More information : [SJ 3280 8855] The Priory [G.T.]. (1)
Founded c. 1150 for sixteen Benedictine (Black) monks. Dissolved 1536 (2)
Only the foundations remain of the ancient church, revealing
the tower base, part of the buttressed west end and a window section. The great hall on the west side is roofless. The best preserved parts are two crypts on the north side and the excellently restored 12th c. chapter house. Since the dissolution this chapel has been used for religious services. The priory is dedicated to St. Mary and St. James.(3)
The remains are as described except that there are no foundations of the church. Its site is covered by an asphalt path and a shipbuilding yard. Notices state that the remains were restored in 1896 when they became the property of Birkenhead Corporation. The chapel is at SJ 3283 8855. It was restored in 1913-19 and is still in occasional use for religious services. See GP's AO/64/232/8 and 234/1.(4)
Remains of Birkenhead Priory Grade I. (5)
SJ 32858860. Birkenhead Priory, Scheduled (6)
Additional references (7-8)
(SJ 32828856) Remains of Priory (Benedictine founded circa 1150) (NR) (9)
Scheduling includes the remains of part of the 12th century Benedictine priory and also the ruins and restored tower of St Marys parish church. It is sited on an isolated headland in the Wirral bounded by Wallasey Pool the Mersey Estuary and Tranmere Pool. The priory was founded to house 16 monks in 1150 by Hamo de Massey of Dunham Massey in Cheshire and was extended and improved until the 14th century. The priory was visited twice by Edward I in 1275 and 1277. After the Dissolution the estate passed into the hands of Ralph Worsley of Lancashire. After the buildings fell into ruins the chapter house chapel survived as a place of worship being superseded by the building of St Marys parish church. The present ruin includes the cloister surrounded by the chapter house and scriptorium, the partly demolished priory church and the western, frater and dorter range. The extent of the internal garden is visible as an earthwork. Little remains of the ranges and the ground on which they stood was used as a burial ground for many years. The west side of the original chancel lies beneath the present remains of St Marys church. (10)
A medieval Priory is visible as a ruined building on air photographs, centred at SJ 3280 8855. The feature is still extant on the latest 1992 Ordnance Survey vertical photography.
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