Birkenhead’s original Market was opened on what is now the site of the Town Hall, on 10th July 1835. The land was kindly donated by Francis Price, the building costing £4,400. The Market was then adequate for the town’s population of 2569. By 1841 the population had seen a dramatic growth to 8223, necessitating the opening of the ‘Old Market’ on 11th July 1845. The council paid £8154 for the land with a further £23,735 being spent on what was then Europe’s second largest market (St John’s in Liverpool being the biggest). The Market was constructed by Fox, Henderson & Co. who, six years later (1851), completed the Crystal Palace. Both splendid buildings, supposedly fireproof, came to the same end, the Crystal Palace caught fire in 1936 and the Market in 1969 and then again on 9th November 1974.
The ‘Old Market clock’ faces were totally destroyed in the fire, but the original movement was saved and fully restored. The clock, dating back to when the ‘Old Market’ first opened, is once again the centre piece of the Birkenhead Shopping Centre, starting up again 157 years to the day.
On either side of the clock can be found the Wirral coat of arms (Motto: By Faith & Foresight) and the Birkenhead coat of arms (Motto: Ubi Fides Ibi Lux Et Robur – Wherever there is faith there is also light & strength).
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