New Brighton, Wirral, Merseyside

What lovely memories I have read today, I thought i was the only person pining for the New Brighton of old, I used to come over to New Brighton every weekend with my brother and remember so well the way it was in the early sixties, Rory Storm and the Quarrymen, who became the Beatles. Later I came to live in New Brighton and I have never left. Everything has gone now, the fair, the Tower Ballroom, the open air pool and the atmosphere. All we have are the lovely memories. I too go for walks and survey where everything was and now has gone and I weep a little too. I know John Stanley who owned the Kraal Club which I was often at, then it changed its name to the Golden Guinea, which is now no longer owned by John Stanley and is a club now named R.J,s. Many a happy night I spent there, time goes so fast and the wind of change in New Brighton has changed a few times even in my life time. I live close to the prom now and I have travelled many times all over the world, nothing compares to New Brighton, no where. DAISY DIP

Oh what wonderful memories, I am 62 now and still remember my wonderful times at the Pier Head and New Brighton, I went back to the Pier Head about 2 months ago the first time in 25 years, wow it all came flooding back and so did the tears. I just wish I was young again. I still keep in touch with my boyfriend of those days, we went out for 5 years, then I emigrated to South Africa, but when I came back I found him again. We do reminisce about the wonderful Pier Head and other places. Anon

My memories of New Brighton go back to the late 1930's just before the war.  The development of New Brighton was changed for ever when the "new" prom was built.  It altered the currents in the river and all the lovely sand washed away to Bootle, or somewhere.  For decades the shore was a desolate, uninviting place until the researchers at Liverpool University did their work and caused the river to bring the sand back home.  But by then it was too late.  The blight had taken hold and despite many well-intentioned efforts it has not been significantly dealt with.  For almost as long as I can remember there has been discussion of grand new plans for New Brighton. Some alterations and improvements have been made but, let's face it, the future does not look bright.  The bottom line is: who takes sea-side holidays any more?  They sound as antiquated as the donkeys we used to ride! Anon

Although everyone seems to be taking holidays elsewhere there is still hope for New Brighton. Local resorts will start to prosper once again with careful planning and a keenness for tradition. The type of place that's not far away and one can take the whole family without spending a small fortune. After all the beach and all that fresh air is free and the children can rush about to their heart's content. Don't give up on New Brighton just yet :-) Icarus at Y2U

I remember when I used to live in New Brighton, the happy memories, I am 13 now and living in St Helens. Alex

After searching your website of the Wirral and when looking up the history of Wallasey I noticed that you say the word Wallasey originated from the Germanic walha meaning stranger or foreigner, I was always told by my mother that it meant wall of sea then it changed to Wallasey which would sound more feasible as Wallasey is on the edge of the Irish sea. Anon

Wrong Website but still interesting to know :-) Icarus at Y2U

I understood that Wallasey means Island of the Welsh or Wales. Anon

I have lived in New Brighton all my life  and was a teens & Twenties in the late 50's 60's. When we had the Tower, and the pier. Vicky road with it's café's, amusements, lots of shops, two picture houses. On the prom we had a theatre, Wednesday night was tower Ballroom night for my best friend and myself. Not a late one, had work in the morning. We saw many pop groups on that Tower stage, many went on to be famous. Saturday was, rush home from work in Liverpool, wash my hair gobble my tea down, much to the disapproval of mother. Meet up with friend, coffee at lills, where i sometimes ended up behind the counter while she popped out. Anything for a free coffee, and a chat we tried to above the noise of the duke box. Then down to the pier for a Larger and see what the male population was up to. Finally on to the tower where we danced the night away and went home in bare feet cos our shoes had shrunk for some reason. Happy days Anon

It's been lovely reading about memories of New Brighton.  I was born in Birkenhead, living in Upton Village (the old army camp!) and then on the Woodchurch Estate.  We used to go to Moreton Shore or if we felt a bit more adventurous we'd take off to New Brighton on a Sunday or a bank holiday.  We always sat on the sand quite near the lighthouse and it used to give me shivers when I saw the tide line on the lighthouse and realized how far the water came in!!

I have a picture on my desk here of my mum and dad and me taken about 1954 - the tide is out and in the far distance there are three tankers making their way somewhere.    My brother and sister both went to dances at the Tower.    I emigrated to Canada in 1974 but came back most years when my parents were alive and we always had a day out at New Brighton.  Next year my daughter and I plan to have a day out when we come "home" for a holiday Love to all! Anon

Me and my girlfriend enjoyed reading all your memories.  We think that New Brighton should be restored back to how it originally was in 18920BC complete with dinosaurs and volcanoes.

Just kidding.  We would like to see some improvements that we can all agree on.  We think it's a shame that people just seem to want to talk about how great it was but refuse to allow any change.  It could be such a great place if it was done up.  At least put something where the baths used to be and all those derelict buildings. - Vicky and Alex

Hello, I  enjoyed reading about New Brighton it holds a lot of good memories for me also...The baths. dancing on the pier,  Fish n' chips the rowing boats etc. could go on and on .I was Born in Birkenhead, went to Woodchurch school Hubby was from Moreton. we emigrated to Canada in 1952  I have told my grandchildren many times about New Brighton :) Anon

I came 2nd in a talent competition in the pavilion in 1987 great people nice place but i'll never forgive billy butler he voted against me  ah ah Anon

I have recently moved back to New Brighton and its great to read through this page and see that so many people appreciate and have the same feelings for it as I do, including a wide range of ages spanning over decades of different experiences, and all of great sincerity and feeling. I wish that I could have seen at least half of what was going on in the 60's and hope that what regeneration is carried out is done for the good of New Brighton and not for other corporate vultures that seem to be circling in the vicinity of Liverpool which is widely becoming known as the capital of vulture. May the stories continue to flow from New Brighton for many years to come, before global warming ebbs away at us. Anon

Re New Brighton - I lived here from 1965  until 1980 and relatives have been here since year dot. It has always been "tatty" and no one has ever had a plan to improve it that was implemented. Lets move on - keep what's good and develop some attractions for locals not just nightclubs  and above all make a decision. I remember the same discussion about the Tower site when the Tower was eventually torched and demolished. Identify key sites to keep e.g. The Hotel "Vic" hotel as a conference centre, the Floral pavilion and Fort Perch Rock and the bowling greens - bring back decent swimming pool having lost New Brighton and the Derby  and make it easy to get to e.g. bring in a cheaper more efficient ferry - it could land on the beach that would make an interesting day out. It has great potential but no driver to champion it - all councils in my day were out for themselves. It needs someone to have a vision for it and a plan. Anon

I live in New Brighton, yes i am only 17 years old but have lived there most of my life, i also have a a place in Sierre (Switzerland) but more to the point, I agree with anon, the prom area is a bit scruffy but that what makes it what it is, if we were a nice loving place we would have all sorts of people invading are privacy and I therefore am glad new B's is how it is, an yeh I am a 'stereo typical' scallie, but yes i am glad New Brighton is the way it is, but if they build that supermarket were the marine lake currently stands i will be really annoyed about it :) Anon

These are not advertised enough and if you do them maybe they we will get more chance of being seen!!!! Anon

As a kid I used to love the Tower fairground. It was magic to arrive by boat and start off on the lower level with its miniature railway, complete with waterwheel and tunnel. There was the (not so) big dipper and the wonderful "steam yachts", giant swing boats that felt like they were going to go over the top. Tame stuff by today's standards, I suppose. Upstairs there was the boating lake with little wooden motorboats with two-stroke engines. I can still remember the smell of the oil as they spluttered about. Anon

There was a tree with a circular stone-wall structure on the prom ... and it was 1976 that we had the heat wave. The Mariners' home has changed quite a bit over the year, but it basically still there. I remember Poole Road and Marsden Road as being always a dark place, probably because of the poor lighting and the houses being higher than they were wide if you get my meaning, anyway a rather dark miserable place. I attended the New Brighton Rock concert, Madness & Gloria Gaynor being amongst many other visiting artist, it was good and at the time there was word that it would be repeated but it never was on such a level. Anon

I was born in 1939 and lived in Aigburth, Liverpool.  We we not very well off, and our Summer Holidays consisted of one day out to Southport by train, and one day trip to New Brighton on the ferry.  We used to look forward so much to these outings.  We used to have a few rides on the fair - not many because money was tight.  I remember a roundabout with (to me) enormous horses which just went round, not up and  down.  My mother insisted on going on with me, in case I fell off.  She got dizzy halfway through the ride and insisted on the man stopping it so she could get off. I was mortified!

The day I remember most was when we had just arrived and gone onto the beach, or "the shore" as we called it.  My brother went running off, slipped on the rocks, and fell into a pool, soaking all his clothes.  We were promptly marched back to the ferry and off home, in case he "caught his death of cold".  Of course, clothes were all wool and cotton in those  days, and took ages to dry.  I can still remember the anguish of our special day out being snatched away from us. We were heartbroken! Anon

I was a boy in Wallasey during the fifties and early sixties, attending Manor Road school, my earliest memory of New Brighton was the yanks from Burtonwood and how easily they were parted from their money, we kids would work the prom, telling our American chums that we had lost our bus fare and could they help, they responded with huge generosity, generally yielding at least a tanner, and even on the occasions when you tapped the same yank twice, it would be be a source of good humour. Another scam was to harass them when they sat in the shelters by Vale Park, anxious to get on with their  courting, they would give you a bob to get lost. As my teens set in, Saturday night became a ritual, starting with about 3 pints of almost undrinkable  brown over bitter in the Wellie at Liscard, thence by 14 bus to "Newbie", with first port of call the Ferry, followed by the Ship and Criterion, and then the night was concluded with a visit to what I can only describe as a drinking den which I think was in Egerton St, called the Crackers Club, followed in the early hours with an orderly walk home along Seabank Rd, not causing any problems to police or fellow citizens alike. I am sorry about New Brighton's decline, but having lived in Weston Super Mare and witnessed the same process, I think those of us with memories should recognise them for what they are, a part of the history of seaside resorts that are the like of which we will  never see again. Blurter.

There always will be a hardcore of local residents who do not want any new development but I am sure if a new plan could be found which the majority of residents are happy with then New Brighton could move forward and at the same time recapture some if it's glory days.

Sure all seaside resorts have been in decline for the past thirty years but there can't be that many that have declined to extent New Brighton has.

Development on a small scale will not have it competing with Blackpool or Southport again but at least it will give the town something to offer and hopefully bring back some pride in the town as well. Anon

I live a 5 min walk from New Brighton, it has slowly started to retain its former glory, it is gradually attracting more visitors to the area, there is a new bowling and laser quest complex. Anon

I don't think the marine lake should be developed, there are so many shopping centres and cinemas already by all means have new shops and tidy up the area but don't get rid of something that is so Individual as the Marine lake. Don't turn it into just another shopping complex  we have Liverpool Birkenhead, Cheshire oaks and lots more. "we've seen this before" Anon

Entirely agree :-)  Icarus at Y2U

I lived in Wallasey from the late forties to the sixties, reading the
comments from other people brought back a lot of happy memories. Anon

Hi Folks, I am 64 now and lived in Liverpool until I was 23,  I have many happy memories of New Brighton. As school kids we used to get to the Liverpool Pier Head, then the Ferry across to Seacombe and walk to New Brighton. This meant that we had more money to spend on the fair. Our favourite ride was the "Figure of Eight" A visit to the Wax works was not to be missed especially the chamber of horrors. I still remember falling into the children's boating lake with all my clothes on. Catching crabs under the pier etc.  In the early 60s I was in the band called "Karl Terry and the Cruisers". We played at the Tower Ballroom on many occasions. This was always followed by fish and chips from a chippy near the bus station.  Recently my wife and I attended The Floral Pavilion to see James Burton, Great guitarist and on another visit Bill Wyman and his band.  Whenever possible, we stay at Dunsandles Guest House and have a fabulous view of the Mersey Estuary from our bedroom window. I only have happy memories of New Brighton and I hope that other people can say the same.  Best wishes to New Brighton from Gerry and Margaret C

Early Sunday mornings sometime in the misty sixties we would set off from West Derby in Liverpool and walked all the way to the Pier Head, catch the ferry to Seacombe and walk right along the prom into New Brighton. Very rarely there was a ferry straight to New Brighton on the Royal Iris which had a small dance floor and remember sliding across it to see how far we could go. Icarus at Y2U

We visited New Brighton from Dudley, West Midlands. It was a really nice seaside town Anon

Great site loved reading all the comments about New Brighton I was born and grew up there only left because of my husbands work. I can remember a coffee bar in Victoria Road called Weavers that was in the sixties also the great nights at the tower with all the rock groups fabulous nights out then there was the Kraal as well there was always somewhere to go u never got bored! As the saying goes U had to be there! New Brighton will always be special hope someone does a sympathetic change when the planners move in. ANON

Great site, I was born and brought up in New Brighton and live in Brighton, Sussex now. I suppose because I still have the sea and a busy promenade on the doorstep I don't miss the old Egremont Prom so much. They were good old days 50/60's in New Brighton and Wallasey, the place was bustling on the weekends and we teenagers felt we were at the centre of a music revolution, from folk and skittle to the Silver Beatles (remember them). We used to catch the bus and get down to the Kraal Club most Friday nights, sneak into the Grand next door for the illegal bevi, New Brighton Rugby Club dances, Derby and New Brighton pools etc. Its so great to read all the other good memories of hols and days out from L'pool. Still we can't turn the clock back. I just hope the new development is in keeping with the other buildings etc. a big concrete supermarket on the Marine Lake would be obscene. Cath

excellent website, all those memories.... ANON