The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-11-05 00:00:00

BIRKENHEAD.

star the formality of laying the foundation-stone of
the great works about to be proceeded with, will take
place. The basin will have two entrances, formed by the
construction of an oblong island, between the point of
Woodside Ferry pier and the southern corner of the sea-
wall, to the north, which is to enclose Wallasey Pool.
These two entrances, it is supposed, wilt afford better
ingress and egress of craft than a single opening, as either
may be taken advantage of according to the wind. South-
ward will be the reclaimed land on each side of the en-
trance to the Pool, or, as it will be termed, " The Great
Low-water Basin," of 37 acres. The land reclaimed, or
made, on each side will be about 60 acres, or 120 in all,
with a quay space all round of 300 feet wide. The gates
from this basin to the Great Floating Dock above, of 150
acres, and of a depth of 19 feet, are so clearly defined on
the map, that we need not supply any further elucidation.
The Birkenhead Dock Warehousing Company possess the
whole wide belt of land on the south side of the Pool up
to Corporation-road, and will doubtless employ or let it,
to the best advantage, for lateral docks, warehouses, yards,
quays, &c. Scientific plans are in preparation. From
the increasing trade of Liverpool, it is expected that the
buildings erected will come into requisition as soon as
finished, for the storage of articles, especially those of a
bulky description. The opposite, or Seacombe shore will
be equally available, and enhanced in value, for the works
now upon it or similar manufactories, as well as for quays,
slips, and new erections in warehouses or depeits. It will
be observed that there will be a road or bridge over the
gates from Birkenhead to Seacombe, near the river-wall,
which will not only be a great accommodation to visitors,
Pedestrians, and others, but form a link between the two
townships which they have never before enjoyed even with
the advantage of Poulton-bridge, recently constructed,
Which is much higher up, and involves additional miles of
travel. There is a small dock to be constructed early
at the south end of the Low-water Basin.
Our townsman, Mr. John Tomkinson, the builder of
,ar Custom-house, and of our New Assize Courts, has
obtained the contract for the whole of the Birkenhead
Dock sea-walls, &c., and is deserving of the trust reposed
in his abilities as an experienced and faithful workman.
lie has already made great progress in fixing his double
rows of perpendicular balks, with railways on horizontal
Parallel balks at the top, for the curricles to convey
and deposit in their places the huge stones for the
sixteen-acre basin ; and these, extending along the
the shore from Woodside Ferry to the gut between it and
the Patent slips, already show conspicuously from this side
of the water. He has also laid transverse elevated rail-
ways for the same purpose, abutting into the present beach-
ing ground in that quarter ; and he is preparing to lay
down a railway for the conveyance of the principal part of
the stone from the quarry at Flaybrick Hill, for the sea
Walls ; and has already got a new steam-engine for mortar-
grinding, and a new lime-kiln erected, on the shore facing
the works. He has also, in this early stage of the works,
and though the season begins to be unpropitious, a vast
''umber of workmen employed—perhaps not fewer than
two thousand.
The excavators swarm along the shore, which they have

already deeply trenched, finding close to the surface, at
the highest part, solid beds of sound red free-stone, which
will be applicable to many parts of the works. A crane
has also been erected a little to the northward of Wood-
side Ferry slip, (elevated on a square stone basement, re-
sembling the lower story of a tower,) for the hoisting of
large stones, &c. from the fiats that may come alongside
when the tide is up ; and these blocks will be conveyed in
waggons on an elevated branch railway, running shore-
ward from the crane to the other lines of rail, so that they
may be readily deposited on their destined sites at any
part of the works. The whole of the machinery, indeed,
is of the best description, to facilitate the grand opera-
tions.

We may state that, in addition to the handsome places of
worship of the Establishment, especially Trinity Church,
(a fine Norman building), Birkenhead Church (Gothic),
and the Scotch Church, Conway-street, and the Catholic
and Dissenting Chapels, four new " Churches" are to be
shortly erected, on eligible sites, as indicated in our plan,—
to meet the wants and wishes of the rapidly increasing
population.
Birkenhead will, no doubt, derive very considerable ad-
vantages from the number of railways that will shortly
terminate there, as well as from those now existing. We may
enumerate—the respective railways from BIRKENHEAD,
to Birmingham and London ;—to Shrewsbury, Mont-
gomery, Welsbpool, and New-Town ;—to Mould and
Wrexham ;—to H olyhead ;—to Runcorn, Warrington, and
Manchester ; and by various ways, in connection with
these and other lines, to all parts of the north and east of
England. It is stated to us, indeed, that no town in the
country will become so much the focus of railways, in a
few years ; so that the docks and warehouses will be in
direct communication with all parts of the kingdom. The
government mail steam-ships, too, will there find a haven
of security, in place of anchoring in the Sloyne ; and the
tidal basin will be of advantage to vessels bringing cattle,
as they may at all times there discharge their live-stock,
without the necessity of losing a tide.
The intended " Birkenhead, Manchester, cad Cheshire

Junction Railway," will join the Chester and Birkenhead
Railway, by a branch, near Bebington, for the Birkenhead
traffic, and another near Chester for the Shropshire,
Welsh, and Irish traffic. These branches will unite near
Elton, the line then to be continued to Frodsham and
Preston-Brook, and thence (crossing the Grand Junction)
to Manchester, via Altringham, whence a branch will he
carried to Stockport.
In fine, Birkenhead is, (to use a Yankee phrase,) " going
a-head in style." The population (as before stated) is
already from 15,000 to 16,000 souls. In 1841, the popu-
lation was, by the census, only B,227,—showing an in-
crease of nearly double in the short space of three years ;
and as regards the sanitary condition of the township, we
find, from an authentic table in Mr. Stansfield's work,
that from 1838 to 1841 (inclusive) the average deaths were
little more than two per cent.,—being but 1 in 45.—The
principal proprietors, Mr. Jackson, Mr. Laird, Mr. Pot-
ter, and others, have agreed not to allow of courts of
houses, or dwellings in cellars.