Birkenhead Priory
Birkenhead Priory was founded about 1150 for the Benedictines and is the oldest standing building on Merseyside. Parts of the site are listed buildings of Grade I and II and the priory is also a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
In 1317 the monks from Birkenhead Priory were granted ferry rights by Edward II. 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 priory’s chapter house is consecrated as an Anglican church, with a chapel dedicated to the training ship HMS Conway. There is also a museum detailing the history of the site.
St Mary’s Tower was originally part of Birkenhead’s first parish church, opened in 1821 in the grounds of the priory.
Redevelopment of the area from 1925 resulted in a large number of residential housing within the parish being cleared to make way for the construction of the first Mersey Tunnel. An expansion of the Number 5 dry dock at the adjacent Cammell Laird shipyard in the 1960’s 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 were retained in situ. The tower has since been refurbished and is dedicated to those who died on HMS Thetis.
The churchyard contains the burial vault of the Laird family, which includes John Laird (1805-1874), Birkenhead’s first Member of Parliament and co-founder of the adjacent Cammell Laird shipbuilding company.
The name Birkenhead is possibly from the Old English bircen meaning birch tree, of which many once grew on the headland which jutted into the river near the Priory itself.
More on the Priory here
© photogenique (dave peddie): using this image for any purpose and in any way, without prior permission, may lead to legal action.
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Birkenhead Priory belongs to the following groups:
Living Christianity Available for sale asGreeting Cards, Matted Prints, Laminated Prints, Mounted Prints, Canvas Prints, Framed Prints and Posters
SylviaHardy
Wow, you have worked hard Dave! I am very impressed and the photographs are beautiful. Well done!
Deborah Parkin
this looks wonderful – each image beautiful in its own right – excellent work Dave :0)
Joan Smart
VERY WELL DONE !!!!! GREAT JOB !!!
Irene Burdell
Great work. Superb pictures.
dinghysailor1
Amazing work – so well done!
Samantha Bla Bla
Dave, my friend this is a MASTER PIECE! I love this & believe it belongs in the most beautiful Art Gallery ever! Your work Dave is to DIE for!
Heather Loster
wonderful collaboration.
SharonAHenson
Wow Dave I am impressed…excellent work !!!!
Ann Macdonald
its great.
I have been to the priory and its fascinating
Madeline M Allen
BEAUTIFUL!!
Trish Cooper
Dave: oh my first the beautiful guitars….and now this…I am amazed at your talent my friend…in photo and in words…...this is so striking!!!!!!! HUGS Trishaxoxooxo
moonstone
fantastic post card effect Dave well odne i love it.
moonstone
might have a go at this myself
pat oubridge
lovely
Jen Whyte
Great collage
Warren Williams
What a Great set of images, very well presented.
Thanks for sharing
Dave Sandersfeld
Wonderful collage of your local amazing history! Simply amazing. One question?
The Benedictines monks in northern California (Napa-Sonoma valleys) makes a wonderful brandy! Did the UK monks have a ‘house brand”?
Sean Farragher
fantastic work
Arthur Chambers
great work Dave…......
Sarah Moore
What gorgeous images!! And well presented too.
Stacey Hatton
What interesting and beautiful photo’s! You’ve pieced them together very well. Although I’m not so keen on the colour (or I think the font) of the writing. It’s a little fancy, which detracts from the images.
Steven Agius
Excellent work here Dave, each image is stunning, like how this has been done.
brummieboy
Lovely collage ….
Miss Misery
dave these are great wow your a dark horse RESPEC
Antanas
Perfect
budrfli
very nice collage with excellent shots!
conilouz
I love your work and how you put every thing together,, great job on all
StacyLee
Very nice layout Dave!
Jeff Burns
Beautifully done Dave
moonlight1
very cool! love what you did here.
funkyfacestudio
Beautiful work ! you really have seen and captured some of the most brilliant Architecturally designed places.
Eyal Nahmias
A well organized collage. Good arrangement, color and exposures.
Marion Cullen
A beautiful collection of images Dave, very well put together in this montage. Loved reading about the long history behind the Priory.
Jen Whyte
I love the warm tones of the stone against the blue sky … beautiful collage … would make a fabulous postcard
Renate Dartois
Great Photograph and interesting text gives a nice history on these buildings.
judygal
Wow what a beautifully presented collaboration of photographs, really great work Dave.
kcranmer
Excellent collage work…could be a postcard too!
Deri Dority
This is just plain brilliant. I love what you have done with this. I love hearing about the history behind these places. This is so ancient. In my part of the country, the only thing that is ancient is the trees.
mariarty
Excellent images, love the way they are framed. Had a good look through your portfolio great work.
petelangman
brilliant works
Wanda Lechene
wow brillant there are no words that speak how brillant this is amazing work
jacqi
Beautiful set of images well put together although I think a plainer , smaller font and in perhaps just white would enhance it even more.