WALLAZEY, a parish in the lower division of the
hundred of WIRRALL, county palatine of CHESTER,
comprising the townships of Liscard, Poulton with Sea-
comb, and Wallazey, and containing 1169 inhabitants,
of which number, 444 are in the township of Wallazey,
ll miles (N. by E.) from Great Neston. The living is
a discharged rectory, in the archdeaconry and diocese
of Chester, rated in the king's books at £11.0.2., andin
the patronage of the Bishop of Chester. The church,
dedicated to St. Hilary, was rebuilt about seventy years
ago, excepting the tower, which bears the date 1560:
it stands in the centre of the parish, on a hill composed
of red sandstone, used for building. There was another
church, prior to the dissolution, appropriated to
Birkenhead abbey, but there are no traces of it: the
way leading to its site is called Kirk-way. Wallazey
forms the north-west corner- of the county: it is a
peninsula of a triangular form, bounded on the west
by the Irish sea, on the north-east by the Mersey, and
on the south-east by a branch of the Mersey, called
Wallazey Pool: there are sand-hills bordering on the
sea, which form a natural barrier against its encroachments.
Many handsome houses and marine villas
have been erected on the banks of the Mersey, this
place being much frequented for sea-bathing. The
principal house in the village is an ancient mansion
by the  sea side, denominated Mockbeggar Hall, or,
more properly, Leasowe Castle, formerly a seat of the
Egertons, which has been converted by its proprietor,
Col. Edward Cust, into a commodious hotel for the
accommodation of visitors. A handsome pillar near
it, with an inscription, has been erected to the memory
of the colonel's mother-in-law, Mrs. Barde", who was
thrown out of her carriage and killed on the spot. On
the Black rock, at the north-west point of the parish, a
very strong fort, mounting fifteen guns of the largest
calibre, has been lately built; and, further in the sea, a
small lighthouse, on the plan of the Eddystone lighthouse,
is in progress of erection. The masses of sandstone
next the Black rock, called the " Red Noses,"
well merit the attention of the naturalist, being worn,
by the action of the sea, into a variety of caverns of the
most romantic forms. Between the village and the seashore
is an enclosure (formerly a common), called the
Leasowes, where races were held, which were of very
early origin: here the unfortunate Duke of Monmouth
ran his horse, in the reign of Charles II., won the
plate, and presented it to the daughter of the mayor of
Chester; the races were discontinued about the year
1760, and the ground is now under cultivation. The
grammar school was founded, in 1666, by Major Henry
Moels, and completed by his brother, who, with Mr.
Henry Young, endowed it with a house and garden at
Poulton cum Seacomb, and about thirty-seven acres of
land, now let for £35 a year, which, with the interest
of £100, and some other benefactions, constitutes the
salary of the master. The old school-house, which
was inconveniently situated near the church, was pulled
down and rebuilt on another site, in 1799. It affords a
free English education to all boys of the parish. Steamboats
cross the ferry every hour from Seacomb to
Liverpool, which is directly opposite to it. At Liscard,
on the banks of the river, is a magazine, where all ships
entering the port of Liverpool deposit their gunpowder,
prior to admission into the docks.