| Hill Bark | |
|---|---|
 Frontage of Hill Bark | |
  Location in Merseyside | |
| Alternative names | Bidston Court |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Vernacular |
| Location | Frankby,Wirral,Merseyside, England |
| Coordinates | 53°21′50″N3°08′05″W / 53.3639°N 3.1346°W /53.3639; -3.1346 |
| Year built | 1891 |
| Renovated | 1928–31 (rebuilt) |
| Client | Robert William Hudson |
| Owner | Hillbark Hotel |
| Design and construction | |
| Architects | Grayson &Ould |
| Designations | |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
| Official name | Hill Bark |
| Designated | 5 June 1963 |
| Reference no. | 1242748 |
| Renovating team | |
| Architects | Rees & Holt |
| Website | |
| hillbarkhotel | |
Hill Bark (also known asBidston Court) is a largecountry house to the south of the hamlet ofFrankby,Wirral,Merseyside, England. It is recorded in theNational Heritage List for England as a designatedGrade II* listed building.[1] The authors of theBuildings of England series comment that it is "one of the most notableVictorian essays inhalf-timbered design anywhere in the country".[2]
The house was originally built in 1891 for the soap manufacturerRobert William Hudson onBidston Hill,Birkenhead.[3] It was designed by theLiverpool architectural firm ofGeorge Enoch Grayson andEdward A. L. Ould (probably by Ould), and was then known as Bidston Court.[2] It was the home of John Laird, Chairman of Laird Brothers Shipbuilders of Birkenhead (laterCammell Laird) until approximately 1910. In 1921 the house was later sold toSir Ernest Royden, and he arranged for the house to be dismantled and rebuilt on the present site, atRoyden Park, between 1928 and 1931.[3] This work was supervised by the architectural firm of Rees and Holt.[2] In 2001 the house was being used as an old people's home,[1] and later in the 2000s it was converted into a hotel.[4]
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The house is built on a U-plan. It is constructed intimber framing on a stonebase, and has stone and brick chimney stacks and aslate roof. There are multiplegables and the half-timber exterior framing is highly decorated. Internally there is agreat hall with an organ gallery and an open roof.[1] In the great hall are a mantlepiece dated 1527, from a house of the father ofSir Thomas More,[5] stained glass windows byWilliam 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 byRobert Adam.[3]
It has been claimed that Bidston Court so impressedCrown Prince Wilhelm of Germany when visiting Cammell Laird shipyards, that he built a copy of it inPotsdam.[3] However the authors of theBuildings of England series point out that this is untrue, and that the house in Potsdam was only vaguely inspired by Bidston Court.[2]
The house is now used as a hotel, known as Hillbark Hotel. It is licensed for weddings, and offers facilities for conferences.[4] The hotel was used for theJuice FM Style Awards, which was filmed and featured in the reality television programmeDesperate Scousewives on 29 November 2011 onE4.[6]
The grounds adjoining the hotel are used by the Hillbark Players, who present traditional open-airShakespeare plays every two years in a purpose-built 'theatre in the woods' with all seats under cover. The group take their name from Hill Bark House and have been performing here since 1964 (the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth). Productions take place in June, in odd-numbered years.[7]
