The large, 2-storey house of local yellow freestone, now grey in appearance, stands near the crest of Bidston Hill with a fine view across the Mersey. Situated on the E side of Bidston Village Road on the line of an old Roman road to Upton and Hoylake. Probably a late 16th c. rebuilding of an earlier house, possibly in 2 stages. Some of the same mason's marks appear on Bidston's stonework as appear on Sir Richard Shireburn's house at Stonyhurst (ca. 1592). Originally a hall and 2 cross-wing plan but the 4-bay loggia addition at the rear joined the 2 wings. A central 2-storey semi-circular bowed porch is featured on the W facade. A late 16th c. thick wall and main gateway facing W enclose the forecourt with a continuation enclosing the rear garden still standing.
A possible performance venue. No household records survive for Bidston although family correspondence indicates its use. Both Henry and Ferdinando Stanley patronized performance troupes while they occupied Bidston as Lord Strange and William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby, was an active patron from 1595 to the 1630s even after retiring to his Cheshire residences.
Private residence. Restored in the 1960s.
1086 The manor of Bidston was owned by Hamon de Massey.
14th c. Manor passed from the Massey family through several hands, including Sir Oliver Ingham; Henry, Duke of Lancaster; and Sir Roger Le Strange.
1397 Sold by Sir John Le Strange to Sir John Stanley who built the first hall on the site as a hunting lodge.
1555 Henry Stanley, Lord Strange, and his new wife, Margaret Clifford, took up periodic residence.
late 16th c. Ferdinando Stanley, Lord Strange, and his family resided at Bidston when not at court or at other family residences in SE Lancashire.
1619 William Stanley, 6th Earl, took up residence periodically and made some renovations, including the entrance loggia.
1649 Estate forfeited when the royalist sympathizer, James Stanley, 7th Earl, retreated to the Isle of Man.
1652 Charlotte, Countess Derby, petitioned for the return of the estate after the execution of her husband. Bidston returned briefly to the family.
1653 Sold to a lawyer, William Steele, who likely did not use it as a residence.
1662 Sold to John, Lord Kingston of Rockingham, Ireland.
1680 Sold to Sir Robert Vyner, a London banker.
1683 Leased to Robert Wilson, a tenant farmer, the first of many.
ca. 1818 4 gables in W and E facade roof removed and replaced by a N-S ridge. Height of chimneys may have been reduced at the same time. Open loggia at the rear joined to the inside passage of the house.
1950s House derelict.
1966 Purchased and restored by the architect Max Faulkner.
1987 Sold by Mrs Murphy after John Murphy's death.
ca. 1990 Purchased by Paul Girling. Subsequently sold to the present owner.
REED Bristol 147, 150; Cheshire including Chester 2.632--3, 640--2, 646, 648--9, 652, 655--6, 659, 662, 817; Coventry 341, 346, 349--51, 360, 362, 364, 371, 373, 376, 384, 397; Cumberland/Westmorland/Gloucestershire 129, 177, 181, 204, 212, 300, 306, 308, 312, 314; Devon 48; Herefordshire/Worcestershire 146, 148--9; Lancashire 170, 173--6, 185, 187--90, 193; Norwich 1540--1642 120; Somerset 1.17; York 1.471.
| Name | Dates | Titles |
|---|---|---|
| Stanley, William | 1561-1642 | 15th Earl of , Knight of the , Lord of the |
