Wirral Museum (Birkenhead Town Hall)

The Wirral Museum, formally the Birkenhead Town Hall, is situated in Hamilton Square. The square is one of the finest Georgian Squares in the county. It was the dream of William Laird he wanted it to be the centre of his Birkenhead, city of the future.

The houses in the square were constructed between 1852 and 1844. The site for the town hall was between Brandon Street and Mortimer Street. The building was made using Scottish granite and local sandstone and was designed by a local architect called Charles Ellison in 1882.

It has a 200 foot high clock tower, a landmark which is visible from the waterfront on both sides of the Mersey. The clock was started by Elsie Laird, the daughter of Mayor William Laird on 27th November 1886. The chimes have been heard all around Birkenhead.

Over the years, the town Hall has been used for many events and celebrations. Election results have been declared in the Town Hall. Bunting has been put on the building for coronations and jubilee celebrations. Local troops have been inspected in front of the main entrance during royal visits. For over 75 years Remembrance Sunday has been celebrated by a march past. Concerts, political meetings, balls and dances have taken place in the Assembly rooms.

View a Video Clip of the Town Hall below:

• If you are on a 56k (modem) internet connection click here.
• If you are on a Broadband internet connection click here.

In 1974 the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral was created which used the Wallasey Town Hall as its base. Birkenhead Town Hall was used as council offices until 1990/1991 when its was decided that the Town Hall would be the site of the new Museum of Wirral.

The original Victorian features of the building were to be restored and the building was brought up to the modern safety standards with access to everyone. The external stone was cleaned and the Council Chamber was restored. Broken tiles were replaced and the stained glass in there doors and windows were cleaned. Some stained glass was uncovered from behind plasterboard. Victorian style wallpaper were returned to the walls and plasterwork was repainted.

Visitors to the museum can see films on large cinema screens and see the scale model of Woodside, the Cammell Laird archive, the Wirral Silver and the Mayoral collections.

Did you know, if you are a registered user, you can add links to your favourite Wirral Learning Grid pages?