New Brighton - A Victorian Seaside Resort
During the Victorian era, the British Seaside became a popular destination for the working class citizens of Britain. At over 200 pages of information and pictures, this book captures just how popular, the area of New Brighton became during Victorian times. Not only was New Brighton popular during the 19th century, but it was formerly a haunt for Pirates & Smugglers, most famously with Mother Redcaps Inn. Lost treasure still remains underneath New Brighton, in smugglers tunnels that run to all corners of Wallasey. New Brighton was a front runner in many departments, it once housed the biggest tower in Britain, it still has the longest promenade in Britain and even had a football team playing in the top flight of football. Following the mass population growth that occurred during the British Industrial Revolution, Seaside resorts became a popular destination for the working class citizens in Britain. Separated by the River Mersey, Liverpool was the neighbouring city that looked across at the borough of Wallasey, and became a weekend retreat for many of the fun seekers that resided in the industrial region of Liverpool. In order to reach the destination, the famous “Ferry across the Mersey” was the viable form of transport. Until 1891 the river front was open to the shore. The only built up areas being the Ferry terminals. If a traveller on the river prior to this period looked toward Wallasey he would have seen mainly eroded clay cliffs supported by a large masonry wall (1858-1863). It was impossible to pass directly from Seacombe to Egremont via this route. At the Guinea Gap there was an actual hole in the cliff in which the tide had carved out a large hollow. From Egremont to what is now New Brighton, existed only private properties occupying the foreshore. In 1896, New Brighton was given a brand new feature when work started on the Tower & Ballroom. The New Brighton Tower was patterned on the world-famous Eiffel Tower in Paris. It all started when a newly formed company called The New Brighton Tower and Recreation Company Limited, with a share capital of £300,000 decided to purchase the Rock Point Estate of over 20 acres. The Tower was to be 544 feet high, with Assembly Hall, Winter Gardens, Refreshment Rooms and layout with a cycle track. The Tower was to be more elegant than Blackpool's. Shares were £1 each and the Tower would be made of mild steel. During the construction of the Tower six workmen were killed and another seriously injured either though falls or accidents. On completion the Tower was the highest building in the country. Soon after the Tower was opened a young man threw himself off the balcony to be the first suicide from the building. Four lifts took the sightseers to the top of the structure at a cost of 6d. From there you could see for miles around including the Isle of Man, Great Orme's Head, part of the Lake District and the Welsh Mountains. The Tower is said to have attracted around half a million people in the year. The book introduces the reader to the creation of a Seaside resort , from start to finish. Following the devastating fire in 1969, New Brighton which was the most popular Seaside resort in the North West, slowly dissapeared into a ghost town during the latter half of the 20th Century. However new investment in the 21st Century has encouraged vistors to return again to a once popular Victorian Seaside Resort.
The Book can be purchased from Amazon UK Here
The Book can be purchased from Amazon.com Here
