59-594: Arrowe Park is an area 6.5 km (4.0 mi) to the west of Birkenhead , within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral , Merseyside , England. It is situated on the Wirral Peninsula , adjacent to the Woodchurch housing estate and to the south of the large village of Upton . The location has two landmarks: Arrowe Park Hospital and Arrowe Country Park , along with a number of residences. Historically within
118-535: A Royal Research Ship . Birkenhead's first market was established in 1835 in a purpose-built building in Hamilton Street near its junction with Market Street. This building also contained the town hall, commissioners' offices and a lock-up. It is often said that the first market was opened on the site of the later town hall in Hamilton Square. This is untrue. In fact, part of the eastern side of Hamilton Square
177-468: A 20 year development plan known as the 'Birkenhead 2040 Framework'. The plan aims to regenerate parts of Birkenhead, with the creation of a new park ( Dock Branch Park ), new housing and an improved greener environment. Birkenhead lies within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral , with Wirral Council providing most local government functions. Wirral forms part of the Liverpool City Region , which
236-503: A Foundation Trust status in 2007, the trust was known as Wirral Hospital NHS Trust. The Wirral Women and Children's Hospital was founded in 2011 following redevelopment of the maternity annexe on the Arrowe Park campus. In March 2012, the UK health sector regulator, Monitor , found the trust was "persistently failing" the 18-week waiting time target. It also had concerns about the way the board
295-458: A children's play area. A public house was built in 1994. Arrowe Brook flows along the western edge of the park, from south to north, alongside a path. The brook also incorporates Arrowe Park Lake. Arrowe Hall, a Grade II listed mansion built in the Elizabethan style , is within the park. The hall was sold by the local council in 1997 and now houses a private care centre. Arrowe Park Hospital
354-572: A consequence of the Industrial Revolution . Birkenhead Park and Hamilton Square were laid out as well as the first street tramway in Britain. The Mersey Railway connected Birkenhead and Liverpool with the world's first tunnel beneath a tidal estuary; the shipbuilding firm Cammell Laird and a seaport were established. In the second half of the 20th century, the town suffered a significant period of decline, with containerisation causing
413-663: A freight only service to Dublin commenced. The Mersey Ferry at Woodside operates a passenger service to Liverpool and chartered cruising. During winter months, the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company operates a service from Birkenhead to Douglas using MS Ben-my-Chree . Due to weather conditions, this service temporarily replaces the route that normally operates from the Liverpool landing stage using fast craft. Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust ( WUTH )
472-496: A further depot adjacent to Birkenhead Park station. The remains of the Birkenhead Dock Branch are still extant in a cutting through the centre of the town, which was used primarily for freight services. Much of the peripheral railway infrastructure, around the docks, has been removed since the 1980s. Birkenhead had the first street tramway in Britain. Opened on 29 August 1860, the first line ran from Woodside (adjoining
531-590: A heritage tramway between Woodside and Wirral Transport Museum ; Birkenhead Corporation Tramways car No.20 is preserved on this line. As part of the Wirral Waters development, a street car service has been proposed, to be called Wirral Street Car . Junctions 1 and 3 of the M53 motorway facilitate access to the national motorway network. The A41 trunk road connects Woodside with Marble Arch in London. Two road tunnels,
590-521: A market and regulating the police force. The Mersey Railway tunnel opened in 1886, providing direct railway access to Liverpool. The Grange Road West drill hall was completed in 1900. In September 1932 thousands of unemployed people protested in a series of demonstrations organised by the local branch of the National Unemployed Workers Movement . After three days of rioting, police were brought in from elsewhere to help quell
649-499: A new investigation into the trust's financial performance. That investigation was concluded in 2014, with the report from March of that year noting that "the trust is working hard to address our concerns about its finances and these improvements are already happening". In December 2013, the Care Quality Commission published a report into satisfaction of maternity services across England. Wirral Women and Children's Hospital
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#1732859206738708-590: A reduction in port activity. The Wirral Waters development is planned to regenerate much of the dockland. The name Birkenhead probably means "headland overgrown with birch", from the Old English bircen meaning birch tree, of which many once grew on the headland which jutted into the river at Woodside . The name is not derived from the Birket , a stream which enters the Mersey between Birkenhead and Seacombe. The Birket
767-718: A representation of Dover in the 1920s. Other notable landmarks include Bidston Windmill on a ridge behind the town, Flaybrick Watertower and Birkenhead Priory & St. Mary's Tower . Horse-drawn buses began operating in Birkenhead in 1848, to be replaced with motor vehicles after the First World War . Present-day services are run by operators including Arriva and Stagecoach , which are coordinated by Merseytravel . National Express provides long-distance coach services to other UK cities, with direct routes including London, Glasgow, Bangor and Newcastle . The bus station
826-572: Is a large, acute hospital, located on a section of Arrowe Park, close to the village of Upton . It was built on 15-acre (6.1 ha) of parkland and officially opened by the Queen in 1982. It is one of three hospitals managed by Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust , The maternity and gynaecology wing was later opened by, and dedicated to, the Duchess of Westminster . Birkenhead Birkenhead ( / ˌ b ɜːr k ən ˈ h ɛ d / )
885-454: Is a later name which was introduced by Ordnance Survey . The earliest records state that the Mersey ferry began operating from Birkenhead in 1150, when Benedictine monks under the leadership of Hamon de Mascy built a priory there. The priory was visited in 1275 and 1277 by Edward I . In a royal charter of 13 April 1330, Edward III granted the priory further rights. Distanced from
944-510: Is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral , Merseyside , England; It was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula , along the west bank of the River Mersey , opposite Liverpool . At the 2011 census, it had a population of 88,818. Birkenhead Priory and the Mersey Ferry were established in the 12th century. In the 19th century, Birkenhead expanded greatly as
1003-588: Is acknowledged to be the first publicly funded park in Britain . The park was the forerunner of the Parks Movement and its influence was far reaching both in Britain and abroad – most notably on Frederick Law Olmsted 's design for Central Park in New York City . Designed by Joseph Paxton (later Sir Joseph Paxton) in 1843 and officially opened in 1847, with great festivity. The park's Grand Entrance , modelled on
1062-421: Is an NHS Foundation Trust . It provides healthcare for people of the Wirral Peninsula and the surrounding areas of North West England and North Wales . The trust is responsible for Arrowe Park Hospital , Clatterbridge Hospital , and Wirral Women and Children's Hospital . It also provides some services at St Catherine's Health Centre, Tranmere and Victoria Central Health Centre, Wallasey . The Trust
1121-533: Is at one end of the Borderlands Line , it serves the rural centre of Wirral, near Shotton it leaves England for Wales, serving Wrexham General and terminating at Wrexham Central ,. Railways reached Birkenhead in 1840, when the Chester and Birkenhead Railway began services. Birkenhead Grange Lane station opened at the same time, becoming the town's first terminus. Birkenhead Dock station opened in 1866, as
1180-490: Is led by a directly elected Metro Mayor . Birkenhead was historically a chapelry in the ancient parish of Bidston , which formed part of the Wirral Hundred of Cheshire . As the town began to develop rapidly in the early nineteenth century, there was a need for more urban forms of local government. In 1833 a body of improvement commissioners was set up covering the chapelry of Birkenhead. The commissioners' district
1239-702: Is part of the Labour Party . The Birkenhead Urban Area , as defined by the Office for National Statistics , includes Birkenhead, Wallasey , Bebington, Ellesmere Port (which is outside the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral) and the contiguous built-up areas which link those towns. In the 2011 Census , the area so defined had a total population of 325,264, making it the 19th largest conurbation in England and Wales. Shipbuilding and ship repair has featured prominently in
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#17328592067381298-551: Is unprepared to make any efforts at reforming its own practices. Closures, sackings and loss of patient services has been its traditional negative stance. The CCG therefore has the near impossible task of winning reform in the face of these negotiating tactics." As a result of this complaint, NHS England launched a Capability and Governance review of the Wirral Clinical Commissioning Group. Published in August 2014;
1357-483: The Industrial Revolution in Liverpool by the physical barrier of the River Mersey, Birkenhead retained its agricultural status until the advent of steam ferry services. In 1817 a steam ferry service started from Liverpool to Tranmere and in 1822 the paddle steamer, Royal Mail , began operation between Liverpool and Woodside. Shipbuilding started in 1829. An ironworks was established by William Laird in 1824, and he
1416-620: The Queensway Tunnel . The station also has frequent services to as far away as Chester . The major underground station in Birkenhead is Birkenhead Hamilton Square , the nearest station to the ferry terminal. Hamilton Square station is linked to the Liverpool Loop of the Wirral Line , which includes Liverpool James Street , Moorfields , Liverpool Lime Street and Liverpool Central stations; all of these are underground. Other stations in
1475-855: The Queensway road tunnel from Birkenhead and the Kingsway road tunnel from Wallasey, run underneath the River Mersey and connect the town to Liverpool. Birkenhead's dock system is part of the Port of Liverpool , operated by the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company under the ownership of The Peel Group . The Twelve Quays ferry terminal allows a direct freight and passenger vehicle service to Dublin and Belfast . Daily Belfast services are run by Stena Line , using their RoPax ferries MS Stena Edda and MS Stena Embla from 2020 to 2021, which replaced MS Stena Lagan and MS Stena Mersey . In 2024,
1534-498: The Rock Ferry area from Bebington . When elected county councils were established in 1889, Birkenhead was considered large enough to provide its own county-level services, and so it was made a county borough , making it independent from the new Cheshire County Council , whilst still being deemed part of Cheshire for ceremonial purposes. The council built itself Birkenhead Town Hall on Hamilton Square to serve as its headquarters;
1593-497: The Arrowe Brook Road area, to Thingwall Road East and Thingwall Road. The township was in the parish of Woodchurch and included the hamlet of Arrowe Park. The population was 96 in 1801, 105 in 1851 and 121 in 1901 but had been abolished by 1933. In 1807, Liverpool mayor, shipowner and slave trader John Shaw first bought Arrowe House Farm and subsequently more and more of the surrounding land. On his death in 1829 it came into
1652-574: The Temple of Illysus in Athens, and its 'Roman Boathouse' are notable features. There are sandstone lodges at the three entrances, each with a different style of architecture, Gothic , Norman and Italianate . There are also two lakes and an ornate 'Swiss Bridge'. William Laird , a Scot, and his son John , were influential in the design of the town. Parts were laid out in a grid-iron pattern like Edinburgh New Town with similar architecture. The chief architect
1711-547: The Trust consistently achieving the standard for referring patients for treatment within 18 weeks. Monitor also recognised the "important improvements" made by the Board of Directors in the way the Trust is run and engages with clinical staff. As a result of this Monitor concluded in February 2013 that the Trust was longer in breach of its terms of authorisation. In November 2013, Monitor opened
1770-563: The building was opened in 1887. The borough was enlarged in 1928 to absorb Landican , Prenton and Thingwall , and again in 1933 to take in Bidston, Noctorum , Upton and Woodchurch . The borough of Birkenhead was abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 , with the area becoming part of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral and being transferred to the metropolitan county of Merseyside . In 1986 Merseyside County Council
1829-461: The completion of a large shopping development within Birkenhead town centre, known as the Pyramids. Conway Park station was opened in 1998 as part of a development that saw Wirral Metropolitan College open a new campus nearby. The Wirral Waters development was announced in 2006, with work starting in 2011 and expecting to last for around 30 years. Wirral Council announced in 2020 the formulation of
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1888-455: The county of Cheshire , the estate upon which Arrowe Park now lies was founded by John Shaw. His great nephew John Ralph Shaw built Arrowe Hall. Arrowe Park Hospital is a large acute accident and emergency facility that was opened in 1982. The country park was opened in 1926 with a golf club added in the 1930s. Arrowe was a small village in the central part of the Wirral. The first recorded owner of
1947-566: The eastern terminus of the Hoylake Railway . With the opening of the Woodside and Birkenhead Dock Street Tramway in 1873, this station probably became the world's first tram to train interchange . In 1886, Birkenhead and Liverpool were linked by an underground railway system, which today is part of the Merseyrail network. From 1878 until its closure in 1967, Birkenhead Woodside station
2006-440: The entrance to the grounds of Arrowe Park Hospital. Arrowe Country Park is a country park in the district that was opened in 1926. Arrowe Park Golf Club with an area of 150 acres (61 ha) is within the park and was opened in the 1930s, it consists of a clubhouse and an eighteen hole course . Elsewhere in the park itself, there is a pitch and putt course, footgolf , tennis courts , bowling greens , football pitches and
2065-401: The estate to Birkenhead Corporation in 1926. Ownership was transferred again on 1 April 1974 from Birkenhead Corporation to the nascent Metropolitan Borough of Wirral local authority. In 1929, the 3rd World Scout Jamboree was held at Arrowe Park, with over 50,000 scouts and 320,000 visitors. There was a monument in the park which commemorated this event. The monument has now been moved to
2124-612: The land was an Anglo Saxon chief called "Aescwulf". In 1240 it was owned by Roger de Montalt, 1st Baron Montalt . There is reference to a watermill in Arrowe in 1347. From the mid 15th century until the 17th century Arrowe was owned by the Dutton family of Dutton, Cheshire , who were declared Lords of Arrowe. During the 18th century many farms sprung up around Arrowe. Arrowe Township was a block of land, east to west, between Arrowe Park Road and Limbo Lane and north to south, from Arrowe Brook Lane and
2183-538: The local economy since the 19th century. Cammell Laird entered receivership in 2001. The shipyard was sold and became 'Northwestern Shiprepairers & Shipbuilders' (NS&S), which grew into a successful business specialising in ship repair and conversion, including maintenance contracts for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary . In September 2007 NS&S acquired the rights to use the Cammell Laird name. The company
2242-680: The main A&;E seen within 4 hours. In May 2014 Frank Field MP alleged that close relationships between senior members of the Wirral Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and the Trust may have dented the "independence" and "integrity" of local health services. Writing to the Secretary of State that "Arrowe Park [ sic ] has a long history of not being able properly to manage its budget. It regularly looks around for further funds to which it demands almost immediate access but
2301-513: The misrepresentation of executives’ views to governors and a culture of staff not speaking up because they believed the trust chair Michael Carr was unwilling to act. A subsequent NHSI investigation was carried out which identified governance issues and a breakdown of communication between all elements of the Board. Palaniappan Saravanan, a consultant cardiologist was dismissed for gross misconduct in November 2017. In February 2018 Dr John Coakley, who
2360-590: The ownership of his nephew, John Ralph Nicholson Shaw, who built Arrowe Hall in 1835 and had the grounds landscaped to form a country estate, with parkland, a lake and workers' cottages. Arrowe Hall may have been designed by John Cunningham , who certainly made additions. The Hall was extended on several occasions in the later 19th century. The property was handed down to Captain Otho Shaw, a world traveller and collector, who housed numerous items there. In 1908, Arrowe Hall and Park were acquired by Lord Leverhulme , who sold
2419-631: The principal shopping area of Grange Road. Following two fires at the expanded Birkenhead Market in 1969 and 1974, it was moved to new premises adjoining the Grange Shopping Precinct development in 1977. Commercial expansion continued in the early 1990s when the Pyramids Shopping Centre was opened. The previous market site has been redeveloped with the construction of two office buildings, primarily to house Land Registry and Department for Work and Pensions offices. In February 2010,
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2478-642: The review found evidence of a "poor relationship between the CCG and Wirral University Teaching Hospital Foundation Trust". As result, both the Chair of the CCG, and the CCG's Chief Clinical Officer resigned in December 2014; having already voluntarily stepped aside in the May of that year. In December 2017 David Allison, the chief executive, left with immediate effect after four executive directors had complained to NHS Improvement about
2537-515: The rioters. In addition to the ferries and the railway, the Queensway road tunnel opened in 1934 and gave rapid access to Liverpool. This opened up the Wirral Peninsula for development, and prompted further growth of Birkenhead as an industrial centre. Bolstered by migration from rural Cheshire, southern Ireland and Wales, the town's population had grown from 110 in 1801 to 110,912 one hundred years later and stood at 142,501 by 1951. 1989 saw
2596-548: The terminal of the Mersey Ferry) to Birkenhead Park . This early system was horse-drawn and was the brainchild of flamboyant American, George Francis Train . A preserved tram was on display in the Woodside ferry terminal booking hall. The system was later electrified and operated from 1901 as Birkenhead Corporation Tramways ; it closed in 1937. Two replica trams, imported from Hong Kong, have been brought into service as part of
2655-410: The town had an overall unemployment rate of 8.2% (males 12.4%, female 4.1%) as against a national average of 4.4%. In 2011, Birkenhead had a population of 88,818. The wider Urban Subdivision had a population of over 142,000. However, this latter figure includes areas such as Greasby and Frankby , which are separate from Birkenhead. These are the 2011 ethnic groups for the town: Birkenhead Park
2714-418: The town include Birkenhead Central , which is open but below ground level; Green Lane , below ground level; Rock Ferry ; Conway Park , below ground level; Birkenhead Park ; Birkenhead North ; and Bidston . The Wirral Line from Birkenhead travels south to Chester and Ellesmere Port , north to New Brighton and westwards, across the Wirral Peninsula, to West Kirby . Bidston (in the north of Birkenhead)
2773-637: Was James Gillespie Graham from Edinburgh. This grid pattern was centred around Hamilton Square which was started in 1826 and, apart from Trafalgar Square in London, contains the most Grade I listed buildings in one place in England. including Birkenhead Town Hall . A short distance from Hamilton Square are two other notable landmarks: the Queensway Tunnel Main Entrance and the Woodside Ferry Terminal . The film Chariots of Fire had scenes shot at Woodside. These scenes were as
2832-500: Was abolished, with Wirral Council then taking on the county council's former functions in the area. Since 2014 Wirral and the other Merseyside boroughs and neighbouring Halton have been covered by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority , which has been led by a directly elected mayor since 2017. As of 2024 the current Member of Parliament for the constituency of Birkenhead is Alison McGovern who
2891-457: Was built by Fox, Henderson & Co , who later built The Crystal Palace . Michael Marks , of Marks & Spencer , opened one of his first seven 'Penny Bazaar' stalls here during the 1880s. On 31 January 2018, Marks & Spencer announced the closure of their store, in the town centre of Birkenhead, happening in April. During the 1970s, the commercial centre of the town was redeveloped around
2950-474: Was deliberately left empty until 1887, when the main town hall was built on that designated site. The Hamilton Square town hall site was never used as a market, despite that myth being propagated in many accounts of Birkenhead's history, including official sources. The large market hall which was a famous feature of Birkenhead was built behind the original market, along Albion Street, opening in July 1845. This market hall
3009-453: Was enlarged in 1843 to take in the township of Claughton with Grange and part of Oxton . Local government districts were subsequently established for Tranmere in 1860 and Oxton in 1863. In 1877 Birkenhead was incorporated as a municipal borough , with its territory covering the combined area of the old commissioners' district and the two local government districts of Oxton and Tranmere, which were abolished. The new borough also took in
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#17328592067383068-459: Was established by The Wirral Hospital National Health Service Trust (Establishment) Order 1990, coming into force on 21 December 1990. It received ownership of health assets from Wirral Health Authority, including sites at Arrowe Park and Clatterbridge, as a result of The Wirral Hospital National Health Service Trust (Transfer of Trust Property) Order 1992, coming into force on 5 June 1992. Prior to gaining teaching accreditation and authorisation as
3127-463: Was joined by his son John in 1828. The business eventually became the shipbuilder Cammell Laird . Notable naval vessels built at Birkenhead include HMS Achilles , HMS Affray , CSS Alabama , HMS Ark Royal , HMS Birkenhead , HMS Caroline , Huáscar , the pioneer submarine Resurgam , HMS Thetis (which sank in Liverpool Bay during sea trials , and
3186-664: Was named in the Top 7 in England and the No 1 in North West England for patient care. In January 2014, the Care Quality Commission published a report into the standards of care at Arrowe Park Hospital. The report stated that the hospital had met all six measures for delivering 'standards you have a right to expect' in hospital care. In March 2018 it was the sixteenth worst performer in A&E in England, with only 63.2% of patients in
3245-409: Was opened in 1996. It is adjacent to The Grange shopping centre and Birkenhead Market. It has a total of eleven stands and incorporates a travel centre. The main bus operators at the station include Arriva North West and Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire . Services using the bus station operate around the town of Birkenhead, throughout the Wirral and to the nearby city of Liverpool via
3304-405: Was refloated and commissioned as HMS Thunderbolt , only to be lost to enemy action with the loss of the entire crew), HMS Conqueror and HMS Prince of Wales . Merchant vessels were also built such as RMS Mauretania and RMS Windsor Castle . In 1833 an act was passed to introduce street paving, lighting and other improvements in the town. These included establishing
3363-452: Was renamed 'Cammell Laird Shiprepairers & Shipbuilders' on 17 November 2008, seeing the famous name return to Birkenhead after a seven-year hiatus. In 2010, Cammell Laird secured a £50 million contract to construct the flight deck for HMS Queen Elizabeth , the first of two Queen Elizabeth -class aircraft carriers . In 2015, Cammell Laird was selected as the preferred bidder to construct RRS Sir David Attenborough ,
3422-549: Was run. Chief executive, Len Richards, had already left the trust in August 2011 following a vote of no confidence . His replacement, David Allison, joined the trust in April 2012. Since Mr Richards' departure, all of the previous Executive Board members have left. The last, Sue Green (director of human resources), was made redundant following a restructure of the senior management team. In February 2013, Monitor reported that "significant improvements" had been made in reducing waiting times for patients needing routine surgery with
3481-577: Was the town's mainline railway terminus. Originally sited close to Woodside Ferry Terminal, the site had been redeveloped as part of Cammell Laird ship builders. Latterly, the adjacent dry dock at Cammell Laird was filled in and the area redeveloped to provide flats, a bus depot and offices for HM Land Registry and the Child Support Agency . The town has one operational railway depot, Birkenhead North TMD ; one disused, Birkenhead Central TMD ; and two demolished, Birkenhead Mollington Street TMD and
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