bebbington

Bidston

The village of Bidston is still, by todays standards a relatively quiet and relaxed village. The people
who live in and around this small distinct area are warm and friendly people and only to eager to
inform you of their villages vast history. I had many conversations with lots of the villagers around the
area, and all are welcoming and proud of there heritage. Many have told me stories from their youth,
from days gone by and rumours and fables passed down through there families who all resided in
Bidston. One thing is for sure though, the village may have changed over the years but it has not lost
its sense of community, charm or spirit. A short visit around the old village is worth trip on a summer
day, and generally any of the locals will only be to happy to help with any questions you may have.

Bidston Village Road and School lane are at the heart of the old village. They were the economic hub
of Bidston in the old days and most of the village is centred around this. School Lane is named after
the old school built on the left hand side heading down the lane. As Bidston grew the school was
moved further down and the school was used for other purposes. Mr Wilcox a former resident, and
his wife ran a sweet and tobacco business from the old school before he died in 1933. The school was
sadly destroyed by German bombs during WW2. Houses now stand on the site of the former school..

The old village pub which is now stone farm still stands on the corner of school lane. The holes still
distinguishable where the sign used to hang. The sign used to show the old bell ringers at St Oswalds
and the name "Ring o Bells Tavern", for obvious reasons. The Tavern closed its doors for the last time
in 1868 after pressure from the local church-goers forced the last owner Simon Croft to shut down.
There is also reasonable evidence to show that the last owner showed little regards for the local
villagers who did not drink in his establishment and that the tavern was the cause of several anti
social behaviour incidents resulting from over consumption of alcohol. Unfortunately Mr Crofts
behaviour was noted several times resulting in his loss of licence. This then left Bidston village without
an inn for more than 100 years.

St Oswalds Parish stands on the corner of School lane and towers above the old village. It is said that
smugglers used the church tower as a look out point where they would smuggle contraband from the
village down along a path and down to the beach at Wallasey. Some of the old smugglers path still
exits today although over grown and highly worn, it can be made out from a ramble around what s
now B&Q Wallasey. The smugglers had several set routes for the contraband which also included an
old farm house in Wallasey pool, the old Saughall Windmill, the caves at Hoylake and Bidston wood.
Further information is available on smuggling in the Wallasey section.

The village shows lots of examples of architecture from many different periods. One lovely example
with a personal twist is Clove Cottage situated on Bidston Village Road. The stone above the door
reads:

"Erected in memory of George Robert Clover by Emily Clover his widow in 1901".

After some research i came across some amusing facts about Mr Clover....

In a description of the parishioners at a service of St Oswalds Church in 1885, the following was
recorded:

"If the sermon happened to be drawn-out to much longer than the usual length, Mr Clover would draw his
watch chain sharply between a finger and his signet ring, producing a distinctly rasping sound, which never
failed to bring the discourse to the finish! "

Thus far i have not been able to find any more information about the Clover family, if you have any
further knowledge i would grateful for any information you have.

Surrounding the village is Bidston Hall which further information is available on by click in the
information tab. The old village was encompassed originally by dense woods some of which still
survive. There are many path ways also leading up onto Bidston Hill, several of which have views
across the Bidston Hall.

During my last visit i captured a number of photographs in and around the village, click on the
thumbnails beneath to enlarge the picture.