[4] Old maps show that the main centre and parish church (St Hilary's) were located at what is now called Wallasey Village, and there were smaller hamlets at Liscard, Poulton and Seacombe, from where there were occasional ferries across the Mersey.

The area also had a reputation for smuggling and “wrecking”,[5] the act of luring ships onto rocks or sandbanks with false lights in order to raid their cargo.

[6] As late as 1839, the “Pennsylvania” and two other ships were wrecked off Leasowe in a severe storm, and their cargoes and furnishings were later found distributed among local residents.

[7] By the early 19th century, the shoreline between Seacombe and Rock Point started to become an attractive area to which affluent Liverpool merchants and sea captains could retire.

[citation needed] Development at Egremont began around this time, and gained pace with the introduction of steam ferries across the river.

The area around the docks became a centre for engineering industries, many associated with shipbuilding, and other activities including sugar refining and the manufacture of cement and fertilisers.

[8] During the latter half of the 19th century New Brighton developed as a popular seaside resort serving Liverpool and the Lancashire industrial towns, and many of the large houses were converted to inexpensive hotels.

However, its ballroom continued as a major venue, hosting numerous concerts in the 1950s and 1960s by local Liverpool bands as well as other international stars.

[citation needed] After 1886, with the opening of the Mersey Railway allowing access via a tunnel to Liverpool, the pace of housing development increased, particularly in the Liscard and Wallasey Village areas.

After the Second World War, the popularity of New Brighton as a seaside resort declined dramatically, as did the use of the docks, and Wallasey gradually became more obviously a residential suburb for Liverpool, Birkenhead, and the other towns in the area.

Local MP Ernest Marples was responsible as Minister of Transport (1959–64) for introducing parking meters, yellow lines, and seat belt controls to the UK.

The town is contained in the parliamentary constituency of Wallasey, which has been held since the 1992 general election by Angela Eagle of the Labour Party.

Wallasey is situated at the north-east of the Wirral Peninsula, on the western side of the River Mersey and adjoining the Irish Sea.

[14][15] Wallasey Village has a mixture of mostly 20th century semi-detached and detached housing, a shopping street, with a floral roundabout in the centre.

At the north end of Wallasey Village, the main street leads to the promenade and coastal park, and two golf courses.

Seacombe Ferry is also the starting point of a four-mile (six-kilometre) unbroken promenade, mostly traffic-free, running alongside the River Mersey to Harrison Drive beyond New Brighton.

Local landmarks are St Paul's Church, standing on its own traffic island, and the ventilation tower for the Kingsway Tunnel with its mighty extraction fans.

[20] Bus services in the area are operated primarily by Arriva North West, Stagecoach Merseyside and Al's Coaches.

Routes connect Wallasey with nearby towns including Birkenhead, Leasowe and Moreton; the 423 provides a regular service to Whitechapel, Liverpool.

Vehicles were lined up facing outwards from the kerb and, every 10–15 minutes, the passengers (several hundreds at peak hours) would arrive from the ferry boat.