Birkenhead in Merseyside, England, United Kingdom — Northwestern Europe (the British Isles)

Birkenhead Priory

Photographed By Ray Gurganus, April 10, 2024

1. Birkenhead Priory Marker

Inscription. Birkenhead Priory was established as a Benedictine Monastery in the 1150s and is one of the oldest standing buildings in Merseyside. For nearly 400 years its monks farmed the land, welcomed travellers and operated a ferry across the Mersey to Liverpool. In 1536 it was closed down by Henry VIII and the monks dispersed.

St Mary's was the first parish church of Birkenhead. Today only its tower survives but from the top there are unrivalled views of the nearby Cammell Laird shipyards and of both sides of the River Mersey.

The Priory site is now a Scheduled Monument with a range of listed buildings, including the Chapter House, consecrated as a place of worship, the Scriptorium, which acts as home of the Friends of the training ship HMS Conway, and the Undercroft, which houses a museum.

Erected 2015.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Churches & Religion • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1150.

Location. 53° 23.375′ N, 3° 0.732′ W. Marker is in Birkenhead, England, in Merseyside. Marker is on Wirral Circular Trail, on the left when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 4 Priory Street, Birkenhead, England CH41 5JA, United Kingdom. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 24 kilometers of this marker, measured

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as the crow flies. North Gate Gaol & the Bridge of Sighs (approx. 23.2 kilometers away); Thomas Brassey (approx. 23.2 kilometers away); King Charles Tower (approx. 23.2 kilometers away); Red Lion (approx. 23.2 kilometers away); Pied Bull (approx. 23.3 kilometers away); The Roman Amphitheatre (approx. 23.8 kilometers away); Roman Gardens (approx. 23.8 kilometers away); Celebrating Nature's Glory in Art (approx. 23.8 kilometers away).

Also see . . . History (The Birkenhead Priory).

Excerpt: The history of Birkenhead goes back beyond Victorian years. The oldest standing building on Merseyside, Birkenhead Priory encapsulates so much of the town’s history upon its site.

Founded in circa 1150, the monks of this Benedictine monastery looked after travellers for nearly 400 years and supervised the first regulated “Ferry ‘cross the Mersey” up to the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1538.

(Submitted on May 10, 2024.)

Birkenhead Priory Church image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Ray Gurganus, April 10, 2024

2. Birkenhead Priory Church

Birkenhead Priory - the crypt image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Rapid Photo Printing Company, London, 1908

3. Birkenhead Priory - the crypt

Credits. This page was last revised on May 10, 2024. It was originally submitted on May 9, 2024, by Ray Gurganus of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 33 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 9, 2024, by Ray Gurganus of Washington, District of Columbia. 3. submitted on May 10, 2024. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.