Bromborough Dock, Bromborough Pool Village & Courthouse
Point 3
Look for the long low grey building stretching from the River Mersey inland. The grassy area extending from there to where you are standing was once Bromborough Dock, opened in 1931 to bring sea going ships to Port Sunlight.
Look for the long low grey building stretching from the River Mersey inland. The grassy area extending from there to where you are standing was once Bromborough Dock, opened in 1931 to bring sea going ships to Port Sunlight.
Beyond this is Bromborough Pool Village with its cricket green, school, church, village hall and workers’ houses. Look for the line of trees beyond the former Price’s Candle Works Office, The old building with the clock tower. This is the Old Courthouse woodland, a place where Edward 1st held court in 1277.
Beyond this is Bromborough Pool Village with its cricket green, school, church, village hall and workers’ houses. Look for the line of trees beyond the former Price’s Candle Works Office, The old building with the clock tower. This is the Old Courthouse woodland, a place where Edward 1st held court in 1277.
Bromborough Dock
Bromborough Dock
Look for the flat rooved brick Dock Manager’s office building ,is at the right hand end of the long grey warehouse . From here the Dock Manager could survey all the action in the dock...
Look for the flat rooved brick Dock Manager’s office building ,is at the right hand end of the long grey warehouse . From here the Dock Manager could survey all the action in the dock...
Photo - Bruce Blything Taken from the roof of the Dock office looking across the dock.
Photo - Bruce Blything Taken from the roof of the Dock office looking across the dock.
The Tower, is where the Heritage Centre is now.
The Tower, is where the Heritage Centre is now.
The grassy area from the warehouses to under where you are standing was once Bromborough Dock , opened in 1931 to bring sea going ships to Port Sunlight. And was closed by Act of Parliament in 1986
The grassy area from the warehouses to under where you are standing was once Bromborough Dock , opened in 1931 to bring sea going ships to Port Sunlight. And was closed by Act of Parliament in 1986
The new steel works opened in 2015 after the company, Capital Engineering, relocated from Belfast to be adjacent to their port for import of raw materials and easy transport access of finished goods.
The new steel works opened in 2015 after the company, Capital Engineering, relocated from Belfast to be adjacent to their port for import of raw materials and easy transport access of finished goods.
The road in front of their works marks the approximate shoreline. This was Bromborough Pool, shown on old maps. When the dock was filled, a channel for the River Dibbin had to be created to allow the river to reach the River Mersey.
The road in front of their works marks the approximate shoreline. This was Bromborough Pool, shown on old maps. When the dock was filled, a channel for the River Dibbin had to be created to allow the river to reach the River Mersey.
Large Barges called Mersey Flats did go up to Prices and Port Sunlight works before the dock was built.
Large Barges called Mersey Flats did go up to Prices and Port Sunlight works before the dock was built.
Its also recorded that in the late 1800’s “a flat boat called Two Brothers” used to take sacks of corn from Liverpool up to the old mill at Spital Dam. (The Windmills and Watermill of Wirral. Rowan Patel 2016)
Its also recorded that in the late 1800’s “a flat boat called Two Brothers” used to take sacks of corn from Liverpool up to the old mill at Spital Dam. (The Windmills and Watermill of Wirral. Rowan Patel 2016)
Peter J point 3.mp3Barges, they used to come through when the river used to come right through from the factory, and they’d come in at the dock gates to the factory, load up or unload and come out again and they were right on the river. They’d go under New Chester Road Where The White Bridge is and into the factory, deposit their load or pick up what they needed and come back out again and they were straight in the Mersey.
Barges, they used to come through when the river used to come right through from the factory, and they’d come in at the dock gates to the factory, load up or unload and come out again and they were right on the river. They’d go under New Chester Road Where The White Bridge is and into the factory, deposit their load or pick up what they needed and come back out again and they were straight in the Mersey.
They a bigger version of a barge (Mersey Flat) more than ships and they’d just be loaded with the goods washing powder or whatever it was.
They a bigger version of a barge (Mersey Flat) more than ships and they’d just be loaded with the goods washing powder or whatever it was.
Peter J - Local Resident
Peter J - Local Resident
The last time we went down there of a summer's evening, the Winston Churchill training ship was in (early 1980's), and not long after the dock closed
Peter J
Carl L point 3.mp3Anyway, I got a job on tug when I was 15, 16 something like that. and we used to regular dock ships in Port Sunlight, which was massively busy… I believe in the war it was the most used dock at one time.
Anyway, I got a job on tug when I was 15, 16 something like that. and we used to regular dock ships in Port Sunlight, which was massively busy… I believe in the war it was the most used dock at one time.
It was lethal, the water in there was absolutely lethal. We used to sometime drop our towing wire in and hauling it out, the smell and that was appalling, Polluted, it was filthy the smell and that was awful. You could smell, … my sister lived in New Ferry/Bebington and you could smell when the wind was right you could smell Port Sunlight that far down. The dock.
It was lethal, the water in there was absolutely lethal. We used to sometime drop our towing wire in and hauling it out, the smell and that was appalling, Polluted, it was filthy the smell and that was awful. You could smell, … my sister lived in New Ferry/Bebington and you could smell when the wind was right you could smell Port Sunlight that far down. The dock.
They used to dump all the chemicals in the dock. There was no fish in there You had to follow the River Dibbin up to Dibbinsdale before you found Jack Sharps The whole lot was polluted. In fact, one of the towing companies used to put the tugs in there because it used to kill all the barnacles. You could put the tug in there overnight or weekend and it would strip all the barnacles off. If you fell in there you was immediately taken to hospital.
They used to dump all the chemicals in the dock. There was no fish in there You had to follow the River Dibbin up to Dibbinsdale before you found Jack Sharps The whole lot was polluted. In fact, one of the towing companies used to put the tugs in there because it used to kill all the barnacles. You could put the tug in there overnight or weekend and it would strip all the barnacles off. If you fell in there you was immediately taken to hospital.
It was so busy that place. The whalers, they had feed ships for the whalers. They used to collect the whale oil and then they used to bring it directly into Bromborough dock. The smell was appalling, really.
It was so busy that place. The whalers, they had feed ships for the whalers. They used to collect the whale oil and then they used to bring it directly into Bromborough dock. The smell was appalling, really.
Carl L. Worked on Tugs 1957 to 1968
Carl L. Worked on Tugs 1957 to 1968
Bromport Steamship Company
Bromport Steamship Company
Between 1916 to 1923 Levers had their own shipping line, much later they used the Palm Line to bring palm oil from Africa
Between 1916 to 1923 Levers had their own shipping line, much later they used the Palm Line to bring palm oil from Africa
Southern Whaling and Sealing Company
Southern Whaling and Sealing Company
Between 1919 to 1941 Levers owned the Southern Whaling & Sealing Company. Levers were the largest users of whale oil in Europe. It had many uses including margarine.
In 1937/38 Syd Percy a Chemist from Levers Port Sunlight Factory worked on this ship and recorded his 7 month experience in letters to his Fiancée.
His son Stephen Percy complied them into a book "I'll Be Waiting".
Without knowing it, this was to be the "season" that saw the largest global catch of whales, 54,900 producing 3.6 million barrels of oil.
And despite increasing number of ships in later years, the number of whales caught declined. It was only in 1986 that the most countries stopped whaling.
The F.F. Southern Princess. Levers factory whaling ship, in Bromborough Dock 1932.
Sarah S point 3.mp3Bromborough Pool Village
Bromborough Pool Village
Beyond this is Bromborough Pool Village with its cricket green, school, church, village hall and workers’ houses.
Beyond this is Bromborough Pool Village with its cricket green, school, church, village hall and workers’ houses.
From this vantage point you can see the cricket green easer to see from futher along this path and building of Bromborough Pool Village. The village was built to house and serve employees of Price’s Candle Works which were established here in 1853? After expanding from their London sites. Around the Green look out for the red roof brick school, St Matthews church and the domed roof of the village Hall, a reminder of the domed roofs on the candle work sheds which have all been demolished., now renamed, Giles Shirley Hall. All of these are listed buildings, owned by Riverside Housing and leased to Autism Together.
From this vantage point you can see the cricket green easer to see from futher along this path and building of Bromborough Pool Village. The village was built to house and serve employees of Price’s Candle Works which were established here in 1853? After expanding from their London sites. Around the Green look out for the red roof brick school, St Matthews church and the domed roof of the village Hall, a reminder of the domed roofs on the candle work sheds which have all been demolished., now renamed, Giles Shirley Hall. All of these are listed buildings, owned by Riverside Housing and leased to Autism Together.
Sarah S attended Bromborough Pool School from 1990
Sarah S attended Bromborough Pool School from 1990
“I went to Bromborough Pool School, it was a very small school. When I left there were only 66 pupils in the school and only 6 in my year, when we were Year 6 so it was very, very small. It was part of Price’s factory school built there as Price’s Village”
“I went to Bromborough Pool School, it was a very small school. When I left there were only 66 pupils in the school and only 6 in my year, when we were Year 6 so it was very, very small. It was part of Price’s factory school built there as Price’s Village”
Courthouse
Courthouse
Look for the line of trees beyond the former Price’s Candle Works site office. This is the Old Courthouse woodland, a place where Edward 1st held court in 1277. Archaeological digs undertaken by Big Heritage and local members of the community are revealing more about this succession of buildings. http://bigheritage.co.uk/bromborough-courthouse-2016/
Look for the line of trees beyond the former Price’s Candle Works site office. This is the Old Courthouse woodland, a place where Edward 1st held court in 1277. Archaeological digs undertaken by Big Heritage and local members of the community are revealing more about this succession of buildings. http://bigheritage.co.uk/bromborough-courthouse-2016/
It is intended to join the River Park via a walkway along the river Dibbin to the Historic Bromborough Courthouse site. A scheduled ancient monument https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1012503 .But delays in the housing and industrial development on the banks of the Dibbin have stalled this link-up.
It is intended to join the River Park via a walkway along the river Dibbin to the Historic Bromborough Courthouse site. A scheduled ancient monument https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1012503 .But delays in the housing and industrial development on the banks of the Dibbin have stalled this link-up.
So we have a bridge to nowhere . . . . . for now.
So we have a bridge to nowhere . . . . . for now.
Directions to next point
Directions to next point
Retrace your steps back up the hill. At the T junction continue straight ahead to Post 4
Retrace your steps back up the hill. At the T junction continue straight ahead to Post 4