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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
Alan Weston

Merseyrail station with secret hidden behind the walls

It's a station that many thousands use or travel through every day.

But Birkenhead's underground Hamilton Square station has an amazing secret which many might not know about.

When the station was closed for refurbishment in 2014, posters and old station signage dating back to the 1940s, 50s and 60s were uncovered.

The posters were discovered behind walls on the platforms after they were removed as part of the station's upgrade.

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Among the curiosities revealed were an old ECHO advertising poster which read: "Mrs Maybrick: Liverpool’s flypaper murderess" – a reference to an ECHO series about the 1889 trial of Florence Maybrick, who was convicted of poisoning her husband James but later acquitted.

Other posters promoted a New Brighton circus and a concert for the Royal Philharmonic Hall Hungarian Relief Fund. The year is unknown, but the likeliest date is the mid-1950s.

The original sign for Hamilton Square station was also uncovered during the work carried out by Network Rail.

Even though the posters had been hidden from public view for decades, they were still clearly legible.

Because of their age, it wasn't possible for the signs to be removed without being damaged, so - after being photographed - they were left where they were.

When Hamilton Square station was re-opened to the travelling public in the spring of March 2015, displays were put up on the platforms to let people know of the amazing finds that had been made there during the upgrade.

Think you know your Mersey rail stations? Take our fun quiz and find out

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