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 ...
is a town in
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. Its central area contains 150 buildings that 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 designated
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 ...
s. Of these, six are listed at Grade I, the highest of the three grades, six at Grade II*, the middle grade, and the others are at Grade II, the lowest grade. This list contains the listed buildings in the central area of the town, and the other listed buildings are to be found in separate lists.
Birkenhead did not develop as a town until the 19th century. Before that, a
Benedictine
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
priory
A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...
was established in the 1170s, and the monks ran a ferry across the
River Mersey
The River Mersey () is a major river 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 h ...
. By 1811, the priory was in ruins, but a ferry was still in existence, carrying passengers to the growing port of
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
. The
lord of the manor
Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...
, with the intention of creating a bathing resort, built a few streets and commissioned the building of St Mary's Church next to the priory site. However, Birkenhead developed as an industrial town rather than a resort starting from 1823 when
William Laird built a boiler factory. This grew into a shipbuilding yard, and Laird commissioned
James Gillespie Graham
James Gillespie Graham (11 June 1776 – 21 March 1855) was a Scottish architect, prominent in the early 19th century. Much of his work was Scottish baronial in style. A prominent example is Ayton Castle. He also worked in the Gothic Revival ...
to design residential accommodation. A rectangular street plan was envisaged, with
Hamilton Square
Hamilton Square is a town square in Birkenhead, Wirral, England. The Georgian square, which was designed by Edinburgh architect James Gillespie Graham, has the most Grade I listed buildings outside London (after Trafalgar Square). It is named ...
, which was built from about 1825, as the centrepiece. As the town grew, some of the streets were almost long.
In 1843 it was decided to build a park in the town; this is
Birkenhead Park
Birkenhead Park is a major public park located in the centre of Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. It was designed by Joseph Paxton and opened on 5 April 1847.
Birkenhead park was designated a conservation area in 1977 and declared a Grade I N ...
, the first park in the world to be financed from public funds. The park was designed by
Joseph Paxton
Sir Joseph Paxton (3 August 1803 – 8 June 1865) was an English gardener, architect, engineer and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Member of Parliament. He is best known for designing the Crystal Palace, which was built in Hyde Park, London, Hyde ...
and the building was supervised by
Edward Kemp. Entrances, gateways, lodges, and other structures were designed for the park by
Lewis Hornblower
Lewis Hornblower (1823–1879) was a Liverpool architect, who along with French landscape architect Édouard André was responsible for the design of Sefton Park in Liverpool.
Hornblower who had been involved with both Birkenhead Park, in Birk ...
and John Robertson. Meanwhile, high-class residential accommodation was being built both around the park and in other areas, such as Clifton Park, the layout and buildings designed by Walter Scott and
Charles Reed. At the same time, the shipbuilding industry was developing, and more docks were being built, initially by
J .M. Rendell, and later by
J.B. Hartley. During the 20th century, two road tunnels were built under the River Mersey, the first being the
Queensway Tunnel
The Queensway Tunnel ( signposted as the Birkenhead Tunnel or B'head Tunnel) is a road tunnel under the River Mersey, in the north west of England, between Liverpool and Birkenhead. Locally, it is often referred to as the "old tunnel", to disti ...
, built in 1925–34 between Birkenhead and Liverpool, and designed by
Basil Mott
Sir Basil Mott, 1st Baronet, FRS (16 September 1859 – 7 September 1938) was one of the most notable English civil engineers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was responsible for some of the most innovative work on tunnels and bridg ...
and
John Brodie
John Riley Brodie (born August 14, 1935) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. He had a second career as a ...
, with
Herbert J. Rowse as engineer. This has impressive entrances and ventilation stations.
The listed buildings reflect the history of the town, the oldest being the ruins of the priory and its renovated
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 communi ...
. The next listed buildings date from the 19th century, and include houses, shops, churches, public houses, buildings associated with the park, buildings associated with
Flaybrick Hill Cemetery
Flaybrick Memorial Gardens is a memorial garden, formerly a municipal cemetery called Flaybrick Hill Cemetery, in Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, England. The cemetery has been designated a conservation area by Metropolitan Borough of Wirra ...
, docks and associated structures, and street furniture. Later in the century and in the early 20th century, public buildings were built, together with a railway station, statues and memorials, a
Quaker meeting house
A Friends meeting house is a meeting house of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), where meeting for worship is usually held.
Typically, Friends meeting houses are simple and resemble local residential buildings. Ornamentation, spires, a ...
and, later in the 20th century, structures associated with the Queensway Tunnel.
Key
Buildings
See also
*
Listed buildings in Bidston
*
Listed buildings in Claughton, Merseyside
Claughton, Merseyside, Claughton is a suburb of Birkenhead, Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Wirral, Merseyside, England. It contains 25 buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as designated listed buildings, al ...
*
Listed buildings in Noctorum
*
Listed buildings in Oxton, Merseyside
*
Listed buildings in Prenton
*
Listed buildings in Rock Ferry
*
Listed buildings in Tranmere, Merseyside
Tranmere, Merseyside, Tranmere is a suburb of Birkenhead, Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Wirral, Merseyside, England. It contains seven buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as designated listed buildings, all of ...
*
Listed buildings in Woodchurch, Merseyside
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Birkenhead
Listed buildings in Merseyside
Lists of listed buildings in Merseyside