At Home on the Wirral Trivia Quiz

Answer: Port Sunlight

One of the best known places on Wirral, Port Sunlight was created by the Lever Brothers to provide accommodation for the workers in their soap factory. The houses were built to various designs and are now much sought after by private buyers. The art gallery was founded by William Lever in 1922 and named for his wife.

Many of the items on display came from the family's private collection.

Answer: Tranmere Rovers

Only Tranmere, of the teams listed, is located on Wirral. Marine and Bootle play in Sefton and Prescot Cables in Knowsley, all of which are on the Liverpool side of the Mersey.

Tranmere Rovers was formed in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, changing their name to reflect the geographical location in the following year. They are very much Merseyside's third club, with Liverpool and Everton being both better known and more successful. Tranmere fell out of the Football League, the top tier of club competition, in 2015, regaining their position in 2018, in League Two, the lowest of the four divisions in the League.

Answer: The Professionals

'The Professionals' was shown on British television between 1977 and 1983. It depicted a fictional version of MI5, not particularly well disguised as it was named CI5 in the show. The show featured three main characters: Cowley, played by Gordon Jackson, Doyle, portrayed by Martin Shaw and Bodie.

Collins began his show business career as a musician and moved to London to pursue his ambitions in that direction. He then trained as an actor appearing primarily in roles on television. Collins died in Los Angeles, where he lived for the final ten years of his life, in 2013.

Answer: Biscuit

Half Man Half Biscuit formed in Birkenhead in 1984 and, after a brief hiatus from 1986 until 1990, is still performing in the first quarter of the twenty-first century. As might be surmised by the name, the band's songs are not the usual pop music fare, and have a surreal feel. 'Back in the DHSS', the first album, referenced the then name of the UK's unemployment department with a nod to The Beatles, and included tracks such as 'I Love You Because (You Look Like Jim Reeves)'.

Although not as widely known as other Merseyside bands, Half Man Half Biscuit has a loyal fan base which is not restricted to the local area.

Answer: Hoylake

So well established is the Golf Club in the town that it is often referred to as 'Hoylake' rather than by the longer version. The club was established in 1869 and received Royal patronage (from the Duke of Connaught) early on, allowing it to use the 'Royal' prefix as part of the name.

It was a regular venue for the Open Championship in the early part of the twentieth century before a long gap from 1967 until 2006, when it returned to the rota of courses hosting the Open. The 2006 champion was Tiger Woods, and Rory McIlroy triumphed in 2014 when Hoylake was again the chosen course.

Answer: Harold Wilson

Harold Wilson was not from the area, but attended Wirral Grammar School for Boys' sixth form between 1932 and 1934. His photograph hangs on display at the school. Other former pupils include another politician, Peter Black, and the comedian Ted Robbins.

Of the names listed, only Edward Heath was of the right age. The Davids, Lloyd George and Cameron, were too old and too young, respectively, to have been at school in the 1930s.

Answer: Hilbre

There are three islands in the group, which can be accessed by foot from West Kirby at low tide, following a dog leg route. Direct access isn't possible due to mud flats. The name is a corruption of St.Hildeburgh, a holy woman who may have lived on the main island in the seventh century.

The largest of the islands is named Hilbre, with the two smaller ones being Middle Eye and Little Eye. Fortunately, both have useful rocks on which you can sit and take a breather during the walk to and from the islands. Tide tables are on display in West Kirby, but people still get stranded as the tides come in much more quickly than the unwary tourists can imagine.

Answer: Norse

Although the Romans did have settlements on Wirral, the influence on place names is Scandinavian. Norsemen were forced out of Ireland and found their way to the northern parts of Wirral in around 900 AD. The 'by' suffix means 'settlement' and other places with this ending are Irby and West Kirby.

Other Norse influenced names are Thingwall, derived from the Norse for meeting place, and Meols (pronounced Mels), from the Norse word for sandhills.

Answer: Tennis

Lottie Dod was a phenomenal sports person, and achieved renown in all the sports listed. It was in tennis that she really made her mark, winning the Wimbledon Ladies' Championship for the first time in 1887, when she was only fifteen. Lottie went on to win a further four times, in 1888, 1891, 1892 and 1893. In addition, she won a silver medal for archery at the Olympic Games of 1908 and won the British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship at Royal Troon in 1904.

The former family home in Bebington became a nursing home in the early part of the twenty-first century.

Answer: Shipbuilding

The company was founded by William Laird in 1828 in Birkenhead, and merged with the Sheffield company Johnson Cammell & Co. in 1903 to create the name under which the business still operates in the twenty-first century. The company produced many of the ships which fought in World War II, including HMS Ark Royal.

The company also built CSS Alabama. Ship repair forms a large part of the present business, although the company is still building ships, including the RRS Sir David Attenborough.