Hill Bark
Encyclopedia
Hill Bark is a large country house to the south of the hamlet of Frankby
, Wirral
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade II* listed building. The authors of the Buildings of England
series comment that it is "one of the most notable Victorian
essays in half-timbered
design anywhere in the country".
on Bidston Hill
, Birkenhead
. It was designed by the Liverpool
architectural firm of George Enoch Grayson and Edward A. L. Ould
(probably by Ould), and was then known as Bidston Court. In 1921 the house was sold to Sir Ernest Royden, and he arranged for the house to be dismantled and rebuilt on the present site between 1928 and 1931. This work was supervised by the architectural firm of Rees and Holt. In 2001 the house was being used as an old people's home, and later in the 2000s it was converted into a hotel.
on a stone base
, and has stone and brick chimney stacks and a slate
roof. There are multiple gable
s and the half-timber exterior framing is highly decorated. Internally there is a great hall
with an organ gallery and an open roof. In the great hall is a Jacobean
fireplace dated 1527, said to have come from a house of Sir Walter Raleigh
, stained glass windows by William Morris
, and a pair of church screen doors dating from the 13th century. In a room now used as a restaurant is a fire surround dated 1795 and designed by Robert Adam
.
It has been claimed that Bidston Court so impressed Crown Prinz Wilhelm of Germany that he built a copy of it in Potsdam
. However the authors of the Buildings of England series point out that this is untrue, and that the house in Potsdam was only vaguely inspired by Bidston Court.
Most recently was used for the Juice FM Style Awards which was filmed and featured in reality TV Show Desperate Scouse Wives on November 29th on E4.
Frankby
Frankby is a hamlet on the Wirral Peninsula, England and is located between Greasby and West Kirby. It is part of the Greasby, Frankby & Irby Ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral and is situated in the parliamentary constituency of Wirral West...
, Wirral
Wirral Peninsula
Wirral or the Wirral is a peninsula in North West England. It is bounded by three bodies of water: to the west by the River Dee, forming a boundary with Wales, to the east by the River Mersey and to the north by the Irish Sea. Both terms "Wirral" and "the Wirral" are used locally , although the...
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade II* listed building. The authors of the Buildings of England
Pevsner Architectural Guides
The Pevsner Architectural Guides are a series of guide books to the architecture of the British Isles. Begun in the 1940s by art historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, the 46 volumes of the Buildings of England series were published between 1951 and 1975. The series was then extended to Scotland and...
series comment that it is "one of the most notable Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
essays in half-timbered
Timber framing
Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
design anywhere in the country".
History
The house was originally built in 1891 for the soap manufacturer Robert William HudsonRobert William Hudson
Robert William Hudson was born in West Bromwich, the eldest son of Robert Spear Hudson who had founded a soap-flake manufacturing business. Hudson managed his father's company until it was taken over by Lever Brothers Ltd in 1908....
on Bidston Hill
Bidston Hill
Bidston Hill is of heathland and woodland that contains historic buildings and ancient rock carvings. It is located on the Wirral Peninsula, near the Birkenhead suburb of Bidston, in Merseyside, England...
, Birkenhead
Birkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
. It was designed by the Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
architectural firm of George Enoch Grayson and Edward A. L. Ould
Edward Ould
Edward Augustus Lyle Ould was an English architect.Ould was a son of the rector of Tattenhall, Cheshire. He became a pupil of the Chester architect John Douglas and in 1886 he joined in partnership with the Liverpool architect G. E. Grayson. His early work was influenced by Douglas,...
(probably by Ould), and was then known as Bidston Court. In 1921 the house was sold to Sir Ernest Royden, and he arranged for the house to be dismantled and rebuilt on the present site between 1928 and 1931. This work was supervised by the architectural firm of Rees and Holt. In 2001 the house was being used as an old people's home, and later in the 2000s it was converted into a hotel.
Architecture
The house is built on a U-plan. It is constructed in timber framingTimber framing
Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
on a stone base
Plinth
In architecture, a plinth is the base or platform upon which a column, pedestal, statue, monument or structure rests. Gottfried Semper's The Four Elements of Architecture posited that the plinth, the hearth, the roof, and the wall make up all of architectural theory. The plinth usually rests...
, and has stone and brick chimney stacks and a slate
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. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
roof. There are multiple gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
s and the half-timber exterior framing is highly decorated. Internally there is a great hall
Great hall
A great hall is the main room of a royal palace, nobleman's castle or a large manor house in the Middle Ages, and in the country houses of the 16th and early 17th centuries. At that time the word great simply meant big, and had not acquired its modern connotations of excellence...
with an organ gallery and an open roof. In the great hall is a Jacobean
Jacobean architecture
The Jacobean style is the second phase of Renaissance architecture in England, following the Elizabethan style. It is named after King James I of England, with whose reign it is associated.-Characteristics:...
fireplace dated 1527, said to have come from a house of Sir Walter Raleigh
Walter Raleigh
Sir Walter Raleigh was an English aristocrat, writer, poet, soldier, courtier, spy, and explorer. He is also well known for popularising tobacco in England....
, stained glass windows by William Morris
William Morris
William Morris 24 March 18343 October 1896 was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement...
, and a pair of church screen doors dating from the 13th century. In a room now used as a restaurant is a fire surround dated 1795 and designed by Robert Adam
Robert Adam
Robert Adam was a Scottish neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam , Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him...
.
It has been claimed that Bidston Court so impressed Crown Prinz Wilhelm of Germany that he built a copy of it in Potsdam
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
. However the authors of the Buildings of England series point out that this is untrue, and that the house in Potsdam was only vaguely inspired by Bidston Court.
Present day
The house is now used as a hotel, and is known as Hillbark Hotel. It is licensed for weddings, and offers facilities for conferences.Most recently was used for the Juice FM Style Awards which was filmed and featured in reality TV Show Desperate Scouse Wives on November 29th on E4.