The Wirral is a square-nosed peninsula about 16 miles long by approximately 6 miles wide, which juts north-west into the Irish Sea between the estuaries of the rivers Mersey and Dee. Across the water on one side is the City of Liverpool; on the other the rolling hills of north Wales. Wallasey, Birkenhead and Ellsmere Port stretch along the Mersey side. On the Dee side there are country towns, part village, part suburb, but closer in spirit to Chester than to Liverpool.

At the time of the Domesday Book, Cheshire was divided between two great landowners, the Bishop of Chester and Hugh d' Avranches, Earl of Chester. Earl Hugh, had two nicknames, 'the Wolf' for his ferocity against the Welsh and 'the Fat' for his obesity.

When the great book was recorded, each county was divided up into areas consisting of roughly 100 villages. Because of its unique shape the Wirral was given Hundred status and surveyed accordingly.

The ancient Hundred of the Wirral was made up of the following 31 villages: