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Rock Ferry
Rock Ferry is an area of Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula, England. Administratively it is a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. Before local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974, it was part of the county of Cheshire. At the 2011 Census, the population was 14,298.
There are references to a ferry as early as 1357. Ferry services were extended at the start of the 19th century, with steam ferries providing a faster, cheaper and more reliable service than had previously been allowed. By 1800 there was already an inn known as the Rock Ferry House, which was reputed to have been used by William IV as Duke of Clarence, hence the use of the term "Royal" for establishments such as the Royal Rock Hotel (the original inn, much enlarged in 1836) and the Royal Rock Beagles, set up in 1845. From the 1560s onwards Derby House, an occasional seat of the Minshull family, covered most of the grounds covered by present-day Rock Ferry. It was enlarged in 1834 to a design by Decimus Burton, who also laid out the first plans for the development of Rock Ferry. Thomas Oakshott, Mayor of Liverpool, lived there in the 19th century. The house, located on Rock Lane West close to the New Chester Road, was demolished in the 1930s.
In 1836 the Royal Rock Hotel was extended and a bath house was built. In the following years the area received an influx of luxurious villa housing, the villas of Rock Park and many other large houses around the Old Chester Road making Rock Ferry one of the most desirable addresses in the North West.[citation needed] Subsequently, even more substantial mansions were built for prosperous manufacturers, shipowners and merchants working in Liverpool, among which The Grange, The Manor House, Ravenswood, Saxonhurst, Thorncote, The Hursts, Westgarth, Larchwood and Stoneleigh. In the later part of the 19th century, Rock Ferry expanded due to the need to house the increasing population of workers, especially at Birkenhead's Cammell Laird shipyard, with more modest housing built as infill.
Rock Ferry was historically part of the parish of Bebington. It was incorporated into the municipal borough of Birkenhead in 1877. The Local Government Act 1894 said that parishes could no longer straddle borough boundaries, and so the part of Bebington parish within Birkenhead borough became a separate civil parish called Rock Ferry. The parish was short-lived, being abolished on 31 March 1898 when all the parishes within the borough of Birkenhead were united into a single parish.
In 1910, the Olympian Gardens were opened adjacent to the Royal Rock Hotel. These pleasure gardens were considered a great attraction and customers travelled from the whole of Wirral and, using the nearby ferry terminal, from Liverpool. The gardens hosted classical piano concerts and also slapstick comedy shows, with performers including Arthur Askey and Tommy Handley. At times the gardens held a prestige similar to the more famous Vauxhall Gardens in London. Shows were held in a large tent set amongst the trees and shrubs of land owned by Charles Boult. The gardens closed in the late 1920s after Mr Boult's death.
The decline of local industries in the early part of the 20th century took its toll. Rock Ferry's original wealthy inhabitants had for a long time been moving away from the area to areas such as Caldy or West Kirby. Many of the "big houses" of Rock Ferry were converted into flats or demolished to make way for new housing developments. This decline was reflected in the loss of the Royal Rock Hotel, as well as many of the shops in the Old Chester Road and Bedford Road; whereas before Bedford Road had supported a wine merchant, a jeweller, two tailors, three banks, and two bookshops, most shops stood vacant and Rock Ferry itself was viewed as a case study for urban decay. Large-scale regeneration work in the 1990s, which involved the demolition or restoration of many derelict properties, and the building of new housing, means that the area has improved considerably, although many buildings of considerable character have been lost.
As of 2022, a new £13 million park is being constructed which will link Rock Ferry with Bidston Dock. Known as Dock Branch Park, it will provide a mile–long pedestrian and cycle corridor between the two locations, as well as providing land for 1,000 homes and a new venue for Wirral Transport Museum.
Rock Ferry is situated on the eastern side of the Wirral Peninsula, at the western side of the River Mersey. The area is approximately 8 km (5.0 mi) south-south-east of the Irish Sea at New Brighton and about 9 km (5.6 mi) east-north-east of the Dee Estuary at Heswall. Rock Ferry is at an elevation of between 0–30 m (0–98 ft) above sea level.
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Rock Ferry
Rock Ferry is an area of Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula, England. Administratively it is a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. Before local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974, it was part of the county of Cheshire. At the 2011 Census, the population was 14,298.
There are references to a ferry as early as 1357. Ferry services were extended at the start of the 19th century, with steam ferries providing a faster, cheaper and more reliable service than had previously been allowed. By 1800 there was already an inn known as the Rock Ferry House, which was reputed to have been used by William IV as Duke of Clarence, hence the use of the term "Royal" for establishments such as the Royal Rock Hotel (the original inn, much enlarged in 1836) and the Royal Rock Beagles, set up in 1845. From the 1560s onwards Derby House, an occasional seat of the Minshull family, covered most of the grounds covered by present-day Rock Ferry. It was enlarged in 1834 to a design by Decimus Burton, who also laid out the first plans for the development of Rock Ferry. Thomas Oakshott, Mayor of Liverpool, lived there in the 19th century. The house, located on Rock Lane West close to the New Chester Road, was demolished in the 1930s.
In 1836 the Royal Rock Hotel was extended and a bath house was built. In the following years the area received an influx of luxurious villa housing, the villas of Rock Park and many other large houses around the Old Chester Road making Rock Ferry one of the most desirable addresses in the North West.[citation needed] Subsequently, even more substantial mansions were built for prosperous manufacturers, shipowners and merchants working in Liverpool, among which The Grange, The Manor House, Ravenswood, Saxonhurst, Thorncote, The Hursts, Westgarth, Larchwood and Stoneleigh. In the later part of the 19th century, Rock Ferry expanded due to the need to house the increasing population of workers, especially at Birkenhead's Cammell Laird shipyard, with more modest housing built as infill.
Rock Ferry was historically part of the parish of Bebington. It was incorporated into the municipal borough of Birkenhead in 1877. The Local Government Act 1894 said that parishes could no longer straddle borough boundaries, and so the part of Bebington parish within Birkenhead borough became a separate civil parish called Rock Ferry. The parish was short-lived, being abolished on 31 March 1898 when all the parishes within the borough of Birkenhead were united into a single parish.
In 1910, the Olympian Gardens were opened adjacent to the Royal Rock Hotel. These pleasure gardens were considered a great attraction and customers travelled from the whole of Wirral and, using the nearby ferry terminal, from Liverpool. The gardens hosted classical piano concerts and also slapstick comedy shows, with performers including Arthur Askey and Tommy Handley. At times the gardens held a prestige similar to the more famous Vauxhall Gardens in London. Shows were held in a large tent set amongst the trees and shrubs of land owned by Charles Boult. The gardens closed in the late 1920s after Mr Boult's death.
The decline of local industries in the early part of the 20th century took its toll. Rock Ferry's original wealthy inhabitants had for a long time been moving away from the area to areas such as Caldy or West Kirby. Many of the "big houses" of Rock Ferry were converted into flats or demolished to make way for new housing developments. This decline was reflected in the loss of the Royal Rock Hotel, as well as many of the shops in the Old Chester Road and Bedford Road; whereas before Bedford Road had supported a wine merchant, a jeweller, two tailors, three banks, and two bookshops, most shops stood vacant and Rock Ferry itself was viewed as a case study for urban decay. Large-scale regeneration work in the 1990s, which involved the demolition or restoration of many derelict properties, and the building of new housing, means that the area has improved considerably, although many buildings of considerable character have been lost.
As of 2022, a new £13 million park is being constructed which will link Rock Ferry with Bidston Dock. Known as Dock Branch Park, it will provide a mile–long pedestrian and cycle corridor between the two locations, as well as providing land for 1,000 homes and a new venue for Wirral Transport Museum.
Rock Ferry is situated on the eastern side of the Wirral Peninsula, at the western side of the River Mersey. The area is approximately 8 km (5.0 mi) south-south-east of the Irish Sea at New Brighton and about 9 km (5.6 mi) east-north-east of the Dee Estuary at Heswall. Rock Ferry is at an elevation of between 0–30 m (0–98 ft) above sea level.
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