Bidston

Bidston is a suburb of Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula. In the 1920's, the area was vastly different to today's landscape of modern housing, retail and industrial parks and new road layouts. In the 1920's, the area had 3 distinct areas: Bidston, Bidston Hill, and Bidston Moss.

Bidston Village has appeared in records since Doomsday, but evidence for occupation goes back to the Stone Age. The Village still maintains its medieval shape of church, farms, village green and manor house.

Bidston Hill comprises 100 acres of heathland and woodland maintained by Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council as a nature reserve and public park. The land was purchased in stages from 1894 to 1908 by Birkenhead Corporation from local landowner Lord Vyner. It is the site of Bidston Windmill, built around 1800 and the former Bidston Observatory and Bidston Lighthouse. Read more

Bidston Moss was originally low-lying wetland marsh at the head of Wallasey Pool. Early reclamation by railway companies led to the use of a triangular piece of land between railway tracks being used for the West Cheshire Golf Course. In 1936 most of the land was given over to residential, commercial and industrial landfill which ceased in 1995 before conversion to a nature reserve.

Lowry refers to Bidston in his novel Ultramarine when Dana recalls crossing the Great Float via the former swing bridge at Duke Street Birkenhead: "We stood there often on our way to Bidston" (Pg. 62). In the 1920's, Bidston Hill was a popular attraction for people to visit to picnic and take in the panoramic views of the Wirral, Liverpool and the Mersey Estuary. We must assume Lowry visited the hill with Tess Evans during 1927.

Bidston features in his novel In Ballast to the White Sea; Sigbjørn recalls making love with Nina on the hill;"They leaned in silence, looking over towards Bidston Hill where they had once made love, but which was now invisible." (Ch. V11); the hill, the observatory and the windmill are noted when Sigbjørn drives to Birkenhead to catch the train to Liverpool on his journey to Preston;  "and down the incline beyond, faster here, to get a run for Bidston Hill where trees, hedges, and houses rushed up to them as from a screen, to be instantly transferred into new, ever-changing scenes; and soon they had reached the summit where it was so clear they could see the Observatory through the trees." and further on in the journey; "Noctorum on the right and Bidston Common on his left. With huge and tattered sails the old windmill loomed before them like a derelict being driven before the storm on the dark sea of the moor where snow patches on the heather were like white crests of waves." (Ch. X1); the windmill had been damaged in a storm in a 1927 remaining unrepaired for several years, Lowry changes the topography at this point as the windmill and observatory were not visible from Upton Road on which Sigbjørn is travelling; "This wound in great curves over the back of the Wirral.......it mounted a final hill at the other side of the county, thickly wooded and crowned by an observatory and an ancient windmill. This was Bidston and the last station of the ancient Telegraph." (Ch. X111). The "ancient telegraph" refers to the site of penultimate station of the Liverpool - Holyhead  Semaphore Telegraph.

Brown's Bioscope

A Bioscope shows started as fairground attractions consisting of a travelling cinema. The heyday of the Bioscope was from the late 1890s until World War I.

Bioscope shows were fronted by the largest fairground organs, and these formed the entire public face of the show . A stage was usually in front of the organ, and dancing girls would entertain the crowds between film shows

Films shown in the Bioscope were primitive, and the earliest of these were made by the showmen themselves. Later, films were commercially produced. Bioscope shows were integrated, in Britain at least, into the Variety shows in the huge Music Halls which were built at the end of the nineteenth century.

Lowry refers to Brown's Bioscope in his short story 'Enter One In Sumptuous Armour';  "While the Argyle announced Harry Champion, Brown's Bioscope. It was melancholy to be bidding adieu to these familiar placards which were like friends." (Psalms Pg. 233). The Argyle Theatre claimed to be the first theatre outside London to show animated pictures, running electric cables through Birkenhead in 1896 to the theatre, where the films were projected onto a sheet. The bioscopes were still be shown at the theatre in the 1920s as can be seen in the advertisement from 1925 above.

Little Tich

Harry Relph (1867 – 1928), known on the stage as "Little Tich", was an English music hall comedian. He was noted for the characters of The Spanish Señora, The Gendarme and The Tax Collector, but his most popular routine was his Big Boot dance, which involved a pair of 28-inch boots, commonly called "slapshoes" in the days of vaudeville. He was also popular as a pantomime dame; in one season he appeared with Marie Lloyd and Dan Leno also in the cast. Read more on Wikipedia

Lowry refers to Little Tich in his short story 'Enter One In Sumptuous Armour';  "An advertisement for the Hippodrome said Little Tich, 6:30, 8:30." (Psalms Pg. 233)

Harry Champion

William Crump (1865 – 1942), better known by the stage name Harry Champion, was an English music hall composer, singer and Cockney comedian, whose onstage persona appealed chiefly to the working class communities of East London. His most famous recordings include "Boiled Beef and Carrots" (1909), "I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am" (1910), "Any Old Iron" (1911) and "A Little Bit of Cucumber" (1915). Read more on Wikipedia

Lowry refers to Harry Champion in his short story 'Enter One In Sumptuous Armour';  "While the Argyle announced Harry Champion, Brown's Bioscope. It was melancholy to be bidding adieu to these familiar placards which were like friends." (Psalms Pg. 233).

The Right Whale

A fictional pub in Lowry's short story 'Enter One In Sumptuous Armour"; “Drawing near the Birkenhead dockside the pubs came thick and fast, with sea-sounding names here: ...... the Right Whale....” in ‘Enter One In Sumptuous Armour’ (Psalms Pg. 233).

Originally called Black Pan in the first draft of the story. However, Lowry changed the name due to the Herman Melville connection. Due to their familiarity to whalers over a number of centuries, the right whales have had many names. These names were used throughout the world, reflecting the fact that only one species was recognized at the time. In his novel Moby-Dick, Herman Melville writes:

Among the fishermen, the whale regularly hunted for oil is indiscriminately designated by all the following titles: The Whale; the Greenland whale; the black whale; the great whale; the true whale; the right whale

Blue Peter Pub

A fictional pub in Lowry's short story 'Enter One In Sumptuous Armour"; “Drawing near the Birkenhead dockside the pubs came thick and fast, with sea-sounding names here: ...... the Blue Peter....” in ‘Enter One In Sumptuous Armour’ (Psalms Pg. 233).

Lowry may have chosen the name because of the connection to the sea - the Blue Peter is a flag which means in harbour: "All persons should report on board as the vessel is about to proceed to sea" - which would have appealed to Lowry as he may have drank in the pubs before he set out on his 1927 voyage to the East, or he may have been thinking of the nautical magazine Blue Peter which he used to read.

Tranmere Rovers Football Club

Team Circa 1920

Tranmere Rovers Football Club are an English professional association football club founded in 1884, and based in Birkenhead, Wirral. Originally known as Belmont Football Club, they adopted their current name in 1885. They were a founder member of Division Three North in 1921, and have remained a member of the Football League since. Read more on Wikipedia

Lowry refers to the football club in his novel Ultramarine; "Go on sailor, and he'll tell you what the Tranmere Rovers are doing this season." (Pg. 114)

Mersey Railway

The Mersey Railway company opened in 1886 to connect the communities of Liverpool and Birkenhead, England, which lie on opposite banks of the River Mersey; the company built the Mersey Railway Tunnel for its line; this was the first tunnel built under the River Mersey. The line opened with steam locomotive traction, hauling unheated wooden carriages: it later electrified its services in 1903.

The Mersey Railway remained independent in the railway grouping of 1923, although it became closely integrated with the LMS railway's electric train services operating over the former Wirral Railway routes from 1938. The Mersey Railway was nationalised, along with most other British rail services, in 1948.
The tunnel and railway are still in use today as part of the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail commuter rail network.

Lowry refers to five stations on the Mersey Railway in his work - Birkenhead Central, Rock Ferry and Birkenhead Park, James Street and Liverpool Central.

Liverpool Victoria Rowing Club, Wallasey

At the beginning of the nineteenth century Wallasey Pool was a natural inlet, running from the Mersey estuary some two miles into Wirral, initially between the coastal townships of Wallasey and Birkenhead. The first dock was opened in 1847 and over the following half century most of the Pool was converted into docks. The open central waterway became the Great Float and only the upper end retained its original rural character and the name Wallasey Pool. Liverpool Victoria Rowing Club was founded in 1884 building their own boathouse on Wallasey Pool in 1892.

Up to1914-18 War, membership rose considerably, the boathouse was enlarged. In 1919 the Club was restarted. In 1930 the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board commenced excavations for the conversion of the last part of Wallasey Pool into Bidston Dock and the Club was required to move to a new site on the Birkenhead side of the Pool. Read more 

Lowry refers to rowers in his novel Ultramarine; "And there had been nothing that mattered, save only themselves and the blue sky as they scampered like children past the Hall Line shed to the harbour wall just in time to see the Norwegian tramp steamer Oxenstjerna pass through the gate of the inner dock, while a scratch four paused on their oars watching her entrance steadfastly, their striped singlets dancing in the afternoon sunlight. (Pg. 28). This reference has to be to rowers from the Liverpool Victoria Rowing Club.

Cathcart Street, Birkenhead

A street in Birkenhead named after the family home of the Laird family of shipbuilders who lived originally on the south bank of Wallasey Pool before the street was built.

The street runs from the East Float, the location of the Blue Funnel Line wharf, to Conway Street and is part of the grid-iron pattern of the original Birkenhead streets laid out in the mid to late 1800's.

Lowry refers to the street in his novel Ultramarine; "....in Cathcart Street, near the berth of the ship, a street dreary in the grainy rain, and loud with the clatter of shunting dockside engines and the shouts of floury stevedores..."(Pg. 20).

Lowry would have accessed the Blue Funnel Line wharf from the street on his 1927 voyage to the Far East, he refers to the Dolphin Hotel, Anchor Hotel and the Mutual Aid Society Booth all located in the street.

Holt's Mutual Aid Society Booth, Cathcart Street, Birkenhead

The Holt's wharf was based at the bottom of Cathcart Street in Birkenhead adjacent Vittoria Dock in the East Float section of Birkenhead Docks. In the 1930 photograph above, you can see the wharf in the centre of the photograph on the far left. The map below shows the position of the wharf with Cathcart Street running all the way down from Conway Street in the west to the Great Float in the east.

Holt's "Mutual Aid Society Booth" according to the Kelly's Directory 1927 a clothier manufacturers on the right side of Cathcart Street on the dock side of Corporation Road. In 1927, Holt's Mutual Aid Society Limited was managed by Captain Alfred B. Pightling who was a Marine Superintendent. It is possible that Holt's had a "booth" nearer to the dock but I have not found one indicated on any map, in a trade journal or a history of the company. Certainly, the uniform Lowry obtained for the journey and proudly wore during his time at Cambridge University was manufactured in the above building.

Lowry refers to the company in his novel Ultramarine;  "After agreeing to meet Nikolai on the Oedipus Tyrannus, he had gone with some of the sailors to a "Mutual Aid Society Booth" in Cathcart Street, near the berth of the ship, a street dreary in the grainy rain, and loud with the clatter of shunting dockside engines and the shouts of floury stevedores...(Pg. 20). Lowry lists the items Dana collects at the booth which possibly replicates his own experiences; "He had bought....a sea jersey, two singlets, a shanghai jacket and dungaree trousers, and a pair of sea boots..". (Pg. 20); later Norman ridicules Dana at the booth; "While Andy, pursuing logically his conduct in the Mutual Aid Society Booth, usually went out of his way to be cruel. He had called him 'Miss Hilliot'. Hurry up there, Miss Hilliot..." (Pg. 22)

Central Railway Station, Birkenhead

Birkenhead Central is a railway station serving the town of Birkenhead, Wirral. Situated on the south side of Birkenhead town centre, it lies on the Chester and Ellesmere Port branches of the Wirral Line, part of the Merseyrail network. The station is in a deep cutting and reached by stairs down from the street level entrance. Birkenhead Central station was opened in 1886 as part of the Mersey Railway's route from Liverpool, via the Mersey Railway Tunnel under the River Mersey. The station was the location of the Mersey Railway's headquarters.

Lowry refers to the station in his novel Ultramarine when Dana is on his drunken trawl around Dairen in Chapter 3; when Dana and Norman visit the cinema in Dairen, Norman jokes at the box office; "I want one third day-return to Birkenhead Central,' he roared" (Pg. 96); again Norman drunkenly asks for "Three, four, five, fifteen day-returns to Birkenhead Central." (Pg.97) and later they stop at the south station in Dairen, Norman jokes; "Third return Birkenhead Central," said Norman." (Pg. 101);

West Cheshire Golf Links

Lowry refers to the golf course in his first novel Ultramarine; "Spring on the West Cheshire Golf Links, with its background of cylindrical brick- red gas works" (Pg. 118).

The West Cheshire Golf course was formed in September 1908 and went into liquidation on 7th June 1952. The address of the course was Breck Road, Wallasey with W.H. Carter Secretary in 1927.

The course occupied 2 sites as indicated on the map above. The first course occupied the former Bidston Moss to the east of the Birkenhead to New Brighton Railway and south of the line to Seacombe with the club house and first tee lying to the north across the Seacombe line. The course could be reached by an underpass under the Seacombe branch line. The first course moved from this site sometime in the mid-30s possibly due to the expansion of Birkenhead Docks with the construction of Bidston Dock which can been seen on the above map (click on image to enlarge) and in the photo below.

This expansion is referred to here: 

The low-lying land north of Bidston, the site of the old West Cheshire Golf Course, is suited to port industries. The latest of the docks, Bidston Dock, at the head of the West Float, gives shipping facilities Merseyside Plan 1944

The original course became a municipal tip in 1936 which gradually expanded across the former course into the 90s.

The original course is the one referred to by Lowry in Ultramarine which we can assume he used with Tess Evans ( the basis of the character Janet in Ultramarine). Lowry himself was a member of Caldy Golf Club as a youth and later was a member of the Royal Liverpool Club at Hoylake. We can only speculate why he used the West Cheshire course rather than the ones at Caldy and Hoylake. Certainly, the West Cheshire was nearer to Tess's home at 26, Thirlmere Street, Liscard, she may have been a member or perhaps Lowrywas "hiding" with her at the West Cheshire from the prying eyes of his family and their friends? You can see the course's clubhouse which Lowry and Tess would have used on the left of the photo below.

The gas works which Lowry referred to in Ultramarine was located the east of the course in Gorsey Lane, Wallasey which would have been clearly visible from the east end of the original course.

The only meaningful mention of the course in local newspapers I could find related to winding up of the club. However, the most detailed mention of the course is in Bill Houldin's Up Our Lobby which refers to the West Cheshire Artisans based at the course but also talks about caddying at the course. The book includes this description:

The West Cheshire Course was situated around what was the Wallasey Pool, (now Bidston Dock). The Pool was simply an irregularly shaped, grassy banked stretch of water. On one side ran the Wrexham/Wallasey railway, and on the other side up to the road bridge, the golf course. The course followed the line of the pool and then took a right turn following the road past what is now the incinerator. It went up to what is now the Co-op Coal Depot, but which then was a railway engine sheds. It then took a right turn again. It was a nice undulating and interesting course and bred many fine golfers... The clubhouse itself was on one side of a dirt road which starting at the first tee and going under the Wrexham/Wallasey Railway line bridge, would stretch for three or four hundred yards up the hill to Breck Road, Poulton... The Professionals Shop and Caddies Stand were on the opposite side of this sunken, dirt road. They were connected by a wooden bridge which lay alongside the railway bridge, both crossing the sunken dirt road at this point.The Caddies' Shed was just that, an open-ended wooden structure, roofed in with corrugated iron and having a dirt floor. Nothing here to encourage the lazy tom lounge about.

The second course was located west of the New Brighton to Birkenhead line occupying the former Bidston Aerodrome site as seen below:

Both former sites are now virtually unrecognisable due to the first being used as a tip and the second being consumed by a motorway, access roads and a retail park. There is sparse information existing about the course unlike Caldy and the Royal Liverpool - the course has virtually disappeared off the map and local consciousness. It must be noted that the course was not connected to Bidston Golf Club which still exists on land adjacent to the second course.

The original West Cheshire course and the later tip are now Bidston Moss Nature Reserve as seen below.

Read more on Malcolm Lowry @ The 19th Hole

Birkenhead Park Railway Station

Birkenhead Park railway station is situated in Birkenhead, Wirral, England. It lies on the Wirral Line 31⁄2 miles (5.6 km) west of Liverpool Lime Street on the Merseyrail network.

The station was opened on 2 January 1888, as a joint station between the Wirral Railway and the Mersey Railway. It replaced the Wirral Railway's original terminus at Wallasey Bridge Road (close to the present-day Birkenhead North station), becoming an interchange between their line to West Kirby and the Mersey Railway's new line to central Liverpool. On the same day, the Wirral Railway's new line to Wallasey Grove Road opened, which was extended to New Brighton later that year.

Lowry refers to the station in his short story 'Enter One In Sumptuous Armour'; "At Birkenhead Park we left the car. I said goodbye to Featherstonbaugh, giving him one of the half-crowns that had already taken shape from my father's eyes that morning....We took the Mersey Underground Railway." (Pg. 233). The journey made by the narrator of the story may have been a familiar one to Lowry as he is on his way back to school probably using the same route as Lowry did - by car from Caldy, underground to Liverpool and main line train to the Leys School.

Lowry also makes another possible reference to the station in his novel Ultramarine when Dana recalls his time with Janet; "His whole being was drowning in memories, the smells of Bikenhead and of Liverpool were again heavily about him, there was a coarse glitter in the cinema fronts, children stared at him strangely from the porches of public-houses. Janet would be waiting for him a the Crosville bus stop, with her red mackintosh and her umbrella, while silver straws of rain gently pattered on the green roof..."Where shall we go? The Hippodrome or the Argyle? ..... I've heard there's a good show on at the Scala - (Pg. 27)

If Janet (Tess) was coming from her home in 26 Thirlemere Street in Liscard then she could have taken a Wallasey Corporation bus from Liscard across Birkenhead Docks to Park Station, which was the terminus of Crosville buses in 1927 in Birkenhead. This would have been logical if Hilliot (Lowry) travelled to meet her either using the steam train from West Kirby Station, which terminated at Park Station in the 20's before electrification in the 30's; or he travelled by Crosville bus 108 from West Kirby.

Crosville Bus Stop

Lowry refers to the Crosville Motor Company Limited in his novel Ultramarine when Dana recalls his time with Janet; "His whole being was drowning in memories, the smells of Birkenhead and of Liverpool were again heavily about him, there was a coarse glitter in the cinema fronts, children stared at him strangely from the porches of public-houses. Janet would be waiting for him a the Crosville bus stop, with her red mackintosh and her umbrella, while silver straws of rain gently pattered on the green roof..."Where shall we go? The Hippodrome or the Argyle? ..... I've heard there's a good show on at the Scala -" (Pg. 27).

The Crosville Motor Company Limited was formed on 27 October 1906 in Chester, by George Crosland Taylor and his French business associate Georges de Ville, with the intention of building motor cars. The company name was an amalgam of 'Crosland' and 'de Ville'.

By 1909 Crosville had commenced its first bus service, between Chester and Ellesmere Port, and was to grow to incorporate bus services in Cheshire, Lancashire and north-east Wales, becoming one of the major names in the British bus industry.

Crosville expanded rapidly after WW1 including onto the Wirral. In October 1919 a service from New Ferry to Meols commenced, running via West Kirby and Hoylake. With Crosville now expanding outwards from Chester and into the Wirral, it was inevitable that conflict with some of the municipal operators would ensue. Licences to run from West Kirby to Wallasey village were granted in May 1920, but plans to extend the services to Seacombe ferry and New Brighton were opposed by Wallasey Corporation. Similar problems were encountered with Birkenhead Corporation, who steadfastly refused to allow the Company's vehicles into the town.

The above is important to note as to which bus stop Hilliot (Lowry) would have met Janet (Tess). If Janet (Tess) was coming from her home in 26 Thirlemere Street in Liscard then she could have taken a Wallasey Corporation bus from Liscard across Birkenhead Docks to Park Station, which was the terminus of Crosville buses in 1927 in Birkenhead. This would have been logical if Hilliot (Lowry) travelled to meet her either using the steam train from West Kirby Station, which terminated at Park Station in the 20's before electrification in the 30's; or he travelled by Crosville bus 108 from West Kirby. This would enabled them to  walk into Birkenhead town centre to visit the theatres. Another possibility is that Hilliot (Lowry) traveled to Liscard to meet Janet (Tess) as Crosville operated a service from West Kirby to the Queens Arms Hotel in Liscard.

Argyle Theatre, Birkenhead

The Argyle Theatre was opened in December 1868 in Argyle Street, Birkenhead, initially as the Argyle Music Hall.

The theatre had seating for about 800, with pillars in the auditorium and long, narrow galleries running down either side. Its name was changed in 1876 to the Prince Of Wales Theatre and for several years plays were performed, before the name "Argyle" was eventually restored.

The owner and manager between 1888 and 1934 was Dennis J. Clarke, a local councillor, shrewd businessman and entrepreneur, with a keen eye for talent. He was both popular and well respected and was responsible for helping launch numerous showbusiness careers. Established artistes such as W.C. Fields, Dan Leno and Marie Lloyd performed during the early years of the theatre's life. Stars such as Charlie Chaplin, Bud Flanagan & Chesney Allen, Harry Lauder, Stan Laurel, George Formby (Senior) and Eric Morecambe & Ernie Wise performed at the Argyle Theatre at the beginning of their careers. The comedian, actor and ukelele player George Formby (Junior) made one of his earliest performances at the Argyle Theatre in 1921. In this instance, he was not a success and was booed off stage.

In addition to the wealth of talent performing at the Argyle in person, it had other claims to fame. Clarke stated in 1896 that his theatre's vitagraph display was the first such display of moving pictures in England, outside of London. The Argyle also had the distinction of being the first theatre to host radio broadcasts. On 21 September 1940, the theatre received a direct hit during the Blitz of World War II and never re-opened. However, the shell of the building remained in situ until 1973, when finally it was demolished.

A large, decorative stone sign that was once attached to the Argyle Theatre's exterior was removed to the Williamson Art Gallery in Birkenhead for preservation, prior to demolition. The inscription on the sign read: "Argyle Theatre Of Varieties. Two Performances Nightly". A department store car park now occupies the site. Read more on Wikpedia

Lowry refers to the theatre in his first novel Ultramarine; "His whole being was drowning in memories, the smells of Birkenhead and of Liverpool were again heavily about him, there was a coarse glitter in the cinema fronts, children stared at him strangely from the porches of public-houses. Janet would be waiting for him a the Crosville bus stop, with her red mackintosh and her umbrella, while silver straws of rain gently pattered on the green roof..."Where shall we go? The Hippodrome or the Argyle? ..... I've heard there's a good show on at the Scala - (Pg. 27)

Lowry also mentions the theatre in 'Enter One In Sumptuous Armour': "While the Argyle announced Harry Champion, Brown's Bioscope. It was melancholy to be bidding adieu to these familiar placards which were like friends." (Psalms Pg. 233).

Hippodrome Theatre, Birkenhead

The Hippodrome Theatre, originally known as Ohmy's Grand Circus, was built in Grange Road, Birkenhead in 1888. This venture was not successful and within 2 years it became the Gaiety Music Hall which lasted until 1898 when it became The Metropole Music Hall. In 1908, it was totally renovated, having been closed for three years becoming known for its drama productions.

Dennis J. Clarke, who ran the Argyle Theatre, took over in 1916, and changed the name to The Hippodrome. In 1934 it was sold to the Birkenhead Co-operative Society and replaced by a store.

According to Lowry's biographer, Gordon Bowker, Lowry cherished the memory of a visit to The Hipprodrome with his family to see a production of Shakespeare's Richard II in the early 20's. (Pursued By Furies Pgs.16-17 )

Lowry refers to the theatre in his first novel Ultramarine; "His whole being was drowning in memories, the smells of Birkenhead and of Liverpool were again heavily about him, there was a coarse glitter in the cinema fronts, children stared at him strangely from the porches of public-houses. Janet would be waiting for him a the Crosville bus stop, with her red mackintosh and her umbrella, while silver straws of rain gently pattered on the green roof..."Where shall we go? The Hippodrome or the Argyle? ..... I've heard there's a good show on at the Scala - (Pg. 27); "A little imagination and this was home. One of those Saturday nights with Janet at the Birkenhead Hippodrome. Twice nightly, 6:30, 8:40! Two two-and-fours please! The first house. The orchestra tuning up, like tired men snoring in different keys. The gathering rush of the falling curtain. When there is a fireproof screen of the proscenium opening it must be lowered at least once during every performance to see that it is in proper working order..." (Pg.98).

Lowry did attempt to write musical hall songs and this is documented in his interview with the Liverpool Echo before he set sail for the Far East in 1927. Lowry may have held ambitions to one day have his songs played at the likes of the Hippodrome. He certainly gave these ambitions to the character Hugh, another of Lowry's many alter-egos, in Under The Volcano; Hugh recalls the "advertisments for music halls up north. Birkenhead Hippodrome: twice nightly 6.30, 8.30..." and  "But above all there were his songs, which would now be published. What did anything matter when back home at that very Birkenhead Hippodrome perhaps, they were being played and sung, twice nightly, to crowded houses?" (Pg.168). Lowry also mentions the theatre in his short story 'Enter One In Sumptuous Armour': "An advertisement for the Hippodrome said Little Tich, 6:30, 8:30." (Psalms Pg. 233)

Scala, Birkenhead

The Scala Theatre was originally called the Theatre Royal opening at 51/53 Argyle Street, Birkenhead on 31st October 1864. The theatre was altered after a fire in 1892, extensively modernised in 1905 and introduced cinema into the programmes in 1910.

Under pressure from cinema, the Theatre Royal closed in January 1921. The new proprietors Sol and Alfred Levy spent a fortune in converting the theatre to a modern picture house. James S. Bramwell was in charge of the reconstruction, Arnold Auerbach, a Liverpool artist, provided the designs and J.A. Milestone was in charge of building work.

The cinema re-opened on 25th April 1921 as the Scala Picture House. The cinema had daily matinees at 3.00pm and continuous performances from 6.30 to 10.30pm. In 1927, the licensee and manager was Cyril Levy, circle cost 1 shilling and 6 pence, the stalls 1 shilling and the upper circle 5 pence. The Scala was the first cinema in Bikenhead to show “talkies” in August 1929. In February 1930 the Scala was taken over by Associated British Cinemas and soon after closed for redecoration. The Scala finally closed on 6th February 1937 and was demolished to be replaced with a new cinema called the Savoy.

Lowry refers to the cinema in his novel Ultramarine; "...I've heard there's a good show on at the Scala-" (Pg. 27).

Read more on Malcolm Lowry @ The 19th Hole

Cammell Laird

The company was founded by William Laird, who had established the Birkenhead Iron Works in 1824, when he was joined by his son, John Laird in 1828: their first ship was an iron barge. The company soon became pre-eminent in the manufacture of iron ships and made major advances in propulsion.


In 1903 the businesses of Messrs. Cammell and Laird merged to create a company at the forefront of shipbuilding. Johnson Cammell & Co. had been founded by Charles Cammell and Henry and Thomas Johnson: it made, amongst many other metal products, iron wheels and rails for Britain's railways and was based in Sheffield. Between 1829 and 1947, over 1,100 vessels of all kinds were launched from the Cammell Laird slipways into the River Mersey. Read more on Wikipedia

Lowry refers to the company in a list of signs on board the ship Oedipus Tyrannus in his novel Ultramarine; "Cammell Laird Shipbuilding Company, Birkenhead" (Pg. 54).

Lowry also mentions the shipbuilders in his poem 'Freighter 1940' (Collected Poetry Pg. 143);

A freighter builds in Birkenhead where rain
Falls in labourers' eyes at sunset. Then 
She's launched! Her iron sides strain as merchants gaze;
A cheer swoops down into titanic ways.

Rock Ferry

Rock Ferry is an area of Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula, England. Residential building did not really happen until the early part of the 19th century, the rise of the ferry and the railway, and the establishment of the Royal Rock Hotel and bath house in 1836. Between then and 1870, the area received an influx of luxurious housing including the villas of Rock Park with many other large houses around the Old Chester Road making Rock Ferry one of the most desirable addresses in the North West.

In the later part of the 19th century, Rock Ferry expanded due to the need to house the increasing population of workers, especially at Birkenhead's Cammell Laird shipyard. The decline of local industries in the 1950s took its toll with many of the splendid buildings were dilapidated and unrestored. The building of a by-pass cut the town off from the river with the destruction of Nathaniel Hawthorne's former home in Rock Park in the process. From a nadir in the late 1980's, the town began a subsequent regeneration which still continues.

Death of an Era: Last Hours of Hawthorne's House by Geoffrey Moore

Lowry refers to Rock Ferry in a number of texts including his short story 'Enter One In Sumptuous Armour'; "All around us in the fog lay that extraordinary terrain of the Industrial Revolution and the first street cars, where Wilfred Owen was at school and Nathaniel Hawthorne was Consul..." (Pg. 235); Lowry refers to the Rock Ferry Station in his short story 'Through The Panama';" - a letter came on board causing me much anxiety: my brother reports my mother is seriously ill in England. this is the first time i shall have seen her, as I hope to, in 20 years. Last time I saw her was at Rock Ferry Station, Birkenhead (where Nathaniel Hawthorne was consul), when she saw me off on the London train." (Pgs. 100-101) and he refers to Rock Ferry in a letter to Derek Pethick dated 31st august 1950; "I was born... in New Brighton, near Birkenhead, not far from where Hawthorne had his Consulate in Rock Ferry.(Collected Letters Vol 2 Pg.277).