Scheduled Monuments›England›Birkenhead Priory

Birkenhead Priory

England
List entry 1019159
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1019159
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
0.45 hectares
Grid reference
SJ 32828 88558
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic England (NHLE)

Overview

History & significance

Birkenhead Priory is a Benedictine monastic foundation established in the twelfth century on the Wirral Peninsula in Cheshire. The priory was founded circa 1150 and functioned as a daughter house of the Benedictine monastery at Tynemouth until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the sixteenth century. The surviving remains include parts of the conventional buildings and the church, which demonstrate the architectural character typical of medieval monastic establishments, with visible stonework representing the Romanesque period of construction. The site represents an important example of medieval religious life in the North West and retains substantial structural evidence of monastic occupation and organisation.

Birkenhead Priory is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1019159. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Birkenhead Priory?

Birkenhead Priory is a Benedictine monastic foundation established in the twelfth century on the Wirral Peninsula in Cheshire. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1019159.

Who is responsible for protecting Birkenhead Priory?

Birkenhead Priory is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1019159.

What other scheduled monuments are near Birkenhead Priory?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Edge Hill Engine Station, Liverpool & Manchester Railway (4.2 km), Bromborough Court House moated site and fishponds, Wirral (4.7 km), Storeton Hall, Bebington (4.7 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Birkenhead Priory

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Birkenhead Priory's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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Nearby

Other scheduled monuments within 10 km

Edge Hill Engine Station, Liverpool & Manchester Railway
4.2 km
Bromborough Court House moated site and fishponds, Wirral
4.7 km
Storeton Hall, Bebington
4.7 km
Standing cross in the churchyard of the Church of the Holy Cross at Woodchurch
5.5 km
Moated site 400m north east of New Hall
8.3 km
The ground beneath

The bedrock under Birkenhead Priory

Birkenhead Priory stands on Triassic Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Triassic. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.

The wider landscape

Around Birkenhead Priory

Battle of Rowton Heath 1645Battle (1645) · ~17.8 miles
Domesday entry for Toxteth, Cheshire →
All Scheduled Monuments