Moreton was, when I lived there, a relatively small place where nearly everyone knew everyone else. Policeman like "Flash Harry" would lurk rather than patrol his beat and woe betide you if he caught you "messing about" - a clip across the back of the head was the order of the day. Nobody complained, unlike nowadays, it meant you deserved it! I have had recourse to revisit Moreton a few times and am dismayed to see such a nice little place has degenerated into a haven of shops selling those £2.99 hand painted ornaments, sun tan parlours and fast food joints. The atmosphere has completely vanished that I knew, to be replaced by modern, hustle and bustle, no parking spaces, like many towns the length and breadth of the country. Moreton was once described as "unremarkable - Moreton in the Mud etc". In the late 50s and 60s it did actually develop character and charm, but sadly it did not last. I suppose its called progress. Nothing stands still, does it?

I stood there, on Moreton Cross, where Les Turner's tobacconist used to be under the little arcade, next to the Plough, and watched the world go by, just as I used to do in the 60s, sitting on the stone wall alongside Oakenholt Road which led to the Clinic. The wall has gone now, (2012) its a supermarket. Nobody was paying any attention to each other, young mothers with overloaded prams screeching at the mongrel struggling alongside. Cigarette hanging out of the corner of her mouth, trying to gossip on her mobile phone. The child with jam stained bib about its neck. The teated bottle of Ribena nestling on the canopy. The teenager runs out into the traffic, of which there is vast amounts for such a relatively small area. He is heedless of the swerving motorbike and accompanying horns. Progress? No, surely not.

Ken Burnley in his book "Portrait of Wirral" mentions a book I had read years ago, from the library. "The Rise & Progress of Wallasey", and mentions the optimistic tone of this 100 year old book, as it is now. I used to call it the Rise & Fall of Wallasey! Sorry, but progress in Moreton and Wallasey died around the same time the socialist incumbents took residence in the Town Hall and a long time tradition of Tory Members of Parliament were eventually ousted to be replaced by a socialist feminist. (Who, in 2008, married her "partner"; also female.) Yes, I am biased and not afraid to admit it. I have purchased a copy of The Rise & Progress of Wallasey (reprint 1974).

Also the advent of container shipping killed off what was left of dockland trade on the Wirral. I worked in many jobs up to when I joined HM Forces as a soldier. One of these was a trainee miller with Spillers at Pauls Mill on the docks. It was then a car park for the Warship Museum which was closed down as it has fell to the developer who are now building "luxury" flats (2007). Next will come the "marina" I suppose, then it will be fenced off so Mr Joe Public cannot wander the docks as he used to. Luxury flats bring in more revenue to the Council than Historic Museums.

As a youngster and then a young man in Wallasey I had high hopes of a good life, house, nice wife and trips with the kids to Bidston or the coast. I am not too sorry these dreams did not materialise. The latter dreams anyway. I did get the good wife, kids and house but not the rest on Merseyside! Strangely enough, although I am not being too kind to Moreton, it was still the place where I was "dragged up" as I like to phrase it. I do often manage to haul myself back up to the beautiful Wirral. In Feb 2004 I spent a beautiful, freezing, couple of hours walking Bidston Hill, subject of its own page in here. What follows now is by no means the definitive version, there is much hidden, much forgotten and much unsaid. But here is some local history. I have provided as much as I have found to date.

The name Moreton means village on the lake. It was one of the 4 towns making up the parish of Bidston, the others being Bidston, Claughton and Saughall (The Hall of the Willows). It was bounded by Great Meols to the West with Bidston and Wallasey to the South and East. Before the embankment was constructed, it was 3000 acres of tidal lagoon between one and two metres below sea level with most of the remainder little more than one metre above. The geology was that of blown sand in drifts covering the land, and salt marshes going around reaching Wallasey Pool, below Bidston. Lingham means Heather Island and is derived from the Norse words Lyng,  meaning heather, and Holm,  meaning island. Leasowe - from the Anglo-Saxon Leasowes - means Meadow Pastures. The higher area of Bidston and Wallasey Village were built upon the sandstone hills, rising to 180 feet above the surrounding area. Moreton was, quite literally, the village in the marsh. There was no sea wall at all, no protection from the sea, and land went much further out to sea than it does now. Evidence of this lies in the long gone petrified forest which I shall include later.

Early Days

Moreton, Lingham and Great Meols have been occupied since before Roman times. Moreton became part of the Parish of Bidston and was the wealthiest and most productive part of the area run for the Birkenhead Priory. It formed part of the Manor of Eastham in Norman times. Earl Hugh being the Lord. Holding part of his Manor is a man by the name of Hamon de Mascy, whose descendants became Lords of Bidston. During the medieval period of the Manor's history, Moreton was the most productive of the 4 towns. Moreton even paid for its own chaplain! In 1170, Birkenhead Priory was founded and a goodly portion of the tithes of Moreton were given in support of this endowment. The records of Pope Nicholas IV record the money earned from 6 curacates of land, which included Moreton.

Around 1180 -1190 Hamon de Mascy gave Moreton to his brother John, it being formerly held by Matthew of Moreton. In 1293 Hugh del Brom (Bromborough maybe?)  gave William, son of Alan de Moreton rights to cultivate 3 acres of wasteland in Moreton. In 1307, Henry son of William of Moreton, prosecuted Robert, son of Henry de Salghale (Saughall) and others for trespassing on land in Moreton and for cutting his grass in Sargham Massey. In 1341, there was a murder, at least a recorded one. Simon, son of Roger del Brom, killed William, son of Henry de Moreton, in Moreton, and fled. He escaped justice but three of his accomplices were fined for aiding him! The entire village was fined in 1359 for failing to be fully represented at the Judges Eyre Court in Wirral.

In 1397, the Manor of Bidston was sold by John Lestrange to Sir John Stanley, an ancestor of the Earl of Derby.

In 1402, the Hundred Jury (Wirral was also know as the Hundred) was specially called together to hear a letter patent issued by the Prince of Wales in which Henry le Brwyn, of Moreton, Roger del Brom and others had driven cattle from north Wales into the Hundred of Wirral. The law they were alleged to have broken was probably designed to secure a supply of meat for the Kings Armies in North Wales. The defendants were taken to Chester Castle for judgement. The result is unknown.

In 1438, on November 30th, an inquest was held at Bidston on Robert Benet, killed at Salgham by William Anyon by striking him on the head with a mall. This jury, which included a Thomas Benet of Moreton, and Henry Benet of Salghall, returned a verdict of felony. Anyon, who had fled, was declared an outlaw.

The Earl of Derby's accounts for the years 1521 - 1522 show Moreton having paid:

Rent of free tenants for Military Service                     5d
Rent of free tenants at will                                 114  6d
Rent of one house with dovecott & butt                 6  8d
Rent of one tenement with 1 butt acquired
By the lord from John Whitmore to hold by
the Lord immediately after the death of
George Whitmore (note: the said George is dead)  8  0d

In 1397 the Manor of Bidston was bought by William Steele, a lawyer of some note, who also held the positions of Recorder of London, Chief Baron of the Exchequer and Lord Chancellor of Ireland.

In 1536 Birkenhead Priory suffered along with most of the country's religious establishments in Henry VIII's suppression. In 1544 its lands in Moreton were leased to Edward Plankney but on the expiry of this lease the lands were sold to Richard Barnard and Robert Taylor. Also, following the suppression, the Nuns of Chester had land owned by themselves in Saughall given to the new Bishop of Chester and then, soon after, was surrendered to the Crown. Land that belonged to the Priory in Saughall was also siezed, both sets of land being sold to Sir Robert Dudley, of the Privy council, and to William Glascour.

In 1545 the earliest record of Moreton's population with 21 families living there (12 in Saughall Massie). By 1663 the figures remained the same.

In 1561, Thomas de Smythe Saughall Massie and William Rathbone de Murton are registered as keepers of Ale houses.

In 1653 the Manor of Bidston was bought by a William Steele, lawyer of some note, who also held the positions of Recorder of London, Chief Baron of the Exchequer and Lord Chancellor of Ireland. The estate again changed hands in 1662, this time it was sold to Lord Kingston of Rockingham Co Roscommon. In 1665 he undertook a highly detailed survey of his Manor. The survey contained lists of the tenants of the four townships and maps showing the houses and roads, each field bore a name and that of its tenant. The survey of Moreton shows the main street passing through the village, now known as Pasture road. A back lane running parallel, was Chapel Lane, now Barnston Lane. The geographical orientation of the main street is SW to NW. The east side of the main road, that which favoured Wallasey, had tenants Henry Robinson, William Bennett, Richard Lenaker and James Bird. The west side, favouring north Wales, had two homes of the Urmston family, Thomas Watt, William Hancock, John Rathbone. Many paths crossed between the houses. A chapel stood on the western side of the village green (the location of which is not mentioned) with a maypole to the north. Nearby was the Tithe Barn and Pound. The town bull was kept in a field on the edge of the village bordering Saughall Massie. Other prominent names in Moreton were William Dod(d). John Anderton, John Gowen, Ellen Graviner, Richard Pemberton, Thomas Urmston and john Upshon. A piece of land, outside the village boundary,was given to the village constable. Saughall Massie, in the same survey contained names Edward Wainwright, Mary Smith, John & Henry Bennett.

In 1680 Sir Robert Vyner became the Lord, and Vyners have been there right up to the 20th Century.

A Mill stood on what is now the corner of Acton Lane and Saughall Road. Little is known of the Mill. In 1598 it was sold to John & Henry Bennett. In 1719 owned by the Vyner's and occupied by Esther Martin at a rent of £6 per year. In 1762, Thomas Kirk, paying the same rent. (Inflation was obviously not a problem back then!). It stood until approx 1870, the last miller said to be a Richard Hale. The Mill actually collapsed, parts of which were taken to Bidston Hall, turning part of a steam mill for another 20 years. The names of Dod(d) and Benet (Bennett) are still prominent in modern times. I had a Philomena Bennett in my class at school in Moreton. The Dodds are a well know local building company, their yard is still at the top of Bermuda Road. I think it moved sides thats all! Joseph Kitchinghman who lived near Mother Redcaps in Wallasey, described Moreton's Mill as:

"The old mill at Saughall Massie stood about a mile from the village. It was a most remarkable wooden structure, with strong oak beams and gaunt, primitive sails, standing alone on a rough base of stone, with a large wheel to turn the wooden mill round on the ground. The mill stood entirely by itself a little way from the edge of the moss. Secret meetings of various kinds, political and otherwise, were held in the old mill, which was away from civilization. It was supposed to be haunted, and there were ravens in it."

Daniel Wilson lived at Old Hall Farm, Barnston Lane (was previously called Chapel Lane) in 1719. His home was licensed to conduct religious meetings. He was the son of Robert Wilson of Bidston Hall. Towards the end of the reign of Charles II, a troop of horse searched the Hall for arms as well as in other local places. At this time Daniel is described as "of Lingham". They took away 122 guns, pistol etc. Daniel married Mary Ensdale, and on 18th August 1689, they baptised Robert, their son. He shares the same birthday as me, but not the year!! His grandson, Thomas, was probably the next tenant of Barnston Lane following Daniel's death in 1737. Thomas' sister, Catherine Gardener was the next owner of Old Hall Farm, the Wilson connection being severed.

Barnston Lane May 2008

The Old Carrs forms part of Saughall Massie and western Moreton. The word Carr means Marsh. Carr Lane is now an area of extensive new housing put up in the property boom years of the 1980's and 90's. Before this is was but fields, and the Brickworks. The part of Moreton known as Sandbrook is now Sandbrook Lane which runs from the Cross (By Sacred Heart Church) to Manor road in Upton, this also follows the SW-NW alignment of the main road, Upton Road. Local area names here, in 1665, include The Banakers, Neeve Wimbrick, Gosty Pellitan Hey, Barcroft Hey, Werrethey and Cherrie-Tree Hey.

The encroachment of the sea was a constant threat to those living on the low lying lands of Moreton. Thomas Wilson's will of 1775 records that "the closes of land called The good Ovens and Two Pastures Gates by sold by my executors. But, if the Two Pastures Gates cannot be sold by reason of the encroachment of the sea, a close called the Marled Heaps was to be sold"

In 1781 rural recreation included Bull Baiting in Moreton. Cock Fighting was not uncommon, especially around Easter and Whitsun.

In 1841 a turnpike was opened which afforded a much needed route between Birkenhead and West Kirby, passing through Moreton, Meols, Hoylake & West Kirby.

Although it was allowed to become run down during the early 1800's, the introduction of the Wirral Railway Line in 1866 brought day-trippers from Liverpool and further afield.  By 1900 Moreton was again thriving and was even being recommended by doctors as a place for a holiday or a place to live because its fresh air and clean sea was seen as beneficial for conditions such as rheumatism. Moreton's association with health attracted the attention of Margaret Bevan who chose Leasowe as the place to build the Liverpool Open-Air Hospital for children with tuberculosis - later to become the Leasowe Children's Hospital when the National Health Service came into operation in 1948. Now demolished and is an estate of the "trendy" luxury apartments.

WW2

Moreton's involvement in WW2 was minimal. There was a large kitchen set up, or Central Cooking Depot, in October 1941, possibly where Cadbury was until its closure, certainly in Pasture Road, for feeding displaced and homeless but it was, thankfully, never used. Few homes were damaged or destroyed in Wallasey by German bombers. It was used to provide school meals however.

Leasowe Pillbox
(I look at this and then at the German fortifications in France - one shell would have demolished this!)

Recollections of a World War 2 Schoolboy

Bill Boyle (email Nov & Dec 2011) tells me his WW2 recollections: During ww2 there was two American army camps based in Moreton one was on Fellowship Field on Pasture Road they were African-American soldiers whilst on Moreton Common the white American soldiers were based, both camps were under canvas. Some of the boys from my school Upton Road went on messages such as fish and chips from Swords the local chip-shop they were given small packets of biscuits or condoms by the soldiers for going for fish and chips for them. When I asked about the condoms, Bill replied," I thought it would raise eyebrows they were eleven or twelve I was one of them, the boys took the condoms to school and blew them up like balloons a young teacher Miss Ruddock confiscated them from the boys and stuffed them in the pockets of her floral smock they were all dangling out of her pockets as she blithely tripped along the school corridor.  However, when I went to try my luck all I received was a mouldy packet of biscuits.  The camp we went to was the African-Americans on Pasture Road of course all the soldiers were confined to camp so we went for fish and chips for them."

During WW2 my family and I lived on the Birkett Avenue estate at Leasowe during summer months we practically lived on the beach at Leasowe Bay when the tide was in two German POWs frequently came to swim in front of Leasowe Castle I have no idea where they came from only that they came along the promenade from the direction of Hoylake or West Kirby.  During the schools summer holidays I travelled by Ribble Bus from Skelhorn Street in Liverpool on my own to stay with my Auntie and Uncle in Melling, Lancashire and was put to work on Swifts Farm I worked alongside Italian POWs who came to the farm in a Crawfords Biscuit van they were quite happy and I tried to join in with them when they sang their Neopolitan arias.  However, another group of Italian POWs (probably Fascists - mk) came one day and they were lazy and coarse and just sat around smoking. 

Leasowe Children's Hospital in WW2, another memory from Bill Boyle:  During ww2 when I was a boy if I went down Ditton Lane at the back of Leasowe Hospital which was then a TB hospital I could see the patients lying in their beds on balconies open to the elements apparently the sea air was a cure for TB* the patients were on those balconies summer and winter.  One day in the 1940s my mother and father went off for the day somewhere leaving me in charge of my little sister Dorothy and baby brother Sam I took them down the lane opposite Leasowe Hospital past the tiny cottage and up to the promenade.  The tide was in so we sat on one the embankment slipways with our butties and bottle of water I lifted Sam out of his pram and he was happy crawling about until he cut his wrist on broken glass I had to wrap his arm in towels as the blood was spurting out so much.  I put him and Dorothy in the pram and started for home whilst going past Leasowe Hospital two young women who worked there were coming out of the hospital.  They looked at the pram which was full of blood, one of said where are you going I replied home they said quick take him into the hospital and to cut a long story short the doctors kept Sam in for blood tranfusions and he was there for the night .  Only for those young women he would surely have died. (Note: *If TB didn't kill them pneumonia bloody well did! - mk).

The vicar of Christ Church Mr Wormald came to my school Upton road and asked for boys to join the church choir during ww2 so I joined along with several other boys however most of the boys dropped out so there was only me and my friend John Daniels from Birkett Avenue left.  In those days the church organ was worked by bellows and had to be pumped by using a long wooden lever attached to the bellows. Sometimes the man who pumped the bellows did not turn up so a couple of us choir boys had to do it one Sunday me and John Daniels were told to do that job but during the sermons etc we both dozed off.   Mr Riley the organist would stamp his foot on the floor to wake us up to start pumping the bellows again.

Some times at the weekend after a bombing raid by The Luftwaffe during the night, the following morning I would go to Harrison Drive to collect the shrapnel from the German bombs which landed on the green dips at Harrison Drive and the bomb craters would still be smoking  and by the end of the war I had a shed full of bags of shrapnel.  However, mother kindly gave the lot to a rag and boneman. (Just think, what would they have been worth on eBay, mothers do not think, do they? - mk).

A Fun Fair in my day there was one at the junction of Pasture Road and Leasowe road I was a pupil at East Way school when some of the boys from the school broke into the shooting gallery at the fairground and stole air rifles for their punishment they were sent to the Capenhurst Remand home were they remained until the end of the war.

Population

Moreton's population has grown from 165 in 1665 to the present-day (2000) figure of around 24,500. It was 210 in 1801 and 597 in 1901. There was a big jump between 1911 and 1921 when it went from 898 to 2,531. On 1st August 1928, Wallasey extended it's boundaries to include Moreton and by 1941 the population had grown to 5,000 -- expanding to over 7,700 in 1951. In 2004 Moreton barely resembles its own past, being  built upon at an alarming rate, almost now touching Meols in the west, Greasby to its southwest and Upton, where there is now no discernable boundary. The population is probably treble what it was in the 1960s. The green belt between Bidston and Moreton is disappearing also as the housing creeps along Fender Lane towards the River Fender.

Population growth in Moreton: 1821: 273    1831: 247    1841: 330    1851: 350    1861: 361    1871: 455    1891: 464    1901: 597    1911: 898 and 1921: 4029

The massive rise in 1921 was due to the acute housing shortage after World War 1. It must have been quite a jolt to those who had been living there all these generations. The above figures do not include Saughall Massie which did not see rises of any significance. Also responsible for the growth was the appearance of the shanty town on Pasture Road and Moreton Shore, along with caravans. There were 2000 of these temporary dwellings. Sanitation was not high on the Council list of priorities, nor a water supply. In 1928, under an Act of Parliament, Wallasey absorbed Moreton, and in 1933 Upton and Saughall Massie. Following the 1928 Act, roads, sanitation and sewage were greatly improved. Dec 2012: I have since been told that, in 2004, Moreton became something of an independent town alienated from Wallasey but retaining the MP ( a waste of space she is). Leasowe is also alientated from the Borough.

Transport

The first road into Moreton was built from Great Meols in 1841 but it was not until 24 years later in 1865 that Moreton railway station was built on the Wirral Railway Line. It was opened on June 18th 1866, initially as a single-track line. In it's early days, the shelter on the Liverpool side of the line was used by the Moreton Football Club as a changing room. Leasowe station was built in 1895 when the Wirral Line was being converted to a double-track line. The line was electrified in the mid 1930's but, amazingly, a footbridge over the track was not added until 1947. Cole's Bus Service was the first motorised bus service in Moreton. Initially running between Moreton Shore and Moreton Station, the service was extended from the station to Moreton Cross when Birkenhead Municipal Transport started their service to Moreton Cross in 1920. The Crosville service started in 1925 with Wallasey joining, in 1928. Cole's service last ran in 1926.

There was in the olden days only one main route through the village. This is now known as Pasture Road but was formerly Station Road. The other main avenue for traffic, the Turnpike Road, was not built until 1841. This crossed the township in a westerly direction running from Bidston to Saughall Massie. It was known by a variety of names:

Fender Lane (after one of the two streams which drain the marsh), Birkenhead Road, Hoylake Road, Main Road and Village Road. With the incorporation of the parish of Moreton in the Wallasey Borough it was decided to alter any Moreton street names which might be confused with similar street names in Wallasey. The Council also decided that where more than one name was used for a Moreton street they would resolve all difficulties by deciding once and for all by which name it would be known. In the case of the Turnpike Road the Council decided that it would henceforth be known and described as Fender Lane from the Bidston boundary to Reeds Lane, and Hoylake Road from Reeds Lane to the Saughall Massie boundary. Barnston Lane (running parallel to Pasture Road) was originally called Chapel Lane, and the small chapel after which the lane was called, stood there for many years. A lane opening off Pasture Road was originally known as either Townmeadow Lane or Mary Anne’s Lane after the owner of a cottage in the lane. In order to prevent confusion the Council decided that the first 210 yards from Pasture Road should be called Marylands Lane and the remainder Townmeadow Lane. Similarly the road which was known as either Lingham Lane or Lighthouse Lane is now known as Lingham Lane.

Churches

Known locally as the Meols stocks, it consisted as a collection of tree stumps, fallen trunks and roots embedded in turf bog. There was also once a similar forest on the other side of the bay in Seaforth. In a poem, dated 1636, the forest is mentioned:

"And in summe places, where ye sea does bate,
Downe from ye shoure, tis wonder to relate,
How many thousands of theis trees now stand,
Black broken on their roots, which once dried land,
Did cover, when turf Neptune yields to showe,
He did not always to their borders flowe"