Ancient building that looked over Mersey before Liverpool was even founded set for £350k upgrade

The oldest building still standing in Merseyside is set for a major upgrade of £350,000 to keep it open into the future.

Birkenhead Priory, off Priory Street, was first established when its chapter house was built in 1150, 17 years before Liverpool was made an official town by King John, and now remains the oldest building still standing in the whole of Merseyside. On one side, it’s surrounded by the Cammell Laird shipyard with industrial warehouses and homes on the other.

Around the same time the priory was established, the Mersey ferry was started where monks living there would charge passengers to go across the river. The site later expanded into a monastery built in the 1400s where people would stay overnight and the St Mary’s Church was later built in the 19th century.

The site, which is completely free to visit, is used by people seeking a quiet space as well as events from music festivals, raves, craft workshops, photography exhibitions, and outdoor theatre performances.

Caroline Fitzpatrick works at the priory showing people around the site. She said: “It’s a small place with a big history,” adding: “It’s very well loved by the community from Birkenhead, we have a lot of people from the cruise ships or coming over on the ferry.

“1150 is where it started. Liverpool didn’t get the charter until 1207. It does have all the different periods of history, the medieval part, the regency with this (St Mary’s) church.”

However Wirral Council will be looking to improve the site with more than £350,000, which comes from a £25m government regeneration grant given to the local authority called the Town Deal Fund. This will be spent on renovating the priory’s undercroft with better lighting, accessibility, and displays showing off the site’s history as well as prehistoric dinosaur footprints found in West Kirby.

Upstairs where the monastery’s old refectory used to be will be made more accessible with new lifts while the St Mary’s tower will be lit up to showcase the building, its views of Birkenhead, the Mersey, Cammell Laird, and Liverpool better highlighting what is considered to be the beginning of Birkenhead.

Julia Redhead, the lead for the project, said: “It’s making sure it’s preserved for the future,” adding: “We have people who say they have lived two streets away all their life and had no idea it was here. It’s such a calm space but then you have Cammell Laird right next door, I love that contrast of the industrial and the ancient.

“When you look at it you get the sense of the view. We are so close to the centre of Birkenhead. You can walk to Hamilton Square in seven minutes.”

Referring to Gerry and the Pacemakers’ Ferry Across the Mersey, she added: “With Liverpool so close across the river, there is always that question about Birkenhead’s place and Birkenhead’s story. Liverpool has such a strong story to it but Birkenhead deserves that too, one of the most famous songs started here.

“There is so much history and so many features in this area. It’s so quiet down there and everything around us is so industrial and going through a lot of change. Having this place that is a place of calm in this kind of environment is so important. There is no pressure for you to do anything. If you wanted to just come in and sit down under a tree, that is fine.”

She said the site was a fundamental part of the region’s history and preserving Birkenhead’s heritage was key as the town could soon see major changes through Wirral Council’s regeneration programme. She added: “It just has so much going on. It’s a proper little haven, I love coming down here. It’s got a beautiful feeling to it and it’s just really special.”

Cllr Helen Cameron, chair of the council’s tourism, communities, culture and leisure committee, said: “This investment will not only help to protect and preserve this amazing site for many years to come, it will also encourage more and more people to come and visit and find out about its remarkable past – and maybe even return time and again to get involved in some of the wide range of events that take place there throughout the year.”