The Dispensary, Chester Street, Birkenhead

Mar 24 2007 by Mike Chapple, Liverpool Daily Post

BIRKENHEAD has always been something of a Cinderella town, forever in Liverpool’s shadow and the butt of jokes by stand- up comics.

Certainly during the 1980s, when the Pool was going through its own economic crisis, the “one-eyed city” across the water was arguably going through an even worse time, lending credence to that old cliché that it’s grim oop North.

But now in tandem with Liverpool’s rejuvenation, it’s becoming a place to be – and like Hoboken, which faces across the Hudson to New York City, its inhabitants are blessed with one of the most magnificent vistas on earth.

Call me a big softie, but I still get a thrill looking over the river, seeing the Liver Building languishing in the moonlight and thinking both comfortably and even a little proudly: “This is my home”.

That feeling is always heightened with a little lubrication – which is what happened when, accompanied by Grantie of the Echo, the Pub Column made the short trip by train under the Mersey from Moorfields to Hamilton Square.

The destination was The Dispensary, one of Cains brewery’s most excellent flagship pubs, which is literally two minutes walk from the station and from whose doorway you can see the aforementioned Liver Birds standing sentinel.

Like Birkenhead itself, however, a few years back the pub went through an uncomfortable period of its own and was faced with extinction after closing its doors. To the rescue came Andy Moorhead and his mum, Brenda Adams, who stumped up the money to take over the place.

“Mum used to drink there and loved it so it seemed a shame to let it go to waste,” says 36-year-old Andy, who took over the pub with his partner, Emma, a year ago last September.

It’s always difficult drumming up business after a closure, but by word of mouth and the introduction of a few little innovations, The Dizzy – as it’s affectionately known – now has a very healthy crew of regulars.