[Report 1936] / Medical Officer of Health, Wallasey Local Board / U.D.C. / County Borough.

  • Wallasey (England). Local Board.
Date:
1936
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1936] / Medical Officer of Health, Wallasey Local Board / U.D.C. / County Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    12/182 (page 10)
    PHYSICAL FEATURES AND GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE DISTRICT. The Borough of Wallasey is a part of the Wirral Peninsula, and itself forms a peninsula, bounded by the River Mersey on the East, the Irish Sea on the North, Wallasey and Birkenhead Docks on the South and South-west, with flat land on the West to the sea. The ground rises from the river and also from the land side towards the middle of the district, forming a kind of backbone North and South, reaching a height of 200 feet above the sea at New Brighton, affording splendid facilities for drainage East and West of this natural ridge. New red sandstone, at a variable depth, underlies all this district, with pockets of alluvium, drift clay, gravel marl and sand. On the 1st April, 1928, the Borough was extended on the west side by the inclusion of the Parish of Moreton, which included the district known as Leasowe and part of the Parish of Bidston- cum-Ford. This added area is for the most part flat in character ranging in level from 10 feet to 50 feet above mean sea level, the lowest portions being protected from the sea in part by the Leasowe Embankment and in part by the sandhills. The area is intersected east and west by the River Birket, which drains from higher ground on the southern side and enters the Mersey via a culvert. Certain areas immediately adjoining the Birket are liable to flooding in times of heavy rain, but a scheme for the prevention of this flooding has been drawn up and will be put in hand on the satisfactory con¬ clusion of negotiations now proceeding with other interested authorities. As from the 1st of April, 1933, the boundaries were further extended by the inclusion of portions of Upton, Bidston and Saugh- all Massie (602 acres), the total acreage of the Borough now being 5,908 acres. SOCIAL CONDITIONS. The Borough is mainly a residential place, a large number of the inhabitants being engaged in business in Liverpool. Some large docks, forming part of the Port of Liverpool, are situated in the Borough. There are also in the district extensive Lairages for imported cattle and sheep. For some little time past these have not been in actual use. There is no occupation which would have any particular influence on the public health. Wallasey is the location of the largest milling industry in Britain, but with the exception of these large flour mills and one or two manufacturing establishments, no industries of any moment employing any large number of men exist in the Borough.