Dawpool was a

country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...

in the village of

Thurstaston Thurstaston ( ) is a village and former civil parish, in the Wirral district, in Merseyside, England, on the Wirral Peninsula. It is part of the West Kirby and Thurstaston Ward and the parliamentary constituency of Wirral West. The village l ...

, Wirral,

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...

, England. It was built for the shipowner

Thomas Henry Ismay Thomas Henry Ismay (7 January 1837 – 23 November 1899) was an owner of the White Star Line. His son Joseph Bruce Ismay was managing director of the White Star Line and survived the sinking of its ocean liner on her maiden voyage in 1912. ...

in 1882–86 and designed by

Richard Norman Shaw Richard Norman Shaw RA (7 May 1831 – 17 November 1912), also known as Norman Shaw, was a British architect who worked from the 1870s to the 1900s, known for his country houses and for commercial buildings. He is considered to be among the g ...

. Ismay died in 1899, the family moved out of the house in 1907, and it was demolished in 1927. Parts of the house were re-used in other buildings. Two buildings associated with the house, a lodge and the stables, have survived and are

listed buildings In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

History

The estate of Dawpool was bought in 1877 by

, owner of the

White Star Line The White Star Line was a British shipping line. Founded out of the remains of a defunct Packet trade, packet company, it gradually grew to become one of the most prominent shipping companies in the world, providing passenger and cargo service ...

. He demolished the house on the site and commissioned

to design a new house. The house was built between 1882 and 1886. Ismay died in 1899 at Dawpool, and the family moved out of the house in 1907. It was then sold to F. W. P. Rutter and was used as an orthopaedic hospital for officers in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The house was later sold to Sir Henry Roberts, and demolished in 1927. Before the house was demolished a sale was held and parts of the house were re-used elsewhere. The large chimneypiece from the dining room went to form part of the entrance to what is now a restaurant in Borough Road,

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

. Another immense fireplace was reused at

Portmeirion Portmeirion (; ) is a folly* * * tourist village in Gwynedd, North Wales. It lies on the estuary of the River Dwyryd in the community (Wales), community of Penrhyndeudraeth, from Porthmadog and from Minffordd railway station. Portmeirion was d ...

as the main facade of a building, the Pantheon. Parts of other chimneypieces went to private houses in

Heswall Heswall () is a coastal town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It was historically part of Cheshire and became part of Merseyside in 1974. It is located on the Wirral Peninsula. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 202 ...

and

Bebington Bebington () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Cheshire, it is south of Liverpool, close to the River Mersey on the eastern side of the Wirral Peninsula ...

, and other pieces went to

Llandudno Llandudno (, ) is a seaside resort, town and community (Wales), community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located on the Creuddyn peninsula, which protrudes into the Irish Sea. In the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 UK census, the community � ...

, and to Iwerne Minster House, in

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

. A smaller house was later built on the site.

Description and appraisal

Dawpool was a large house, built in

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

, and in Tudor style. It was asymmetrical, and its features included

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

bay window A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room. A bow window is a form of bay with a curve rather than angular facets; an oriel window is a bay window that does not touch the g ...

s, and large

mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid sup ...

ed windows. Inside the house was a large gallery with a

barrel vault A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault, wagon vault or wagonhead vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. The curves are ...

ed ceiling. The house reputedly cost over £50,000 to build, and the materials used were of the highest quality. Hartwell ''et al'' comment that it was one of Shaw's major works, and one of the first of his to be destroyed. However de Figueiredo and Treuherz comment that the house showed Shaw "at his most grim and stark", and that it was a "dark, forbidding house". It was not liked by other members of the family, Ismay's wife commenting that "the house had served its purpose in keeping er husbandamused for fifteen years".

Associated structures

Two buildings also designed by Shaw and associated with the house have survived, a lodge and the stables. The lodge stands at the entrance to the drive. It is in sandstone with a Welsh

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

roof, and has an L-shaped plan. Its gate

piers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...

are inscribed with

liver bird The liver bird ( ) is a mythical creature that is the symbol of the English city of Liverpool. It is normally represented as a cormorant, and appears as such on the city's arms, in which it bears a branch of Porphyra, laver seaweed in its beak ...

s, a symbol of Liverpool. The lodge, its gates and gate piers 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, ...

as a designated Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. Opposite the lodge, and on the other side of the road are the former stables, which have been converted into a house known as The Clock Tower. The building is in stone with tiled roofs, with two storeys and a six-

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

front. The middle two bays rise to a greater height, contain a clock face, and have an

embattled A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals t ...

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...

and a pyramidal roof. This building is also designated Grade II.

Notes

References

Citations Sources * *

External links

Photographs of the exteriorThe exterior and Albion HousePhotograph of the interior of the gallery
{{coord, 53.3505, -3.1347, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title British country houses destroyed in the 20th century Richard Norman Shaw buildings Grade II listed buildings in Merseyside Buildings and structures in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral Houses completed in 1886