Parkgate, Cheshire

Parkgate

View of Parkgate showing salt marsh and quayside
Parkgate
 Parkgate shown within Cheshire
Population 3,702 (2001 Census)[1]
OS grid referenceSJ277782
Unitary authorityCheshire West and Chester
Ceremonial countyCheshire
RegionNorth West
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town Neston
Postcode district CH64
Dialling code 0151
Police Cheshire
Fire Cheshire
Ambulance North West
EU Parliament North West England
UK ParliamentEllesmere Port and Neston
List of places
UK
England
Cheshire

Coordinates: 53°17′46″N 3°05′06″W / 53.296°N 3.085°W

Parkgate is a village on the Wirral Peninsula, in the part that lies in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, in the North West of England. It is situated on the coastline of the River Dee, adjoining 100 square kilometres of salt marsh, separated by a sandstone former sea wall.[2] At the 2001 Census Parkgate had a population of 3,702.[1]

History

Parkgate was an important port from the start of the eighteenth century, in particular as an embarkation point for Ireland. The River Dee, which served as a shipping lane to the Roman city of Deva (Chester), had silted up, in part by 383 AD, creating a need for a port further downstream.[3] Quays were built, first at Burton and later near the small town of Neston but further silting required yet another re-siting slightly further downstream near the gate of Neston's hunting park. Hence the settlement of Parkgate was born.[4]

View showing marsh, sea wall, and Mostyn House School
View of the marsh, Parkgate

During the years when the port existed, two distinguished guests stayed in the local hostelries. One was Lord Nelson's mistress, (Lady) Emma Hamilton, who was born in nearby Ness and who used to bathe at Parkgate, apparently as a cure for a skin complaint.[5][6] The other was Handel who stayed in Parkgate before sailing to Dublin in April 1742 for the first performance of Messiah. He had finished Messiah in the summer of 1741 and at most he could only have added minor touches to the work in Parkgate.

As the Dee silted up even further, Parkgate became unusable as a port and was superseded by the Port of Liverpool, on the nearby River Mersey.[7] Towards the end of the eighteenth century Parkgate was popular as a seaside resort with baths. But this diminished as the sands of the estuary were consumed with grass. With no beach and no direct access to the sea, Parkgate could manage only small subsistence from fishing and shrimps. The silting of the Dee has been accelerated by the deliberate introduction of the invasive colonising grass Spartina anglica in Connah's Quay in 1928, resulting in the growth of extensive marshlands.[8][9]

Mostyn House School, a striking black and white building, was opened in Parkgate in 1855. From 1862 until it closed in 2010, it was run by the Grenfell family, most recently as a co-educational day school. Sir Wilfred Grenfell (1865–1940), famous medical missionary to Newfoundland and Labrador, was born in Parkgate and was a pupil at the school.[10] The Duke of Westminster's children attended Mostyn House.[11]

During the Second World War two of Parkgate's houses which both contained cellars were converted into shelters and used for public protection from the bombs. Small lights were placed on the marsh to trick the German bombers into thinking settlements were below.

After the war, Parkgate flourished as a highly desirable residential area. It became a conservation area in 1973.

The Anglican Church of St. Thomas reopened for worship in May 2010. Built in 1843, it had been closed since it was declared unsafe in 1994.[12]

Community

Still popular with tourists, it boasts bird watching, regionally famous homemade ice cream, sunsets and fresh local seafood, including shrimps and cockles.

During seasonal high tides the water reaches the sea wall, and visitors arrive at the village to witness the unusual sight. Bird watchers also come at this time to watch the birds usually hidden in the grasses of the marshland.[13] In addition, bird watchers will regularly visit such locations as the Old Baths site, to the North of the village, from which many interesting species may be seen; watching from a vehicle can be carried out here. Current sightings are recorded daily on a local website which covers the whole Dee Estuary.[14]

The marshlands of Parkgate are currently managed by The RSPB as part of the Dee Estuary Nature Reserve.[15][16]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Population Data, 2001 Census: Parkgate, Office for National Statistics, retrieved 3 July 2007
  2. ↑ Neston website: About Parkgate, The Neston Market Town Initiative, retrieved 21 October 2007
  3. ↑ DEVA VICTRIX / CASTRA LEGIONIS Roman Legionary Fortress & Settlemen, www.Roman-Britain.org, retrieved 1 October 2010
  4. ↑ Neston website: Parkgate History, The Neston Market Town Initiative, retrieved 26 July 2007
  5. ↑ The Wirral: Parkgate, Neston, Willaston and Burton, Allerton Oak, retrieved 20 February 2008
  6. ↑ Cheshire Magazine: Lady Hamilton and Parkgate, C.C. Publishing, retrieved 26 July 2007
  7. ↑ Historical information about the River Dee, The Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory, retrieved 26 July 2007
  8. ↑ (PDF), University of Chester Digital Repository http://chesterrep.openrepository.com/cdr/bitstream/10034/76154/2/chapter%201.pdf, retrieved 1 October 2010 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ↑ Natures Calendar, Estuaries – Dee Estuary, BBC, retrieved 1 October 2010
  10. ↑ History of the School, Mostyn House School, retrieved 20 February 2008
  11. ↑ James, Erwin (25 September 2012). "Edwina Grosvenor". Guardian (London).
  12. ↑ Chester Diocesan News, July 2010
  13. ↑ Discover Parkgate..., Parkgate Guide website, retrieved 20 August 2007
  14. ↑ Dee Estuary Birding..., retrieved 30 March 2009
  15. ↑ The RSPB: Dee Estuary – Parkgate
  16. ↑ RSPB Dee Estuary Nature Reserve – Parkgate

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