Birkenhead Priory is in Priory Street,

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liv ...

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wir ...

, England. It is the oldest standing building on Merseyside. The site comprises the medieval remains of the priory itself, the priory chapter house, and the remains of St Marys church. All three are recorded in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, a ...

, though at different grades.

History

The Priory was founded about 1150 by Hamon de Masci, 3rd Baron of Dunham Massey for the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

Order. It was visited twice by

Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vas ...

due to its strategic importance, being close to the Irish Sea as well as the Welsh border. In 1318 the monks from Birkenhead Priory were granted ferry rights by

Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to ...

. This allowed them to build a house in what is now Water Street to store their corn. The house was also used by travellers for shelter if the weather was too bad for the ferry to cross the

River Mersey The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed par ...

. The medieval remains of the priory are designated Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

, and it is a

Scheduled Ancient Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

. The priory's

chapter house A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room that is part of a cathedral, monastery or collegiate church in which meetings are held. When attached to a cathedral, the cathedral chapter meets there. In monasteries, the whole commun ...

dates from the late 12th century, though it was extensively restored in the early 20th century. It was in use as a chapel from the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

and remains a consecrated

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

church which is still in use for services. It is a Grade II* listed building containing elements of

Norman architecture The term Norman architecture is used to categorise styles of Romanesque architecture developed by the Normans in the various lands under their dominion or influence in the 11th and 12th centuries. In particular the term is traditionally used f ...

and was restored in 2005. The upper floor of the chapter house, the

Scriptorium Scriptorium (), literally "a place for writing", is commonly used to refer to a room in medieval European monasteries devoted to the writing, copying and illuminating of manuscripts commonly handled by monastic scribes. However, lay scribes an ...

, contains a chapel dedicated to the training ship HMS ''Conway''. St Mary's Tower was originally part of Birkenhead's first

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

, opened in 1821 in the grounds of the priory. It is a Grade II listed building. The ground floor of the Frater House contains a museum detailing the history of the site.

Twentieth century

Redevelopment of the area from 1925 resulted in a large amount of residential housing within the parish being cleared to make way for the construction of the Queensway Tunnel. An expansion of the Number 5

dry dock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

at the adjacent

Cammell Laird Cammell Laird is a British shipbuilding company. It was formed from the merger of Laird Brothers of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century. The company also built railway rolling stock until 1929, ...

shipyard in the 1960s resulted in the church losing a significant portion of its graveyard. Subsequent redevelopment of the approach roads to the Mersey Tunnel effectively cut off the church from most of what remained of its parish, further dwindling the congregation. St. Mary's Church closed in 1974 and was partly demolished a year later, for reasons of safety. Only the former church tower and parts of the outer walls remain. The tower has since been refurbished and is dedicated to those who died in HMS ''Thetis''. The churchyard contains the burial vault of the Laird family, which includes John Laird (1805–74), Birkenhead's first

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

and co-founder of the adjacent Cammell Laird shipbuilding company.

Arms

References

Brief reference to the "Abbey of Birkenhead" in chapter 31 of 'Redburn' by Herman Melville.

External links

Wirral Borough Council: Birkenhead Priory
– official site
BBC Liverpool: Birkenhead Priory

British History Online on Birkenhead Priory
{{Authority control Christian monasteries established in the 12th century Buildings and structures in Birkenhead Benedictine monasteries in England Grade I listed buildings in Wirral Grade I listed monasteries Grade II* listed buildings in Merseyside Monasteries in Merseyside Ruins in Merseyside Religious organizations established in the 1150s Scheduled monuments in Merseyside Museums in Merseyside Religious museums in England Thomas Rickman buildings 1150s establishments in England Churches in Birkenhead

History

Twentieth century

Arms

See also

References

Further reading

External links