Remains of Birkenhead Priory, Birkenhead, Merseyside
The Priory was founded in 1150 by Hamo de Massey as a Benedictine House for sixteen Benedictine (Black) monks and built in several phases up to 1400. It was sited on an isolated headland on the Wirral, bounded by Wallasey Pool, the Mersey Estuary and Tranmere Pool. It is now surrounded by shipyard dry docks. It served as accommodation for travellers using the ferry across the River Mersey. The abbey was dissolved in 1536 and 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. Services were later held in the adjoining St Marys parish church. The remains were restored in 1896 when they became the property of Birkenhead Corporation.
