A History of Brimstage

Brimstage is a beautiful village set in an idyllic countryside in the central part of the Wirral Peninsula. The name Brimstage likely means 'Bruna's place or riverbank' as the Old English word 'stæð' means a river-bank, shore or landing place. Over time, the name has been spelt as Brunestathe (1260), Brimstache (1275), Brunstach (1326), Bronstathe (1348) and Brynstat (1387). It was formerly a township in the parish of Bromborough, of the Wirral Hundred and became a civil parish in 1866. Within the county of Cheshire historically, it was part of the Wirral Rural District between 1894 and 1933, subsequently moving within the boundaries of a jurisdiction that would become the Municipal Borough of Bebington. Further changes occurred on the 1st of April 1974, when local government reorganisation resulted in most of Wirral, including Brimstage, transfer from Cheshire to the newly formed county of Merseyside.
The population has been recorded as 127 in 1801, 126 in 1851, peaking at 181 in 1901 and reducing to 135 in 1951.

Brimstage Hall & Tower

The Hall and Tower at Brimstage is a Grade 1 listed building. The red sandstone Brimstage Hall is believed to be one of the oldest buildings in Merseyside. The building is composed of a 16th century hall; rebuilt on the site of a former 12th century hall, as well as a connecting tower built in 1398. The Hall oozes charisma and is steeped in history and legend and expert opinion dates it at between 1175 and 1350, erected within the centre of an original fortified area which was enclosed by a moat and high embankment. The moat varied from 14 to 20 yards in width and was fed by the small stream which flowed through the village. In 1288, Sir Roger de Domville is said to have 'listened for the word Brunstathe' (an old name for Brimstage, which he held as lord) during proceedings at Chester. The Domvilles were a Cheshire family of some standing, owning land in Oxton, as well as Brimstage but left the village when the Hulse family took residence, circa 1378. The first recorded occupant was Sir Hugh Hulse and his wife Marjorie who were granted the right to build a Chapel on the 11th of February 1398. According to tradition the Chapel was located in the vaulted chamber that stands at the base of the tower, although eminent architectural historians Pevsner and Hubbard have doubts about this. In 1432, the estate was inherited by the Troutbeck family when Margaret, the only daughter and heiress of Sir Hugh and Margery married Sir John Troutbeck (Lord of Durham on the Hill), by which union the hall passed into the possession of the Troutbeck family. Sir John became Sargeant of Brunstath and occupied the Hall but was killed at the battle of Blore Heath in 1459 during the War of the Roses. A ring in another ceiling boss is suspended directly over the spot where the old house well lies beneath the floor.  Rediscovered by a group from Cambridge University in 1957, the well was found to contain a quantity of human bones. 

Brimstage Hall Courtyard

Just before and during the second World War, Brimstage and its surrounding area were converted into a well hidden but highly fortified defensive position. Some remains of the defences set up during this period survive to the present day. In 2014 the site was redeveloped into a shopping area and now includes a series of shops, restaurants and a maize maze. You can visit the Chapel with its vaulted ceiling and carved corbel which shows, some say, a Cheshire Cat, possibly the inspiration for Lewis Carroll's creature in the 'Alice in Wonderland' story as, in his memoirs, Lewis Carroll wrote that he "saw a Cheshire cat with a gigantic smile at Brimstage carved into the wall".
William Hulme Lever, who inherited the Leverhulme title on the death of his father in 1925, continued the traditions and progressive approach established by his father and built various homes and facilities for the benefit of the community, which included the Village Hall in Brimstage. There were two pubs in Brimstage, the 'Red Cat' and the 'Pig and Whistle' although 'The 'Red Cat' was knocked down and never rebuilt whilst the''Pig and Whistle' is thought to have been the now named 'Rose Cottage' adjacent to the Pig and Whistle field. 

see also:- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2021/06/a-history-of-parkgate.html