From Ford to Beechwood

6 ECHOES

Location: Prenton, Merseyside, England, United Kingdom

Take a walk through the Beechwood Estate in Birkenhead from Bidston Village to the Refurbished shops. As you walk, imagine how different this estate looked during its troubled past. No brick fronted houses with their own driveways, no floral borders, no jobs and for many, no hope. This walk is a reflection on the past and the contrast between the words and what you now see is striking.

Bidston

The original church dates back to the 13th century. The tower was built in 1520. The rest of the church was rebuilt in 1855–56 by W. and J. Hay in Gothic Revival style. An extension was made to the chancel in 1882 by G. E. Grayson.

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Under Beechwood

The estate was built in the 1960s as the Ford Estate and completed in the mid to late 1970s, to house people moving from the North End of Birkenhead and providing a better standard of living.

Most of Beechwood is former council property, bought from Wirral Borough Council by local tenants who formed a community housing association. Some of the council houses have been sold under the Right to Buy scheme. The estate is the most northerly of three housing estates within a mile of each other, the other two being at Woodchurch and Noctorum. The estate is now separated into three sections, these being Upper Bidston Village, Beechwood and Greenfields. In recent years the estate has seen significant redevelopment of the former wooded area at 6th Avenue and through the demolition of maisonettes, tower blocks, Manor County Middle School and residential care homes (Feltree House and Esher House), with the construction of new affordable homes by private investors.

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Wally & Nora

Wally and Nora are based on a real couple who lived on the estate in the late 70's to early 80's. The names have been changed.

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The Tabloid Press

In the early 2000's a poet was invited to a party. This was not the type of party that had cheese and pickle hedgehogs or chicken soup vol au vents so the poet was out of his depth. When the poet mentioned that he lived on the Ford Estate it was mentioned by a party member who had never seen a cheese and pickle hedgehog in his life that he had read in a well know tabloid how bad these council estates were and that the poet must be wishing to get out. The poet wasn't and he still lives on the estate... he did however write this in response.

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The Towers

Up to 8,000 people were housed in the Ford Estates high-rise blocks and houses. But like so many similar estates around the country, it soon became a byword for deprivation, drug abuse, and anti-social behaviour, despite the pockets of community pride that existed.

Eventually, the four high-rise blocks which dominated the skyline were demolished, the houses were substantially rebuilt or refurbished, while the estate itself was re-branded "Beechwood." The Ford estate was originally created to house people moving from the North End of Birkenhead, with the aim of providing a better standard of living.

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