The Metropolitan Borough of Wirral on the Wirral Peninsula

Wirral is a Metropolitan Borough of about 320,000North West England. The earliest signs of permanent
population on the Wirral Peninsula in North Westhuman settlements on the peninsula date from 7000
England. North West England is one of the country'sBC. Before the arrival of the Romans the inhabitants
nine official regions and it encompasses the countieswere a Celtic tribe known as the Cornovii. Artifacts
of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashireunearthed at the Meols digs indicate the region was
and Merseyside. The Wirral Metropolitan Borough is inan important port as early 500 BC, with evidence of
Merseyside County and includes the towns andgoods and ships from Gaul and the Mediterranean.
villages of Bebington, Birkenhead, Heswall, Hoylake,In 1070 William the Conqueror laid waste to the
Wallasey, Port Sunlight and West Kirby.Wirral after subduing Northumbria. The Domesday
The Wirral Peninsula is the land between the mouthsBook (1086) reports 405 heads of family in the
of the River Dee to the west and the River MerseyWirral, indicating a total population of approximately
to the east and is about 70 square miles (10 long x 73,000. The population remained low until the Industrial
wide) in size. The Wirral Metropolitan BoroughRevolution. The population of the Wirral at the start
occupies the northern portion of the peninsula. Theof the 19th century was under 6,000, an increase of
base of the peninsula is Cheshire County. Prior tono more than 3,000 people in 700 years. But the
1974, when the system of Metropolitan Boroughsincrease in transatlantic trade over the course of the
created by the Local Government Act of 1972 wentnext 100 years altered the population base in a way
into effect, the entire peninsula was Cheshire County.that all previous history did not. By 1900 the
The Wirral is a working class region, as is most ofpopulation of the peninsula was over 180,000.