Wirral Archives Service

Who we are

Wirral Archives Service is the local authority archive for Wirral Borough Council. It was established in 1974 but moved to its present and much improved facility in the Cheshire Lines Building, Birkenhead in 2008. The archives hold documents dating back to the fifteenth century, with most dating from the nineteenth and twentieth century including local government and official records for Wirral Borough Council and its predecessors, records of Cammell Laird shipbuilders, the Poor Law and of local workhouses and schools. Outreach is an important aspect of the Wirral Archive Service; this includes talks and workshops on family history, local history topics and school sessions delivered both within in the classroom and on the archive premises. The sessions cover a wide range of curriculum subjects including; • The Romans; • The Anglo-Saxons; • The Vikings; • The Middle Ages: e.g. Medieval People (primary), Medieval Realms (KS3 yr7); • The Tudors and Stuarts; • The Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions; • Victorian Children; • The Twentieth Century including Children of the Second World War, Britain at War, 1914-1945. These sessions allow pupils to see primary source materials and to understand that ‘history’ was made where they live.