New Brighton A Short History

[@fp30e]

I remember going to New Brighton on the Ferry from Liverpool Pier Head. It was a treat if you had the Royal Daffodil II or the Royal Iris for your journey, and if not, it was either the Egremont of the Leasowe Ferry. It took about 30 mins from Liverpool to New Brighton. I loved the Palace Amusements, and I even saw a film in the Court Cinema once.

[@vixtravels]

Miss New Brighton Starlett 1973 here: The outdoor bathing pool was a magnificent art deco piece of art & it is so sad they couldn't save it after the storm. I remember it so well from my childhood (I originate from Warrington) There were tight iron turnstyles where you paid for admission. The pool was fed by sea water which was always freezing cold even on the hottest of days. The pool filtre system was built into a six layer fountain at the far end where I would sit splashing about as I found the pool itself to be too cold. The large cafe sold the most yummy snacks & treats & on kiddie contest days this was where we were primped & prepped for the show. I last visited New Brighton in the late 90's & there was an errie sadness to the place but it's almost conforting to see it's been regenerated recently. I say "almost" because all I see are huge multi national, globalist companies with shops there instead of local redevelopment, which is quite disapointing.

[@henryb160]

I used to swim there in the 60s and 70s but the bowl of the lido was formed from rough cast concrete and so I prefered the pool around the corner at Harrison Drive. Thanks for posting tour memories.

[@studebaker4217]

Thank you for such an insightful comment. I grew up from 1951 to 1958 in Liverpool, so often went there.

[@carlarthur4442]

Wonderful , I used to love going there with my Mum & Dad to the fair , bumping cars the smell of candy floss ice cream 🍦 fish and chips 🍟 that was in the 50s remember going on the then Big Dipper , the ghost train 🚂, the miniature railway 🚃, my sister still has a photo of My Dad holding me I was about 5 years old just by the pier , Happy times Happy days filled with laughs and Sunshine ☀️, Great little video brought back a lot of memories, Thank You 😊.

[@chrisd5610]

Great little film. My Mam and Dad used to take us 3 kids over to New Brighton regularly backin the mid-late 70's and I remember the place looking a bit tawdry and run-down compared to say Southport or Rhyl, but that didn't stop us from enjoying the ten pin bowling at (I think) Granada bowling alley on the seafront next to the indoor amusement arcade. Took my mam back over there for a visit around 2016 and was underwhelmed by the so-called multi-million pound 'development'. Looks more like a shopping centre next to the beach these days. Looked amazing back in the heyday, had no idea!

[@MrGeoffHilton]

Loved New Brighton in the 60s and in the 1898-1914 period it must have been out of this world, if I had a time machine I would visit, so sad that everything has gone now, its a nice walk though with Liverpool across the river.

[@Robert-vw3od]

I can remember the pain in my genitals as a teenager going into that water 😂 very sadly when I went there firstly in about 1980 I think it had long seen better days, I remember Frankie Goes to Hollywood performing at the concert there which was called New Brighton Rock.

[@octaviussludberry9016]

I know someone who worked for Wirral Borough Council Leisure Services back then. They told me the council were desperate to get it shut down as it was losing money. The damage to the pool was non-existent short of a load of sand and sea water after the storms. Apparently, there was a massive boulder which appeared in the pool which the council said had got washed in there by the storm. Quite how it got lifted over a 30 foot high wall, I don't know. After reading the account below, it seems clear it was dropped in there by the council to damage the structure of the pool. Wirral Borough Council - neglecting everything that matters and destroying our heritage. Be it fire, giant rocks or bulldozers, they will shrug off their responsibilities in order to save money. The last laugh is on them. Can you imagine how much money they would be making now if the baths were still there?

[@VyktorAbyss]

Thatcher's government presided over the 'managed' decline and it was her government that rejected requests from Heseltine for a special investment fund on the grounds that the money would be "wasted" by being spent on the "stony ground on the banks of the river Mersey". The recent characterless buildings containing Morrisons and the Light cinema are all privately owned by Aprirose, and the "investment" was based on cheaply sold prime land by the council that previously (as other people commented) was the [sabotaged] baths. The cheap breezeblock buildings now block the view of the waterfront and were supposed to contractually support a new open air pool on that land for a number of years in the land sale contract - the developers built a tiny pool (next to the Bubbles play area) meeting the minimum spec which never even opened and was "under construction" for the minimum number of years on the contract and has since been scrapped. A total sham - the developers are bandits not saviours and New Brighton is now a bland shadow of its former glory.

[@paul-ne1bh]

when i was a young lad in the 70s me and me mates use to get a ferry over there at the weekends its all gone now what thanks for the good times so sad its gone

[@gamesthat6470]

living local its great seeing new brighton looking great again. back in the day i used to be down there all the time in the outdoor baths some great times there. remember going there even when it rained being the only one there when should of been in school lololol . but ya im still always going to new brighton and still one of my fav places to go . and the beaches have never looked so nice .

[@SimonJEllcock]

Thanks for this great video, really liked it and the accompanying music was perfect. I used to live on Wellington Road and spent my summers in the baths, we just wandered down the hill in our trunks!

[@aldisley6565]

When you look at the archives of New Brighton in its heyday before the decline, I can't see the current as a fightback but rather as an easy way out, with one million plus visitors a year (coming to a shopping town?) Then the archives would suggest that New Brighton's future would have been a greater success if it were to have been built purely around leisure. It would be nice at least to see businesses actually maintain longevity in the town, too many empty units are not being taken up, I see the next decline in progress here.

[@Fontsman]

Unbelievable what was once there. Replaced by an identikit retail shithole development. Nothing else. The glorious view down across the bay blocked by souless boxes. Britain in a nutshell.

[@tizdaz5698]

End of the day, the decline was down to authorities such as the Council who didn't want to invest any more money (in New Brighton's case even Sabotage although never proven, but we all know). Rhyl is another example of somewhere that was once a VERY buzy sea front & now, left to ruin for many years. But good to see that New Brighton is on the up again, but for how long is the question, will the council decide to "sabotage" it again! :(

[@davids8449]

All depends on someone's choice....if you think being riddled with wall to wall shops and no culture then it is on the up and up personally I think it's HORRIBLE and looks like Lego land

[@tripleman100]

Excellent footage a lot of which I have never seen before.I was brought up in Newy from 1953 and remember what a great place it was.The Marine Point development has got nothing to do with the real New Brighton of days gone by.

[@MartinInAmsterdam]

The New Brighton swimming bath was deliberately sabotaged. A friend of mine used to have a strange habit of taking walks very late at night, at say 3AM. He told me this. On the night of the storm that supposedly damaged the swimming baths irreparably there was a crane with a wrecking ball smashing the facade up facing the sea. He stood there watching for a few minutes. Apparently the council wanted to demolish it but there was strong local opposition. And of course is there was 'storm damage' then it would 'must' be demolished.

[@affectionatepunch]

If you believed your so called imaginary friend you will believe anything

[@ajjy1110]

how pathetic are you

[@Robert-vw3od]

This is not true, but what is true is that they were deliberately neglectful that they wanted it gone.

[@the-gman7797]

I've heard this myself mate,and it wouldn't surprise me either.

[@MartinInAmsterdam]

I just asked his about the sabotage and he said this: Yes, went down at midnight during night of storm. Saw two blokes with a small mechanical digger removing material from under the wall. Right where that crack you can see in the photo! The crack was only small when I saw them., obviously much bigger by the morning! Also the plate glass facing the sea was fully intact at midnight. Also heard hydrolic tools being used inside the baths, couldn't see what was happening there although when I asked the two chaps what was happening inside they said it was unsafe due to damage, yeh right. What I wouldn't have given to have my camera or better yet a video recorder at the time.

[@whitestar1dj]

Everyone knows that Wirral Council had wanted to get rid of the pool for years like the pier before it they neglected it's upkeep for years and the flood gave them the reason they had been looking for to demolish it. And what happened Wallasey loses a pool and Birkenhead gained one same old Wirral divide worse that ever happened to Wallasey was losing its own council.

[@merseydave1]

I do not agree with you on loosing its own council (remember you still have councilors representing that area) but I do understand what you have said on other issues.

[@henryb160]

Also killed-off Harrison Drive and Hoylake baths.

[@peterstevenson5418]

Its even worse now birkenhead gets millions spent on it wallasey gets nothing

[@pipins3616]

Rubbish you have you don’t know what your saying

[@alangraham8926]

A real test now but does anyone recall / remember Joyce Gilmore? She was my teacher at Cathcart Street in the 50's I believe she was Miss New Brighton and or Miss Rhyl at the time.

[@peterc9153]

I have lived just along the coast in Wallasey for over 40 years. New Brighton has definitely improved markedly over the past 10-15 years. In the 70's, 80's and 90's it was a sleezy run down dump. Its renaissance has been wonderful. It is now clean, clear of graffiti and with no disused boarded up shops and businesses it is a place to be proud of. There is still room for improvement which I am sure it will do.

[@malcolmholmes2205]

My family and I visited New Brighton after many years. It was as child a filthy place especially all the litter. On the day we visited I couldn't see any litter. I then thought at last they've understood. I was wrong. If it wasn't for the fantastic work the volunteers do, the place would be a mess.

[@merseydave1]

I am 55 and live in/from Liverpool, I love the Wirral and its people (I support Tranmere Rovers) yet I have some disagreements on this video. You said "A huge fire in 1969, led to the destruction and final demolition of the once proud tower" Not True ... The tower was dismantled in 1919 due to rust erosion, the base of the tower "The Tower Ballroom" was set on fire (an inside insurance job) in April 1969 and the demolition was completed in early 1970. I am saddened when I see New Brighton today, as the open waterfront can not be seen due to the new buildings, I see New Brighton as a retail/shopping area ... not a Waterfront Leisure Resort!.

[@merseydave1]

Another point you forgot to mention, was New Brighton Football Club and its stadium next to the Tower Ballroom ... it ended up as a stock car racing track.

[@sianclarke8998]

What about the latest indignity. Demolishing the fair and the amusements and putting up apartments!! Plus the arcades are built over the tunnels, especially the one with the wartime munitions factory and air raid shelter in.

[@Robert-vw3od]

For many many years, there was all sort of talk about what wonderful things were going to be in new Brighton, talk of an Alton Towers Style resort. Show of what has been done there is very good but the supermarket and the immediately around that supermarket are a joke.

[@michaelfleming9757]

I heard they had a zoo at new brighton don't know much about it, not seen any photos I wonder what is was like, probably a small type of zoo 😊

[@karlj.9501]

Went there the other week. Its horrible now, no atmosphere. Not the same.

[@john111257]

nothing anywhere anymore

[@free..to..air..]

Yes...its just another soulless adjunct to a bigger conurbation...no character..no aura..

[@maryamjan1557]

What happend to this I'm living in New Brighton . Most amazing place in UK

[@stormytempest3907]

Keep prices decant, it can be a good day out.

[@Frankiedoodle1941]

great movie pity didnt give older folks time to read the Credits

[@keithfletcher5788]

The so called new,New Brighton (absolute rubbish ). What an eyesore all the rediculous parking restrictions ,New Brighton is still dying. Thank you Mr Councillor. Good video.

[@irSpanxx]

What parking restrictions? Theres a height limit to the fort car park, the far end of the prom (the quiet end) has signs saying ‘no motor caravans’ and you have to pay for overnight parking on that 1 road at the back of the dips, but apart from that there are zero limitations to parking and its free. Yours is the second comment I have seen below a video about New Brighton complaining about the parking and I really don’t get it. I live, full time in a long wheel base camper van and am based in New Brighton. Parking has never been an issue for me.

[@the-gman7797]

​@@irSpanxx until a certain van hire company took over the prom?

[@gedbob1]

Just had a great there

[@davids8449]

The family went to new Brighton quite a few times 50s 60s Now in 2024 it is a place to avoid......

[@davidjames683]

I enjoyed the footage but not the politics. Attributing the decline to joining the EU is very 2007. The decline of everything British started in 1976 with fractal reserve banking and the rise of neolibralism. As for Thatcher being a champion of if the north? It was under labour government and with EU investment that New Brighton started it's rebuild. Tories in charge again and the pavillion is under threat and when a local businessman invests millions into his town he received me help. I hate talking politics online and try to avoid it but these "facts" slipped into a well put together and enjoyable little video is the kind of misleading stuff that's helped in Britain's decline.

[@pipins3616]

agree sad people try to bring politics into everything that is shown our days. Brainwashed and always the victims

[@MemoirsofaGamer1982]

Modern architecture is truly soulless