Rake lane was originally the main road from Upton to Woodchurch, until the bypass (now Arrowe Park Road) was built in 1938. Rake lane ran as far as Arrowe Hill (also sometimes known as Bunkers Hill). There is a painting of Rake Lane in 1905 by H.Hopps in the Williamson art gallery.
The painting is looking up Rake towards the Village. The pond on the left is about where the Shell garage is now. The pond was used as a watering place for horses and cattle, hence the cobles laid in front of it.
At the top of Rake Lane is the Eagle and Crown, and until the 1960s, on the opposite side was the Horse and Jockey.
Next to the present Eagle and Crown, on what is now its car park, was a grocery store owned by the Birkenhead and District Co-operative Society, one of three shops they owned in Upton until the late 1960s. In the 1960s the Co-op bought The Horse and Jockey and built a new supermarket on its site.
Opposite the old Co-op is Egerton Terrace, a block of six houses. The first house incorporates a shop, which from about 1891 until about 1920 was occupied by Charles Arthur Smith, Butcher. By 1938 it was occupied by Mrs Robinson, draper.
Next to the Co-op is a block of five houses, the first of these included a shop, which from about 1892 to 1901, was occupied by Mary Manifold, Grocer. The last house in this block was a Beer House, called the Travellers Rest.
Continuing down Rake Lane there was a block of four cottages, numbers 11 - 17, these were demolished in the 1950s. A new house called 'Clara's Folly' was built on the site, this was designed to look like the old row of cottages.
Next to this new house is the old village school building.
Opposite the old school is a block of new houses, while digging the foundations for these the builders came across an old mill stone, this is now a ‘garden feature’ in the communal front garden of the houses. Just below the new houses, in numbers 28 and 30, Mrs Sarah Jane Dean opened her fried fish shop in the 1930s.
Next to the school is the entrance to the Upton Tennis Club, formerly part of the grounds of The Elms.
Do you have any pictures of Upton, or of events in and around Upton either old or not so old?
Do you have any documents, newspaper cuttings or other information relating to Upton or the surrounding area?
Do you have any stories about Upton or the surrounding area?
If you do, please contact me by e-mail at frank@upton.cx