| Tranmere | |
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Tranmere
Tranmere shown within Merseyside |
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| Population | 11,668 (2001 Census)[1] |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | SJ300850 |
| Metropolitan borough | Wirral |
| Metropolitan county | Merseyside |
| Region | North West |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BIRKENHEAD |
| Postcode district | CH41 |
| Dialling code | 0151 |
| Police | Merseyside |
| Fire | Merseyside |
| Ambulance | North West |
| EU Parliament | North West England |
| UK Parliament | Birkenhead |
| List of places: UK • England • Merseyside | |
Tranmere is a suburb of Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, England. Administratively, it is also a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. Before local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974, it was part of the County Borough of Birkenhead, within the geographical county of Cheshire. At the 2001 Census, the population of Tranmere was 11,668 (5,399 males, 6,269 females).[1]
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Its name was given by Norwegian Vikings who settled and colonised Wirral in the 10th century. Tranmere in Old Norse is Trani-melr, meaning "Cranebird sandbank" or "sandbank with the Cranebirds".[2]
Until the early 19th century, Tranmere was the second most populous settlement in Wirral, with a population of 353 in 1801, centred mainly in the area of what is now Church Road and the nearby hamlet of Hinderton.[3] By 1901, the number of residents had grown to 37,709.[4]
Tranmere Old Hall and its estate, was situated around what is now Church Road. It was a large, gabled building constructed around 1614.[5] According to the author Philip Sulley's The Hundred of Wirral (1889), in about 1860:
Tranmere was absorbed into the County Borough of Birkenhead in 1877 and became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in 1974, on creation of the county of Merseyside.
Queen Elizabeth granted John Poole the lease of ferry rights at Tranmere in 1586. The Etna, the first steam-powered ferry on the River Mersey operated from Tranmere Pool to Liverpool on 17 April 1817.[6] The early part of the 19th Century were prosperous times for Tranmere's ferry service, but this was to change with the completion of Thomas Brassey's New Chester Road in 1833 and the opening of the Chester and Birkenhead Railway in 1840. Further blows to trade came with the commencement of a horse-drawn tramway in 1877 between New Ferry and Woodside Ferry and the opening of the Mersey Railway between Liverpool and nearby Green Lane railway station in 1886. By 1904, the ferry service had ceased and Tranmere Pool was enclosed as Cammell Laird Dock as part of an extension of the shipyard.[3]
Tranmere is made up of industrial buildings and Victorian terraced houses, although it has seen a significant amount of property development recently. The area is host to one of only 35 government neighbourhood pathfinders.[7]
Green Lane railway station is situated on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network. Services operate northbound to Liverpool, via Birkenhead town centre and southbound to Chester and Ellesmere Port.
Tranmere is best known for its football club, Tranmere Rovers F.C., founded in 1884.
Mersey Park Primary School in Tranmere has several famous former pupils including Jason McAteer (footballer) and Patricia Routledge (Hyacinth Bucket in the BBC TV sitcom Keeping up Appearances). Paul O'Grady, famous for his alter-ego creation Lily Savage, was raised in the area.
Tranmere is also home to the UK's last remaining resident cinema organist Dave Nicholas who currently plays for the classic movie evenings at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
St. Catherine's Hospital occupies a large site in Higher Tranmere. It was originally built as the Birkenhead Union Workhouse between 1861 and 1863 and designed by Thomas Leyland.[8][9] St. Catherine's Hospital is soon to be demolished to make way for a modern medical facility.
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