
The Birket is a tributary of the
River Mersey
The River Mersey () is a major river in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it h ...
, on the
Wirral,
Merseyside
Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...
. The watercourse starts as lowland field drainage south of
Hoylake
Hoylake () is a coast, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is at the north west of the Wirral Peninsula, near West Kirby and where the River Dee, Wales, River Dee meets the Irish Sea. At the 2021 United K ...
and flows along to the south of
Meols
Meols (sometimes known as Great Meols) is a suburb in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. On the north coast of the Wirral Peninsula, it forms a contiguous built up area with the nearby town of Hoylake which lies to the we ...
.
Arrowe Brook joins at
Moreton, and the
Fender joins at
Leasowe
Leasowe () is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. Located on the north coast of the Wirral Peninsula, it is approximately to the west of Wallasey.
Historically within Cheshire, Leasowe was part of the old Cou ...
. The Birket discharges into the
West Float at the site of the former Wallasey Pool. It is about long.
The Birket was recorded by
Ordnance Survey
The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...
, around 1842.
Tributaries
* River Fender (R)
**
Prenton Brook (L)
* Arrowe Brook (R)
**
Greasby Brook
Greasby Brook is a tributary of Arrowe Brook, in Wirral, Merseyside. The brook starts near to Dawlish Road in Thurstaston. The brook flows through Thurstaston Common and around the western side of Greasby, before converging, firstly, with ...
(L)
***
Newton Brook
Newton Brook is a tributary of Greasby Brook, in Wirral, Merseyside. The brook starts as two branches, one of which is in the same system of lowland field drainage, south of Hoylake, as the Birket
The Birket is a tributary of the River M ...
(L)
Fender
The River Fender starts as field drainage between
Prenton and
Storeton, before shortly joining with
Prenton Brook. The river flows between the
Borderlands railway line and the
M53 motorway
The M53 is an motorway in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside and the Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough of Cheshire West and Chester, Cheshire on the Wirral Peninsula in England. It is also referred to as the Mid Wirral ...
, between Prenton and
Upton, and then alongside the M53, to Leasowe. The Fender then joins the Birket at
Leasowe
Leasowe () is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. Located on the north coast of the Wirral Peninsula, it is approximately to the west of Wallasey.
Historically within Cheshire, Leasowe was part of the old Cou ...
.
Arrowe Brook

Arrowe Brook starts as lowland field drainage around
Irby Irby may refer to: People
* Irby (given name), a list of people
* Irby (surname), a list of people
Places
* Irby, Merseyside, England, a village
* Irby, Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community
* Irby, Washington, United States, a ...
,
Thingwall
Thingwall is a village on the Wirral Peninsula, in Merseyside, England. The village is situated approximately to the south west of Birkenhead and north east of Heswall. Historically part of Cheshire, the area is within the Pensby and Thingw ...
and
Landican. The brook flows through Arrowe Park,
Upton Meadow and
Greasby
Greasby () is a large village on the Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside, England. A predominantly residential area, it is contiguous with Upton to the east and Saughall Massie to the north. The small village of Frankby is to the immediate west. Hi ...
, before
Greasby Brook
Greasby Brook is a tributary of Arrowe Brook, in Wirral, Merseyside. The brook starts near to Dawlish Road in Thurstaston. The brook flows through Thurstaston Common and around the western side of Greasby, before converging, firstly, with ...
converges between Greasby and
Saughall Massie. Arrowe Brook then goes beneath Saughall Massie bridge. This was the first bridge constructed by the notable Victorian civil engineer
Sir Thomas Brassey, in 1829.
The bridge was awarded
Grade II listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
status by
English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...
, in 2007.
The brook then continues, to join the Birket at
Moreton.
References
Rivers of Merseyside
1Birket
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