Bidston Hill
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Bidston Hill is of heathland and woodland containing historic buildings and ancient rock carvings, on the
Wirral Peninsula Wirral (; ), known locally as The Wirral, is a peninsula in North West England. The roughly rectangular peninsula is about long and wide and is bounded by the River Dee to the west (forming the boundary with Wales), the River Mersey to t ...
, near the
Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...
suburb of Bidston, in
Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...
, England. With a peak of , Bidston Hill is one of the highest points on the Wirral. The land was part of Sir Robert Vyner's estate and purchased by Birkenhead Corporation in 1894 for use by the public.


Etymology

Bidston Hill bears the name of the village of Bidston, the name being recorded in 1260 as ''Bedistan''; origin possibilities include variations of the Old English name ' Beda' or 'Byddi' combined with ''ton'', or from 'bytle stan', meaning a dwelling on a rock, or possibly a reference to a 'bidding-stone' for a venerated Saxon.


Geography

Bidston Hill is in the north-east of the
Wirral Peninsula Wirral (; ), known locally as The Wirral, is a peninsula in North West England. The roughly rectangular peninsula is about long and wide and is bounded by the River Dee to the west (forming the boundary with Wales), the River Mersey to t ...
and reaches at its highest point.


Geology

The exposed ridgeline along Bidston Hill is composed of brown, buff and grey Delamere Pebbly Sandstone of
fluvial In geography and geology, fluvial processes are associated with rivers and streams and the deposits and landforms created by them. When the stream or rivers are associated with glaciers, ice sheets, or ice caps, the term glaciofluvial or fluviog ...
origin, part of the Helsby Sandstone Formation within the Sherwood Sandstone Group. This may be equatable with the Lower Keuper described in older sources regarding the hill. Nearer to Bidston Hall are types of Thurstaston Soft Sandstone of Aeolian type.


History


Ownership of Bidston Hill

As part of the manor of Bidston, Bidston Hill was within the barony of
Dunham Massey Dunham Massey is a civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The parish includes the villages of Sinderland Green, Dunham Woodhouses and Dunham Town, along with Dunham Massey Hall and Park, formerly th ...
. The clear association with the Mascys (Masseys) remained until the land was sold around the mid 14th Century to Henry, 4th
Earl of Lancaster The title of Earl of Lancaster was created in the Peerage of England in 1267. It was succeeded by the title Duke of Lancaster in 1351, which expired in 1361. (The most recent creation of the ducal title merged with the Crown in 1413.) King Henry ...
. This purchase was in proxy for the LeStranges, and on the Earl's death Roger LeStrange assumed possession of the Dunham barony. Legal claims by the descendents of Hamon Mascy V were raised against the LeStrange ownership but the status quo remained and on the 24th June 1347 John Le Strange, son of Roger, sold the manor of Bidston and other lands to Sir John Stanley. In 1407 under Stanley's ownership a stone-walled enclosure was made on the west and north-west of Bidston Hill for the purpose of retaining deer. This would later be known as the Penny-a-day dyke. The Stanley descent persisted and post-1627 James Stanley, 7th Early of Derby (known as Lord Strange) inherited the running and eventual ownership of the estate from his father the 6th Earl of Derby. Lord Strange was killed at
Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...
while supporting King Charles II, and immediately the hill's ownership was brought into question, the estate having been sequestered by the state. His widower, the Countess Derby, pled for ownership of the estate (within that the hill) as it was part of her dowry. Another party, William Steele, was however able to acquire the land and he took possession in 1653. Steele's ownership lasted less than a decade and in 1662 Sir John King purchased the estate from him. It was in 1665 during Sir John's ownership that a survey map of the area was created. In 1676 Sir John died, his sons to inherit, and in 1680 Sir Robert Vyner gained the land's title by way of mortgage. Sir Robert Vyner is notable as the maker of many of the Crown Jewels. The Vyner family remained in ownership of the hill until 1894 when it was sold to the Birkenhead corporation. A plaque on Bidston windmill commemorates this event.


Buildings

The hill has been the site of several notable buildings, including
Bidston Windmill Bidston Windmill is situated on Bidston Hill, near Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, England. History It is believed that there has been a windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes cal ...
which was a replacement for an earlier Windmill destroyed by fire in 1791. The windmill was built in the late 18th century using roughcast render over stone or brick and it went on to grind wheat until 1875 when steam-powered milling started to be introduced. It was restored in the years 1894 and 1971. Additionally, Bidston Hill has a formerly operating lighthouse and observatory. Bidston Observatory was built in 1866 using local sandstone excavated from the site. One of its functions was to determine the exact time. Up to 18 July 1969, at exactly 1:00 p.m. each day, the 'One O'Clock Gun' overlooking the
River Mersey The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part ...
near
Morpeth Dock Morpeth Dock is a dock at Birkenhead, Wirral Peninsula, England. The dock is situated between the River Mersey and Egerton Dock. History Built between 1844 and 1847, it is named after Lord Morpeth, the 7th Earl of Carlisle, who was the First ...
, Birkenhead, would be fired electrically from the Observatory. In 1929 the work of the observatory was merged with the
University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...
Tidal Institute, being taken over in 1969 by the
Natural Environment Research Council The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) is a British research council that supports research, training and knowledge transfer activities in the environmental sciences. History NERC began in 1965 when several environmental (mainly geogr ...
. The Research Council relocated the
Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory The former Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory (POL) is based in Brownlow Street, Liverpool, England. In April 2010, POL merged with the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (NOCS) to form the National Oceanography Centre. The Liverpool labora ...
to the University of Liverpool campus in 2004, and it is now known as the
National Oceanography Centre The National Oceanography Centre (NOC) is a marine science research and technology institution based on two sites in Southampton and Liverpool, United Kingdom. It is the UK’s largest institution for integrated sea level science, coastal and d ...
, Liverpool. The Joseph Proudman Laboratory building, which was located on the hill but separate from the observatory, was demolished in 2013.


Maritime signalling

There has been a lighthouse on Bidston Hill since 1771. The first lighthouse was built by Liverpool's dockmaster William Hutchinson; it was designed to work in conjunction with Leasowe Lighthouse, forming a pair of
leading lights Leading lights (also known as range lights in the United States) are a pair of light beacons used in navigation to indicate a safe passage for vessels entering a shallow or dangerous channel; they may also be used for position fixing. At night ...
enabling ships to avoid the sandbanks in the channel to
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
. Being more than two miles from the sea, a record unsurpassed by any other lighthouse, Bidston depended on a breakthrough in lighthouse optics, which came in the form of the
parabolic reflector A parabolic (or paraboloid or paraboloidal) reflector (or dish or mirror) is a reflective surface used to collect or project energy such as light, sound, or radio waves. Its shape is part of a circular paraboloid, that is, the surface generated ...
, developed by Hutchinson at the signals station on Bidston Hill. The reflector at Bidston Lighthouse was thirteen-and-a-half feet in diameter (probably the largest ever made for a lighthouse) and the lamp consumed a gallon of oil every four hours. The present lighthouse was built in 1873 and was equipped with a large (first order) dioptric lens with vertical condensing prisms, manufactured by
Chance Brothers Chance Brothers and Company was a glassworks originally based in Spon Lane, Smethwick, West Midlands (formerly in Staffordshire), in England. It was a leading glass manufacturer and a pioneer of British glassmaking technology. The Chance fami ...
of Birmingham. It remained operational until sunrise on 9 October 1913. (By that time Leasowe Lighthouse had already been decommissioned: the line of approach taken by ships had altered due to shifting sandbanks, rendering the leading lights ineffective). In addition to the lighthouse, Bidston Hill was once home to a flag signalling station which operated from the year 1763 to about 1840. When a known ship would approach, the related company flag would be raised in order to alert the relevant merchant house and dock workers in Liverpool of its impending arrival. At the systems height of operation there were over 100 flags that could be used and it was a popular visitor attraction. The scene of the signalling system and lighthouse has been the subject of artistic designs on pottery. The name Bidston Hill was born by a bark type ship built in Liverpool in 1866 by T. Royden and Sons and owned by the 'Sailing Ship Bidston Hill Company'. The 'Bidston Hill' was wrecked in 1905 off
Isla de los Estados Isla de los Estados (English: Staten Island, from the Dutch ''Stateneiland'') is an Argentine island that lies off the eastern extremity of Tierra del Fuego, from which it is separated by the Le Maire Strait. It was named after the Netherlands ...
, near
Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramírez ...
.


Rock carvings

Close to information post 13 there is a carving of a
sun goddess A solar deity or sun deity is a deity who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it. Such deities are usually associated with power and strength. Solar deities and Sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms. The ...
carved into the flat rock north-east of the Observatory, supposedly facing in the direction of the rising sun on
Midsummer's Day Midsummer is a celebration of the season of summer usually held at a date around the summer solstice. It has pagan pre-Christian roots in Europe. The undivided Christianity, Christian Church designated June 24 as the feast day of the early Chri ...
and thought to have been carved by the Norse-Irish around 1000 AD. An ancient carving of a horse is on bare rock to the north of the Observatory, close to information post 10, with a later carving beneath of the Latin 'EQUINO'.


Tunnels

During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, an
air raid shelter Air raid shelters are structures for the protection of non-combatants as well as combatants against enemy attacks from the air. They are similar to bunkers in many regards, although they are not designed to defend against ground attack (but many ...
was constructed at Bidston Hill. Today the tunnels are concealed for public safety. The Bidston Hill tunnel project was born in 1941 out of the devastating effects of the Luftwaffe blitz on Merseyside. Many infrastructure targets were hit, people killed and many more made homeless. The first week of May 1941 saw the peak of the attack, involving 681 Luftwaffe bombers, 2,315 high-explosive bombs and 119 other explosives. The raids put 69 out of 144 cargo berths out of action and inflicted 2,895 casualties, 1,741 of them fatalities.


Flora and fauna

Designated locally as a 'site of biological importance', Bidston Hill is recognised for its
lowland heath Lowland heath is a Biodiversity Action Plan habitat as it is a type of ancient wild landscape. Natural England's Environmental Stewardship scheme describes lowland heath as containing dry heath, wet heath and valley mire communities, usually below ...
habitat, mature deciduous and coniferous woodland, and scrub habitat.
European gorse ''Ulex europaeus'', the gorse, common gorse, furze or whin, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to the British Isles and Western Europe. Description Growing to tall, it is an evergreen shrub. The young stems are ...
has established itself and the spread of trees and shrubs threatens the heathland. The woodland is a habitat for breeding birds such as
greater spotted woodpecker The great spotted woodpecker (''Dendrocopos major'') is a medium-sized woodpecker with pied black and white plumage and a red patch on the lower belly. Males and young birds also have red markings on the neck or head. This species is found acros ...
,
sparrowhawk Sparrowhawk (sometimes sparrow hawk) may refer to several species of small hawk in the genus ''Accipiter''. "Sparrow-hawk" or sparhawk originally referred to ''Accipiter nisus'', now called "Eurasian" or "northern" sparrowhawk to distinguish it f ...
,
goldcrest The goldcrest (''Regulus regulus'') is a very small passerine bird in the kinglet family. Its colourful golden crest feathers, as well as being called the "king of the birds" in European folklore, gives rise to its English and scientific na ...
and others. It is
secondary Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...
in nature and dominated by Scots pine, English oak and beech from plantings in the 1800s. Some more recent areas are birch-predominant. Within the woods are specimens of hybrid rhodendron, a result of introduction in the
Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
.
Sycamore Sycamore is a name which has been applied to several types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. The name derives from the ancient Greek ' (''sūkomoros'') meaning "fig-mulberry". Species of trees known as sycamore: * ''Acer pseudoplata ...
is also invasive. Minor areas of damp heath habitat, rare on the peninsula, can be found and support species such as ''
Sphagnum ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, peat moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store wa ...
'' bog-mosses, crossleaved heath and
purple moor grass ''Molinia caerulea'', known by the common name purple moor-grass, is a species of grass that is native to Europe, west Asia, and north Africa. It grows in locations from the lowlands up to in the Alps. Like most grasses, it grows best in acid so ...
. Additionally, peat hollows and areas of pooling give a home for wetland plants and there are some peripheral areas of acidic grassland.


Meteorological observation and data

The observatory was noted by the Meteorological Committee of the
Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
(1871) as providing weather information to Liverpool via telegraph on behalf of the
Mersey Docks and Harbour Board The Mersey Docks and Harbour Company (MDHC), formerly the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board (MDHB), owns and administers the dock facilities of the Port of Liverpool, on the River Mersey, England. These include the operation of the enclosed north ...
. The historic temperature recordings at Bidston Hill occurred at an elevation of , higher than the nearby Hoylake station at . Between the years 1920-49 the recorded mean annual temperature averaged at more than , with the mean of July being . Positioned on the exposed sandstone hill-top, the station on the hill averaged lower mean maximum temperatures between March to October than Macclesfield () or Bolton (), and between May to August the temperatures also averaged lower than the station at Stonyhurst () The station on Bidston Hill and the Hoylake station were a similar distance from the sea, but due to differences in elevation, the temperatures differed, with Hoylake having consistently higher monthly mean maximum averages. The difference between the mean maximums recorded was most minimal during December at 1.6 F and at its greatest in July and August (2.3 F). Additionally, Hoylake consistently had lower mean minimum temperatures due to the tendency of cold air to flow to lower elevations. The temperature extremes for Bidston Hill from 1920-49 were recorded as and .


Gallery

Image:Bidston Hill Windmill - panoramio.jpg, Bidston Windmill Bidston Observatory, Birkenhead - geograph.org.uk - 265835.jpg, Bidston Observatory Image:Bidston Lighthouse, Bidston Hill - geograph.org.uk - 2535906.jpg, Bidston Lighthouse Image:Bidston Hill - DSC04350.JPG, View towards Liverpool Image:Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory, Bidston Hill - geograph.org.uk - 335675.jpg, The former Joseph Proudman Building, demolished in 2013 Image:Norse Horses Head, Bidston Hill, Wirral.jpg, Carving of a horse's head Image:Tam O'Shanter Cottage, Bidston Hill - geograph.org.uk - 391906.jpg, Tam O-Shanter cottage


See also

* Listed buildings in Bidston *
List of lighthouses in England This is a list of lighthouses in England. It includes lighthouses which are no longer in use as a light but are still standing. It also includes some of the harbour and pier-head lights around the country. Details of several lighthouses and li ...


References


External links

*
Friends of Bidston Hill

Bidston Lighthouse


{{Lighthouse identifiers , qid2=Q26497324 Parks and commons in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral Birkenhead Landforms of Merseyside