Chartered Surveyors Wallasey Merseyside

Approximate Population: 58,710

Before the 19th century the area around Wallasey, Merseyside, was sparsely populated. Horse races organised for the Earls of Derby on the sands at Leasowe in the 16th and 17th centuries are regarded as forerunners of the modern Derby.

Old maps show that the main centre and parish church (St Hilary’s) were located at what is now called Wallasey Village, and there were smaller hamlets at Liscard, Poulton and Seacombe, from where there were occasional ferries across the Mersey. There was also a mill (at Mill Lane), and from the mid-18th century a gunpowder store or magazine at Rock Point, located well away from the built-up areas.

The main activities in the area around Wallasey were farming and fishing. The area also had a reputation for smuggling and “wrecking”, the act of luring ships onto rocks or sandbanks with false lights in order to raid their cargo. Underground cellars and tunnels, which were used to hide cargo pilfered from wrecked ships still exist in the town. As late as 1839, the “Pennsylvania” and two other ships were wrecked off Leasowe in a severe storm, and their cargoes and furnishings were later found distributed among local residents.

By the early 19th century, the shoreline between Seacombe and Rock Point started to become an attractive area to which affluent Liverpool merchants and sea captains could retire. Development at Egremont began around this time, and gained pace with the introduction of steam ferries across the river. The area also had a defensive role overlooking the growing port of Liverpool. In 1829, Fort Perch Rock was built, and in 1858 Liscard Battery.

Chartered Surveyors Wallasey Merseyside