An Introduction to the West Wirral Coastline

Over a thousand years ago Wirral was invaded by the Norsemen and their leagacy can be read in the local place-names, the -by suffix meaning village in the old Norse tongue; we still use the term by-law today West Kirby was west of Kirby in Walea, the old name for Wallasey. The focal point of their settlement was the site of St Bridget's Church in the old village, although the oldest remaining part of the building dates back to about 1150, placing it firmly in the Norman period.The growth of modern West Kirby really began in 1886, when the wonder of the age of the steam engine - arrived. The speed of travel offered by the railway meant that it was possible to work in Liverpool during the day but escape to the cleanermore peaceful and healthier surroundings of this part of Wirral to live.Developers were not slow to realise this, and the place grew out of all recognition. The First Edition of the O.S. plan, drawn in 1871, shows four or five buildings clustered around the corner of Grange Road and Dee Lane. By the time the Second Edition was drawn in 1897, the village layout south of Grange Road was almost exactly as we see it today, and by the turn of the century, just three years later, the shops of the north side were completed.The population boomed - in 1871 Hoylake and West Kirby together had 2,118 residents; thirty years later this figure had increased five-fold to 10,991. Down on the shoreline the Marine Lake is a major attraction for watersports. This was opened on 21 October 1899, and formerly included an open-air swimming pool. The pool has gone, but the lake itself has been extended to cater for the growing demand.This book will also focus on The islands of Little Eye, Middle Eye and Hilbre which are located at the mouth of the Dee Estuary on the border between England and Wales. Hilbre is a designated nature reserve and Site of Specific Scientific Interest, a Special Protection Area, a Ramsar site (a wetland of international importance), and is a candidate for designation as an European Union Special Area of Conservation.Last but not least is the beautiful area of Caldy. Caldy Village was mentioned as Calders in the Doomsday Book. It is situated is on the west side of the Wirral peninsula and is developed around the old village and manor which dates from the late 17th century. In 1832 the village was bought by a Mr R.W.Barton. Development from 1906 to the late 1960s was by way of disposal of individual plots, in most instances for the purposes of the construction of single dwellings. The methods of sale continued to constitute a quite effective way of preserving the special character and nature of the Caldy village, which was one essentially of a low density area of good quality housing offering a high environmental quality.