IMPORTANT MESSAGE - RETURNING TO THE GROSVENOR BALLROOM - U3A Site ...
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IMPORTANT MESSAGE --- RETURNING TO THE GROSVENOR BALLROOM
As we hopefully move closer to a full lifting of the Covid restrictions here in the Wirral, the
Chairman
Committee have been looking into how we might resume our monthly meetings which are /
were the beating heart of Wallasey U3A. A few weeks ago, we approached the Grosvenor
Ballroom about the availability of their main hall for the last Thursday in July, 2021.
Unfortunately, Thursday mornings were unavailable, and we were offered the last Wednesday
morning, 28th July. The Committee were initially reluctant to change our traditional Thursday
morning meeting time and they did look into a few other locations. However, it was decided that,
on balance, a change of day would be more acceptable given the relatively easy accessibility
and parking so close to Liscard. We are therefore proposing to hold our first post-lockdown
monthly meeting on Wednesday, 28th July at 10.30am.
Like most businesses, the Grosvenor have struggled over the past year and have had to raise
their rental prices significantly. In view of this, the Committee has decided to increase the
attendance fee for the monthly meeting to £2 per person. This is the first time in 13 years that
we have increased this charge and the increase in the cost of rental, speakers and catering
means that a one pound charge is now unsustainable.
The Committee are still considering whether we will need to restrict numbers due to social
distancing and also whether we can safely put up the notice boards and provide a catering
service. We will report further on this in the June Newsletter and will also advise you of the
Speaker who will be appearing.
If anybody has any concerns with the above, please contact our Chair, Graham Clayton.
The end seems to be in sight. It has been a traumatic
The Wreckers, Smugglers and Pirates of Wallasey.
year but most people our age, (Mature Golden Oldies,)
Smugglers
have now been vaccinated so things are slowly getting
"It's a losing proposition, but one you can't refuse. It's
back to something resembling normality. We are
the politics of contraband; it's the smuggler's blues." ~
hoping to be meeting face to face in June, outdoors,
and back at the Grosvenor in July, more on that Glenn Frey
elsewhere. I am glad that a lot of you have managed to William Pitt the younger said, in a speech to
join us for the various online events that have been parliament, that of the 13 million pounds, in weight,
provided the latest being a brilliant vision of Japan of tea consumed in Britain in 1784 only 5½ million
from Gill Russell but I look forward to meeting you had been brought in legally.
face to face in the near future. I would finally like to Wallasey smugglers were a cross section of the local
thank all those who entered the flower competition and
community; they ranged from destitute,
applaud the winners. Thanks go to Yvonne for judging a
impoverished families trying to keep the wolf from
very good standard of entries. Graham Clayton,
the door through to “OCG”s (Organised Crime
1
Gangs) whose influence extended to all levels of the same. Step in if you please and give ’em a
society, even the church, not sure if there was an AC- name.- Mother Redcap. She died a wealthy woman
12 as well but you never know. There is a tale about a during the Napoleonic wars but her fortune, which
local parson who on hearing of the news of a wreck she buried under the inn, has never been found.
during his sermon said “Now now friends, wait until I
The contraband then needed to be transported to
get down from the pulpit and take off my gown and
the unscrupulous buyers avoiding the excessive
then we all start fair” before racing the congregation
import duties imposed by the crown. One notorious
to the wreck to collect his ill gotten gains. He then
route was overland from Mother Redcaps on the river
stored the surplus in the crypt of his church.
front along a lane, now Wallasey Road, on to Green
Lane past Leasowe Castle. In order to avoid the
customs men they took this dangerous route being
full of cross pools, morasses and long winding inlets
forming a labyrinth. They even built a bridge across a
pit of deadly quicksand on Bidston Moss out of a pair
of whale jaw bones. The track then led towards
Wallasey Pool to another staging post known as
Hannah Mutche’s farm. This was a hiding place for
The journey of the contraband from the wrecked the contrabandists as well as a refuge for
ships would start on the beaches of Wallasey. The bootleggers hiding from the feared customs men.
enterprising smugglers dug an extensive network of The goods were then taken by pack horse in a
tunnels in the soft sandstone of the peninsular that southerly direction to Noctorum and then on to
encompassed notable landmarks such as Fort Perch Prenton and Storeton where they were sold.
Rock, St Hilary`s church, Mother Redcaps Inn,
Birkenhead Priory, The Ring of Bells Inn at Bidston Next month we meet the notorious Wallasey pirate
and even Flaybrick Cemetery. Some of these tunnels Fortunatus Wright. Linda & Brian Redhead
date back to the 1600s. They are connected to the
natural caves which were used for storage of the Many thanks to Brian Redhead, acting
illicit booty. One of these caves is known as the Programme Secretary, who took on the role
“Worm Hole” and lays beneath Rock Villa a large of arranging and booking online and future
house in New Brighton overlooking the sea. speakers as well as entertaining us with his
many teaser emails.
Mother Redcaps, built in 1595, was the main hub
Our next speaker for the 29th May is
for the smugglers acting as a transaction centre Stephen Wells, once a Butlins Redcoat but
for the nefarious moon cursers as well as a safe who then went on to become
haven for the honest seamen avoiding the press Entertainment Executive who booked
gangs. The proprietor was an elderly lady called some of the biggest showbiz names and
Poll Jones who always wore a red bonnet, hence can regale us with stories about such
people as Cliff Richard, Des O`Connor,
the name. A local customs man described her as
Jimmy Tarbuck, Tommy Trinder etc.
“A comely fresh coloured Cheshire spoken woman a
great favourite with the sailor men.” She gained a
Memories, poems, recipes, garden tips,
reputation as the “foster mother of wild spirits”. She
photos, etc., anything about Wallasey. All will
also acted as a banker for the seamen minding their
be very welcome. Please send any ideas you
wages while they were at sea. There used to be a sign
have to me on
outside the inn that said “ All ye that are weary
cathymorgan@live.co.uk
come in an take rest, our eggs and our ham they
are of the best, our ale and our porter are likewise Back copies Wallasey
of all our newsletters
u3a Garden Partycan be found
on our website on the Newsletter tab
2 Wallasey U3A: Home (u3asites.org.uk)
occasional pleasure boater. In 1983, a routine safety
Wallasey u3a Garden Party inspection revealed serious structural problems and
the British Waterways (BW), ever strapped for cash,
As a celebration of the easing of lockdown breathed a sigh of relief and closed it down!
Wallasey U3A are planning a Garden Party That would have been that, as they say, had it not
at been for the persistence of the group called the
Wallasey Cricket Club, Friends of the Anderton Boat Lift; the giant would
The Oval, have passed away quietly in its sleep, been
Rossclare Drive demolished and forgotten. The Friends gnawed away
CH45 6UY at the great quango, BW, and finally in 1998, were
rewarded with a Heritage Lottery grant of £3.3
on Thursday 24th June, 2pm till 4pm.
million towards the cost of the restoration work. By
We are hiring a marquee so we are not relying on March 2002, the work had been completed and the
the weather only the government guidelines. Lift restored to its former glory, once again with a
Refreshments and entertainment provided hydraulic system.
Entrance fee £1 Our arrival at the Lift today, by car and not, alas, by
boat, was a very pleasant surprise. We were
Look out for important updates in our emails confronted by a very smart semi-circular glazed
reception and exhibition centre, which gave access to
the Lift itself. What a transformation! The
Anderton Boat Lift Revisited magnificent structure stands on the bank of the
It must have been about eight years since I had last Weaver and lifts boats up and down the fifty-foot
seen the Anderton Boat Lift, we, as a family had our drop from the Trent & Mersey canal above.
own narrow boat then. We were on our way to The structure itself is a
Manchester via the Trent and Mersey and massive tubular steel
Bridgewater canals and moored up for the night near frame with two
the lift. The next morning, bright and early, my chambers, or caissons,
young son, his friend and I went to have a closer side by side to
look. By now, it had been closed for a number of counterbalance each
years and was in a sorry state of disrepair. While we other, one at the top of the Lift and the other at the
were looking and guessing how it might operate, a base at river level. A boat enters from the canal at
man appeared as if from nowhere and explained the the top and another from the river at the bottom, the
workings. caissons are then sealed by water tight doors and
The Anderton Boat Lift had been completed in 1875 using the counterbalance principle a hydraulic ram
after a thirty-month construction period. It was under each caisson, raises the boat from the river
designed by Edwin Clark and was the first of its kind and lowers the boat from the canal, water and all!
in the world. It was built to enhance the water Watching the process from river level is quite
transport system between the Trent and Mersey exciting. The overall structure gives the impression of
Canal and the River Weaver. By about 1904, water a rocket gantry and when things start to happen,
and salt had started to seriously corrode the original voices are heard over the loudspeaker system, some
hydraulic systems, which were replaced in 1908 by an water is jettisoned from the top caisson as the door
electric pulley system. The Lift’s decline mirrored the is sealed, resembling liquid oxygen seeping from a
general decline of the water transport systems of this rocket! All that is missing is for a secret agent to
country since the First World War. The use of the Lift appear and try to sabotage the whole process!
decreased until eventually it was only used by the
If the Anderton Boat Lift is the Cathedral of the
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Canals, as it has been called, then standing on the Leasowe Lighthouse
opposite bank of the River Weaver is surely Sodom
In 1762 parliamentary
and Gomorrah! A vast chemical works probably
permission was granted to build
dedicated to the god Saline, a salt encrusted complex
four lighthouses, two of them at
of corrugated corrosion! I wonder which will still be
Leasowe which were the Upper
standing in another hundred years time!
Mockbeggar Light and Lower
Move on now to 2006, we were both semiretired and Mockbeggar Light, the former
decided to utilise our new found free time on the lighthouse was completed in just
canals again. We decided to start small just to see if a year in 1763, as confirmed by a
we still enjoyed it and could manage the locks. We plaque on the wall of the lighthouse. It was paid for
purchased a 25 foot steel narrow boat which was by the shipowners of Liverpool to enable them to
moored at a yacht club on the River Weaver. To bring bring their ships into the Port of Liverpool when it
it back to our moorings on the Shropshire Union was dark instead of having to wait until daylight as a
canal near Christleton, meant that ,at last, we’d get to ship only makes money when it is at sea carrying
use the Anderson Boat Lift ourselves! cargo.
We booked our slot on the boat lift and cruised from The lighthouse is one hundred and one feet tall with
the yacht club moorings arriving at the boat lift for cavity walls and constructed using 660,000 hand-
10am. We were greeted by a young man who was made bricks and has seven floors. The light was
terribly excited as it was his first job since school. He originally coal-fired, but in 1772 changed to oil
went over all the Health & Safety palaver and burning.
opened the gate to the caisson. We cruised into the
The Lower Mockbeggar Light was built one quarter
caisson, our boat displacing it’s own weight of water,
of a mile into the sea and was destroyed by a storm
according to Archimedes Principle, thus equalising
in 1769 and replaced in 1771 by Bidston Lighthouse.
it’s weight with the caisson that was about to
Leasowe then became the Lower Lights and Bidston
descend. On assent of this magnificent “Cathedral” of
The Upper Lights.
the canal, I glanced over to the other bank of the
Weaver. “Sodom & Gomorrah” was still there having Ships would anchor in the Hoyle Lake, now Hoylake,
been corroded even further. On reaching the canal at sail out into Liverpool Bay, look for two fixed lights,
the top of the lift, before opening the gate the line the ship up so they could only see one light, sail
attendant told us there was quite a crowd gathered towards the Wirral Coast, turn left, starboard, along
to watch our exit. I took no notice of the spectators the Mockbeggar Channel and into the Port Of
but just cruised out, not looking back as I had no Liverpool. The remains of this channel was the Rock
intention of turning into a pillar of salt! Haydn Channel that ran parallel to Wallasey Promenade
Morgan until the early 1970's when the buoys were lifted and
the Rock Lighthouse at New Brighton finished as a
Dingbat Quiz (Clue: 1=Bulldozer} Answers on page 4
lighthouse.
There are two types of lighthouses, the more
common one where the light flashes danger, rocks,
or some other hazard and fixed light lighthouses,
"follow me" to guide ships.
The last lighthouse keepers at Leasowe were Thomas
and Elizabeth Williams who arrived at the lighthouse
in 1892, the year their youngest child Dora was born
in the lighthouse. They had thirteen children, two of
whom died in infancy. Thomas died in 1894 and his
4
wife Elizabeth then became the principal lighthouse consistency of thickly whipped cream.
keeper with two of her daughters becoming assistant • Whip the cream until thick and fold
keepers at different times.
into the masccrpone mixture.
The light last shone in 1908 as by then the Hoyle • Get your serving dish ready. Put the
Lake was silting up and ships were becoming larger
coffee into a shallow dish with some
using the channel they use now, the Queens Channel
and the Crosby Channel. rum and dip in a few sponge fingers at a
time, turning for a few secs until they
In 1909 the family moved away from the lighthouse
are nicely soaked, but not soggy. Layer
to a nearby cottage and served teas in the lighthouse
until 1935 when Elizabeth died. The remaining family these into your dish until you have used
moved to Hoylake. Elizabeth is buried in Trinity Road half the biscuits, then spread over half
graveyard, Hoylake. Dora, their youngest child, died of the creamy mixture. Using the
in the early 1980's aged over ninety. coarse side of the grater, grate over
After the family moved out of Leasowe Lighthouse most of the chocolate. Then repeat the
John Austin, a retired lighthouse keeper, moved in layers (you should use up all the
and was there until 1920. Eventually the lighthouse coffee), finishing with the creamy
was sold to Wallasey Council in 1930 for £900. Wirral layer.
rangers used it as a base until a few years ago. The
• Cover and chill for a few hrs or overnight.
Friends of Leasowe Lighthouse was formed in 1989.
This can now be kept in the fridge for up
A few years ago Bidston Lighthouse was also sold off
to 2 days. To serve, dust with cocoa
and is now in private hands. John Steel
powder and grate over the remainder of
Tiramisu the chocolate
Meaning “pick me up or
Answers to the Dingbat Quiz
cheer me up”
*This recipe was
given to me from an
Italian colleague of
mine called Lucia.
568ml pot double cream
250g tub mascarpone, 2 eggs separated
75ml Marsala wine and some rum
5 tbsp caster sugar
300ml strong coffee, made with 2 tbsp coffee
granules & 300ml boiling water
175g pack sponge fingers
25g chunk dark chocolate
• 2 tsp cocoa powder
• Method
• Put the mascarpone, Marsala and sugar
in a large bowl with the egg yolks.
Whisk until the yolks and mascarpone
have completely combined and have the
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