Historic England: The Wirral

This illustrated history portrays one of England's most fascinating regions. It provides a nostalgic look at the Wirral's past and highlights the special character of some of its most important historic sites.

The photographs are taken from the Historic England Archive, a unique collection of over 12 million photographs, drawings, plans and documents covering England's archaeology, architecture, social and local history. Pictures date from the earliest days of photography to the present and cover subjects from Bronze Age burials and medieval churches to cinemas and seaside resorts.

The Wirral peninsula has a wide variety of landscapes, rural and built up, bounded by the Mersey and Dee estuaries and the Irish Sea. The large towns of Birkenhead and Wallasey on the Mersey estuary grew up around their docks, their shipbuilding industries and the Mersey Ferry, and New Brighton became a popular resort in Victorian times. The west and south areas of the peninsula are less urban with smaller towns and villages, dotted with historic houses and nature reserves. To the south also lies Port Sunlight, the garden village built by Lever Brothers to house their workers in their soap factory. For all those interested in the history of the Wirral, this book will help them to discover its remarkable past and variety of places.