In 1824 William Laird established a boiler works at Wallasey Pool just north of Woodside.

Graham's design envisaged long and straight wide avenues lined with elegant town houses.

However, due to the economic depression throughout the mid-19th century, this would become the only part of Graham's plan to be fully completed.

[8] Birkenhead Town Hall, which opened in 1887, was designed by local architect Charles Ellison.

The private gardens within the square were acquired by the local council in 1903 and were subsequently opened to the public.

A plan by Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council to reopen the square to traffic,[9] was scrapped in January 2016.