Seacombe, Hoylake & Deeside Railway boundary stone

Boundary stone, Seacombe, Hoylake & Deeside Railway, inscribed "S H & D R". From West Kirby Station, about 1878. Broken into two pieces. Dimensions: 47 x 16 x 5.5 ins.

Seacombe, Hoylake & Deeside Railway boundary stone, about 1878 to 1891.

Boundary markers like this were used to clearly identify the limits of railway land and to distinguish them from adjacent property. Stones or posts were typically used where it was difficult to install a fence or hedge, where there was a risk of encroachment by other landowners, or where there had been a dispute over land ownership.

The Seacombe, Hoylake & Deeside Railway began as the Hoylake Railway, formed in 1863 to connect the seaside town of Hoylake on the Wirral peninsula with the port of Birkenhead. The 5-mile (8km) line opened in 1866. Twelve years later the line was extended to West Kirby. In 1881 the company changed its name to the Seacombe, Hoylake & Deeside Railway, reflecting its ambition to reach Seacombe. It was absorbed by the Wirral Railway in 1891, which completed the extension to Seacombe in 1895. The line survives today as part of the Merseyrail commuter network.

The marker is a dressed stone with a rounded top, inscribed with the company initials “S H & D R”. The lower part of the stone, which would have been buried deep in the earth, is more roughly finished. The stone, which was installed at West Kirby station, probably when it opened in 1878, is broken into two parts.