Monks And Pirates

A Memory of Thurstaston.

I used to live in a house at the top of Grange Hill in a road called Monks Way. At the top of our garden, just opposite Tottey's garage, there was the remains of a round sandstone tower. We were told that the area used to be a monastry or abbey, hence the name "Monks way". The monks were apparently persecuted and the tower was a watch tower to warn of any trouble. It was claimed that there was an underground tunnel to the beach, from where the monks could sail to Hilbre Island for sanctuary. Never found the tunnel but as a lad we fought plenty of battles from the tower!