GAYTON

The Gayton Conservation Area was designated with the aim of preserving the character of the settlement, once no more than a small farming township and still retaining its Hall, vernacular buildings, cobbled roads, unmade paths and lanes and wooded setting.

The manor of Gayton was first recorded in Domesday Book, its name probably meaning ‘goat farm’ from the Old Norse ‘geit’ and the Old English ‘tūn’, meaning a farmstead or village. Little has changed in Gayton over the centuries. The village remained small, its inhabitants farmed and fished and a ferry across the Dee operated from the bottom of Cottage Lane. As late as 1881 there were still fewer than 200 (199) people in the entire township.

There are three listed buildings in the conservation area and one just outside. Of these the grandest is Gayton Hall, listed Grade II* and in private hands. Built in the late 17th century but refaced in the early 18th century, it is a three story mansion of brick with sandstone dressings and parapet constructed on a stone base. Inside are two Jacobean staircases and these and other interior features are listed. For long the home of the Gleggs, it was the only residence within easy reach of Hoylake of sufficient status to able to accommodate William of Orange, before he left for Ireland in 1690. Before leaving the king knighted Sir William Glegg, the owner of the Hall, to thank him for his hospitality.

Also Grade II* listed and part of the former Glegg estate is the mid-17th century octagonal dovecote standing to the north of the Hall. Built of brick, with stone dressings and base, the inscription over its lintel reads ‘16 EGK 63’ (Edward Glegg). It has nesting boxes for 1000 birds. Beyond the Hall, in Gayton Farm Road, The Old Farm is listed Grade II. Built of local brick and stone, it has a date stone inscribed RCM 1761. Outside the Conservation Area, set back from Telegraph Road is a stone tower mill. Probably built in the mid-18th century, but perhaps earlier, it is also listed Grade II.

Unlisted buildings are mainly of brick and built in a modest, vernacular style. Dating from the 18th and 19th century, these include the former outbuildings and coach house to the Hall. Little Gayton Farm and Gayton Farm Barn, Rose and Croft Cottages, Lister Lodge and the older parts of Little Gayton House. The Lodge, in Gayton Lane, formerly the gatehouse to the Hall, is in late 19th century Domestic Revival style. Buildings like these have enabled Gayton to retain the appearance of an essentially rural village despite the spread of suburbia in its immediate surroundings.

The Wirral Way runs below the village and the Dee shore can be reached via Cottage Lane. To view a map of the Conservation Area click here.