and this happened on the 17th April, 1913. The land was owned by the Webster family and farmed by the Beed family.

Under the heading 'Transaction with regard to Leasowe': it was reported that the contract had already been signed, the estate had been purchased - part of the money having been paid on signing, the balance to be completed when the Association's possession of the said property on 1st September, 1913 - the price being 3,600, 17th April, 1913. They also tried to purchase the land opposite on the shore side but the landowner, Mr. Sparks, wanted more then the Association could afford.

The Association agreed to renew the tenancy of these fields with Mr. Beed for three months, at the same rental he had paid before, namely £10 per annum. By the 14th August, 1913, the Committee asked for tenders from building firms, the winning bid came from Messrs Brown & Backhouse since theirs was the lowest tender.

An Executive Committee meeting was held the next day - 14th August, 1913, The Secretary reported that the tender by Messrs Brown & Backhouse had formally been accepted, namely £2, 500 for Blocks A and B hospital buildings, and £3,230 for Block C - in total 5,730. Messrs Brown & Backhouse had already commenced work on the 11th August, 1913. The work was completed on time and the first children were taken into Faith Block on 7th July, 1914. The Commemorative Stone was laid on 21st July, 1914. The total cost of the building the hospital was £180,000.

The first years running cost in 1947 (before the National Health Service took over) was £47,844 2s.0d. There was no effective cure for tuberculosis until the 1940s when a Ukraine scientist, Selman Waksman, working in the USA, discovered the drug Streptomycin. It was an antibiotic and stopped the tubercle bacillus from multiplying. Slowly Leasowe Hospital changed from being principally a children's T.B hospital to one for dealing with burns and skin grafts, and then arthritis until its closure in 1979. It was bought by the Wirral Christian Centre in 1981 and was used later as a Retirement Home and Handicap Centre. The buildings were later demolished and luxury apartments and houses were built on the site.

Reference

Moreton Wirral - A Pictorial History by Frank Biddle and Alan Fellowes

From Mal: As a small child living in Twicky we had the swings right behind us and beyond that and the football pitches a sandy area where we would go and dig huge tunnels, not thinking at the time of the danger involved. We sometimes went to the shore at the weekends which was like going on holiday. We never had a car so we walked there which didnt do us any harm. We would take jam buttys and if we were lucky a bottle of pop.

Barbara Wilkinson April 2nd 2008: Was brought up in Leasowe, (the posh part) and spent long days at the shore, having the usual feast of Jam butties and if lucky a bottle of Tizer from Stannies, the post office come sweet shop at Reeds Lane by Cadburys Leasowe entrance. What Stanny never knew we took the same bottles back two or three times, till he hit on the idea of tearing the labels. Tommy Edwards, had the grocers next door and over the road the good old Coop, where the change whizzed around in the old cash dispenser system. Always having to give in the divi number which was learnt before your name ours was 30319 and the joy of going the coop in Liscard to get the said divi knowing you were in for a new vest or pyjamas. I could go on forever, but does anyone remember the old Tide Keepers Cottage, must have been demolished in the 60s, it was opposite Leasowe Hospital at the bottom of the breakwater. My brother said every time he saw it he was going to live there one day, so he would be on site for his Lay Line fishing activities. (Yes, I can recall the cottage, was still there in the 70s).

Billy Boyle: During ww2 when I was a boy if I went down Ditton Lane at the back of Leasowe Hospital which was then a TB hospital I could see the patients lying in their beds on balconies open to the elements apparently the sea air was a cure for TB the patients were on those balconies summer and winter. One day in the 1940s my mother and father went off for the day somewhere leaving me in charge of my little sister Dorothy and baby brother Sam I took them down the lane opposite Leasowe Hospital past the tiny cottage and up to the promenade. The tide was in so we sat on one the embankment slipways with our butties and bottle of water I lifted Sam out of his pram and he was happy crawling about until he cut his wrist on broken glass I had to wrap his arm in towels as the blood was spurting out so much. I put him and Dorothy in the pram and started for home whilst going past Leasowe Hospital two young women who worked there were coming out of the hospital. They looked at the pram which was full of blood, one of said where are you going I replied home they said quick take him into the hospital and to cut a long story short the doctors kept Sam in for blood tranfusions and he was there for the night . Only for those young women he would surely have died.

Ken Morris. July 2012: Just seen your pages on wirralhistory.uk fantastic stuff, thanks for putting this up. My name is Ken Morris, I went to Birket junior and primary from 1957 until 1964, I then went to Wallasey Grammar until 1969. I lived with my parents at 93 Twickenham Drive (Middle Flat) from about 1955/6 until 1964 when we moved to a house in Murrayfield Drive, I still live there today. Do you remember David Johnstone who lived in one of the top flats, his Dad was always fixing up Jaguar E Types ? David became headmaster at the school on Leasowe Road. My mate was Phil Leather who used to live in the 1st house after the flats at the Castleway end. It's great to recall those times, how things have changed. Best regards Ken Morris. Ken: I left Leasowe when aged 5-6, (mid 50s). I do not remember anyone there.

March 2014: My name is Janet Uchida. (maiden name Janet Houston) I have been living in Japan for 35 years and used to live in Twickenham Drive as a child. (I am now 59 years old) I am desperately searching for my friend, Norma Hughes. We were born next door to each other but lost touch when I came to live here. I have tried searching for her on Facebook, unfortunately I haven't been able to find her. I was wondering if anyone on your website may know of her or her whereabouts.

December 2015: Hello, anyone remember me? from Christine (Wilson) Winstanley. Castleway North. I have her email address.

Incidently, Leasowe Castle and Leasowe Lighthouse should really be named Leasowes Castle and Leasowes Lighthouse, as they were built on the Leasowes and well before Leasowe actually existed in any form or area.

A 21st century reconstruction of the skull. A reconstruction of the skull was commissioned for the 'Living with the Romans' exhibition. The skull was first scanned in three dimensions with a laser scanner by National Museums Liverpool's Conservation Technologies team.