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Leasowe () is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. Located on the north coast of the Wirral Peninsula, it is approximately to the west of Wallasey.
Historically within Cheshire, Leasowe was part of the old County Borough of Wallasey. It is now within the Leasowe and Moreton East Ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. Leasowe is also part of the parliamentary constituency of Wallasey.
At the 2001 census, Leasowe had a population of 6,180. By the time of the 2011 census, specific figures for Leasowe were no longer maintained; the total population of the Leasowe and Moreton East ward was 14,640.
The world's first passenger hovercraft service operated in 1961–62; the service travelled from Moreton Common and was advertised as between Wallasey and Rhyl in North Wales. However, the service was not profitable and soon ceased.
This was met by building a new block, now known as the Solar Building, to a design by Emslie Morgan, the Assistant Borough Architect, who spent a lifetime looking into ways of harnessing the sun's rays. His design featured a high south-facing solar wall, largely of glass, to absorb the sun's warmth, a sloping well-insulated roof, and a low blind north-facing wall backing the buildings corridor. The solar wall is built of glass leaves two feet apart; these draw the ultra violet rays from sunshine and reflect them around the walls of the classrooms. The walls become warm and heat the air. Hardly any warmth escapes through the school's massively thick roof and walls covered with slabs of plastic foam. On the coldest days it is always inside and, in summer, the school is cooler than its more conventional neighbours; panels inside the glass wall can be turned to deflect heat or absorb it. Solar Campus 1961 at Mainstream Modern; retrieved 29 June 2024
A small secondary single-pipe heating system was installed to give additional heating on cold winter days with very few hours of sunlight but, by 1966, it had never been used and was dismantled. In 1963, the Liverpool Echo reported that during the previous winter temperatures never dropped below , while in the summer it was cooler than the older part of the school.
The property is Grade II listed building Solar Building at Historic England; retrieved 20 June 2025 and is maintained by the Children & Young People's Department of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral,
At first the castle consisted only of an octagonal tower. This had become disused by 1700, and it became known as "Mockbeggar Hall", a term often used for an ornate but derelict building. The term Mockbeggar Wharf is still used for the adjoining foreshore. The Mockbeggar Hall is also the name of a Wetherspoons pub in neighbouring Moreton.
In 1821, ownership passed to the Cust family. After 1826, the building was used as a hotel for some years. The ceiling of the Star Chamber at the Palace of Westminster was brought to the castle in 1836 along with panelling and other furnishings; they had been salvaged from the old Palace of Westminster before the Star Chamber was demolished in an 1806 building project. The Star Chamber was so called because the ceiling was decorated with bright stars. The ceiling and four tapestries depicting the four seasons still remain. Oak panelling from the Star Chamber and some made from the submerged forest along the coast were also installed; however, these were removed in 1893.
Between 1911 and 1970, it became a railway convalescent home; between 1974 and 1980, it was owned by Wirral Borough Council. It reopened as a hotel in December 1982 and was acquired by Lawton Hotels Ltd in 2000. The building became a popular venue for weddings and other family functions, with around 50 bedrooms. The hotel closed "until further notice" in February 2025.
Leasowe Castle is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. Leasowe Castle at Historic England; retrieved 29 June 2024
The lighthouse was operational until 14 July 1908,
with the only known female lighthouse keeper in those days, a Mrs. Williams. It then became a tearoom for a period, but was unused before 1989, since when it has been the base for the ranger service of the North Wirral Coastal Park. The lighthouse is a Grade II listed building Leasowe lighthouse at Historic England; retrieved 29 June 2024 and houses a visitor centre which is occasionally open to the public.
The first mention of a sanatorium for children with tuberculosis occurred on 16 December 1911. Slowly, Leasowe Hospital changed from being principally a children's T.B. hospital to one for dealing with burns and skin grafts, and then arthritis until its closure in 1979. Another name closely associated with Leasowe, amongst others, is that of (the late) Dr T.R. Littler, Consultant Rheumatologist, who was devoted to Leasowe. Leasowe Hospital was eventually bought by the Wirral Christian Centre in 1981; it was used later as a retirement home and handicap centre. After failing to make that facility work, the buildings were eventually repossessed then later demolished around 2002–03. Luxury flats and houses have since been built on the site.
Bus services in the area are operated primarily by Arriva North West, A2B Travel and Al's Coaches. Routes connect Leasowe with nearby towns including Birkenhead, Hoylake and Wallasey; the 423 provides a regular service to Whitechapel, Liverpool.
The majority of the Leasowe area is governed locally as part of the Leasowe & Moreton East ward, which takes in the Leasowe housing estate, developments along Leasowe Road and East Moreton. Between 2008 and 2014, one of the councillors was Ian Lewis - the first-ever Conservative councillor to represent the area on Wirral Council. The most recent local elections took place on 6 May 2021, with the ward being represented by three Labour Party councillors.
Leasowe Castle
Leasowe Castle may have been built for Ferdinando Stanley, 5th Earl of Derby – a patron of Shakespeare – in 1593, possibly (though this is disputed) as an observation platform for the Wallasey races which took place on the sands in the 16th and 17th centuries, and which are regarded as a forerunner of the Derby races. Ferdinando's brother William, the 6th Earl, was described as a noted sportsman and is remembered as a keen supporter of the Wallasey races.
Leasowe Lighthouse
Leasowe Lighthouse was built in 1763 by Liverpool Corporation's Docks Committee (the forerunner of the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board) and is the oldest brick-built lighthouse in Britain. According to local tradition its foundations were built on bales of cotton from a nearby shipwreck. Around 1763, William Hutchinson installed what may have been the first parabolic reflector in a lighthouse. The lighthouse was one of four lights on the North Wirral foreshore, the others being two at Hoylake and another – a lower light – at Leasowe. The latter was soon destroyed by the sea and was replaced by a lighthouse on Bidston Hill in 1771.
Leasowe Hospital
Leasowe Hospital or The Leasowe Sanatorium For Crippled Children and Hospital for Tuberculosis, to give its full and original name, later became known as the Liverpool Open-Air Hospital, Leasowe, and finally Leasowe Hospital. Margaret Beavan (1877–1931) was the driving force of the hospital, admired by all, she was known affectionately as the "Little Mother of Liverpool", also not quite as complimentary, the "Mighty Atom" and "Clever Beggar".
Notable staff at Leasowe Hospital
After her training Hughes remained at The London working in various departments including the Private Nursing Institute, as a ward staff nurse, and pupil (student) Midwife, before being promoted to holiday sister, then ward sister.Charlotte Hughes, Private Nursing Institution Register, January – November 1908; RLHLH/N/5/15, 76–77; Barts Health NHS Trust Archives and Museums, LondonCharlotte Hughes, Register of Sisters and Nurses; RLHLH/N/4/2, 363; Barts Health NHS Trust Archives and Museums, London Hughes was in charge of both the TB hospital and adjacent Liverpool Babies Hospital, comprising over 300 beds. In 1927, Hughes wrote an article about Orthopaedic Nursing. Whilst she was Matron at Leasowe, one of Hughes's ward sister's married, and Hughes 'gave the bride away.' Probationer nurses trained for two years at Leasowe in the nursing care of children with Surgical Tuberculosis.
Transport
Leasowe railway station is a stop on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network. Electric trains run every 15 minutes during the day eastbound to and westbound to ; this reduces to 30 minutes in late evenings and on Sundays.
Governance
Leasowe is part of the Wallasey parliamentary constituency and represented by Angela Eagle MP.
Notable people
See also
Citations
Sources
Bibliography
External links
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