Halewood
On the Saturday of our Liverpool trip we went off in different directions again. I had originally intended to cycle to Halewood to look at the car plant there, but instead after Friday’s cycle and given the building i was going to see i traveled by car.
I first became aware of car manufacturing in Halewood when reading Huw Beynon’s 1973 book Working for Ford. So i drove the 8 or so miles and located the Halewood Operations, easily seen from a duel carriageway.
I was conscious of the approach to the plant as in Beynon’s book chapter 3 ‘Henry Ford Comes to Liverpool where he describes the location as “Out in the wilds, past the Garsten Bottle works…Out in the back of beyond ….You probably need two buses to get out there”. As expected this view has changed, the complex of duel carriageways and out of town shopping areas, the car has become the dominant mode of transport, as seen elsewhere in the UK.
Seeing the building through and over a range of different fencing options was great. I am sure from the fornt view i was only seeing a tiny part of the complex, but it was enough for now. The path that runs alongside the building has a cycle path and the Pennine Route follows this way, it looks rather overgrown, either through lack of use or maintenance, but i did see people cycle that way.
I remember hearing about a BBC programme where historian David Heathcote was using a 1887 Baedecker Guide to revisit how Victorians used to tour Britain. In certain cities industrial sites would have been firmly on the agenda for a visit something that many would not consider now. I need to locate a Baedecker for Liverpool i wonder if the British library can help with that. I did have a thought of looking for one before the trip but actually i wanted to have a few small clues to guide my days there. I will follow up research and start developing work in the coming days and weeks. The strategy of having a farily open timetable worked well as it was a great few days with plenty of variety and rich visuals. We will go back again when we give a talk at The Royal Standard which i am very much looking forward to: I am rather missing Liverpool already and that rather wonderful bike.
Nicola Naismith
