THORNTON HOUGH
Thornton Hough is in the centre of the Wirral peninsula. Although pre-conquest in origins – the surrounding land is described as Torintone in the Domesday Book of 1086 – the character of the settlement has been largely determined by its transformation into a model estate village in the second half of the 19th century. The Conservation Area contains an interesting mix of estate cottages and public buildings, mostly in the Vernacular Revival style, together with older buildings which have survived from the earlier settlement.
In the reign of Edward II (1307 – 1327), the land was owned by Roger de Thornton, whose daughter married Richard de la Hough, giving the village its name. It remained in the same family for 12 generations, before passing through the hands of a number of noted local families: the Whitmores, the Savages and the Mostyns. In 1847, the village was described as having only one street “and although it possesses a few tolerably good houses, the greater proportion are of a very inferior description”.
The first phase of improvements was made by Joseph Hirst, a wealthy woollen mill owner of Wilshaw near Huddersfield. He bought farmland in 1866 and began to develop a small model village with a church, vicarage, school, shop and a terrace of houses called Wilshaw terrace. However, the most dramatic transformation was made by William Hesketh Lever, first Viscount Leverhulme, who bought Thornton Manor, then a modest early Victorian House in 1891. He almost entirely re-built the village, employing a number of notable local artists who were already working on his far more ambitious model village at Port Sunlight.
Despite the fact that most of Thornton Hough’s buildings date from c1890 to c1910, the overall appearance is of a settlement which has grown organically over many centuries. This was a deliberate intention of the designers, who followed the historic street and field patterns and used a rich variety of traditional building materials and styles. Red sandstone, polychromatic brick, carved timberwork and stonework, leaded windows and decorated plasterwork, all contribute to the ‘picturesque’ character of the village – a character which is now epitomised by Port Sunlight.
There are 22 Listed Buildings in Thornton Hough. All Saint’s Church, built in 1867 for Joseph Hirst and the adjacent Vicarage and School, form an interesting grouping and are listed Grade II. Typically Gothic in style, the red sandstone church spire is a focal point for the village. In contrast, St George’s URC Church, built 1906 –7 for Lord Leverhulme, is Norman in design, with outstanding Romanesque-style carvings and impressive stained glass windows. It is also listed Grade II*. To view a map of the Conservation Area click here.
Other key buildings include:
Wilshaw Terrace, a row of cottages and shop with conical roofed tower, built 1870 as part of Hirst’s original development.
Weald House, built as the Congregational Manse in 1904 and designed by important architects Grayson and Ould, who worked for Leverhulme at Port Sunlight and the Dukes of Westminster in Chester and on the Eaton Estate. Their other works in Thornton Hough include the Village Club and Post Office, cottages in The Fold and Raby Road, Hesketh Grange and the rebuilding of Thornton House.
Primary School (formerly Lever School), built in 1904 by Jonathon Simpson, who also worked on Thornton Manor with Grayson and Ould.
Sunnydale and Holmdale and Thicketford were all built in 1892 by William and Segar Owen, who worked extensively in Port Sunlight and were architects of the Lady Lever Art Gallery.
1 – 7 Neston Road, built 1839 by the best known all the architects who worked at Thornton Hall. John Douglas of Chester (1830 – 1911), was a prolific architect, either in partnership or on his own, designing many buildings throughout the north-west, working for Leverhulme in Port Sunlight and most extensively for the Duke of Westminster’s Eaton estate. He was responsible for many of Chester’s best known ‘black and white’ buildings and also the world famous Eastgate Clock. His partner Daniel Peter Fordham probably dealt primarily with Lever at Thornton Hough.
Just outside the Conservation Area, north east of the village is Thornton House, Joseph Hirst’s house, rebuilt in 1895 by Grayson and Ould for James Darcy Lever, Lord Leverholme’s brother. It was extended, improved and further embellished by J Lomax Simpson in 1906. Making imaginative use of stone and half-timber the building is an excellent example of the late Victorian vernacular revival style. In fact, the principal feature of the entrance is a large gable inspired by the now demolished Elizabethan Darcy Lever Hall in Lancashire.
Thornton Manor, was bought by Lord Leverhulme Lever as his family home in 1891. Over the next 22 years, this modest house was transformed into a superb neo-Elizabethan mansion. Architects included many of those who worked elsewhere in the village including Douglas and Fordham, Lomax Simpson and Grayson and Ould. The gardens were laid out by the noted landscape designer Thomas H Mawson and Lord Leverhulme himself.
