Historic Liverpool Dwellings - Thingwall House

Stables and Coach House, Ashfield, Knotty Ash

Prior to Thingwall House there was another on the site called Ashfield. It was built by James Clemens, a English merchant and shipowner who joined Liverpool Town Council in 1767 and was Mayor in 1775. This wealthy man lived in the mansion called Ashfield at the junction of Thomas Lane and Thingwall Lane, Knotty Ash and here entertained many guests at this beautiful home set in pretty gardens. To help his visitors find their way, James set up a tall four-sided sandstone signpost outside the gates of his mansion, with one side bearing his initials, the date 1776, and another saying Road to Broad Green. This would be clearly visible by day and at night as one of his servants would light an oil lamp on the top. There it would glow as a welcoming beacon, guiding his guests in their carriages when there was no other street lighting.
James Clemens was involved in at least 35 slave voyages, between 1753 and 1785. The house was then occupied by John Clarke, a minor slave trader, from 1769 to 1829. 

The entrance to Clemen's house Ashfield can be seen behind the pillar.

After later rebuilding in 1869 as a Jacobean manor house by Henry Arthur Bright the shipping magnate on the 4.8-acre (19,000 m2) site, it was renamed Thingwall House. It should not be confused with the nearby stately home of Thingwall Hall nearby. He was a member of the Roxburghe Club and of the Philobiblon Society, as well as of the local historical and literary societies. His personal intercourse with literary men and women was very extended and sympathetic, and was sustained by a wide correspondence, in which his own part was characterised by a singular fertility and charm. In the world of letters he will be best remembered by the frequent allusions to him in the 'Note-books' and biography of Nathaniel Hawthorne, whose acquaintance he made at Concord, Massachusetts in 1852. Their friendship was renewed and deepened in the following year, when Hawthorne became consul at Liverpool and in 1854 they made a tour of Wales together, with their friendship lasting until Hawthorne's death. 

 

The Lodge, Thingwall House ( all that now remains )

Having returned to Liverpool from France, then Bournemouth, in the spring of 1884, Henry died on the 5th of May at his residence and was buried at St. John the Evangelist Church, Liverpool. The park was bequeathed to Liverpool Council by Bright’s family in 1915 and in 1921 the mansion to the city of Liverpool on condition that it was held in trust to be used as a home for 'girls of feeble mind'. It was owned by the Knotty Ash Special School Trust with Liverpool City Council serving as its trustees. It was occupied by various institutions including the Dovecot Horticultural Special School for Girls and eventually became an outpost of Liverpool City Council which use it for training. The house remained as a girls' institution until the late 1980s when it was closed for the last time. The park and house languished in dereliction for almost 15 years until local resident and national treasure Ken Dodd campaigned for the house and park to be revived as a national museum of comedy. Ken then also volunteered to contribute his own collection of comedy paraphernalia to the project. BBC Radio 4 presenter Winifred Robinson, who is originally from Norris Green, visited the house to record a programme and said: "I thought it was a very beautiful house and for something as spectacular as that to be in the heart of a city is quite a find. It is very sad that it has not been opened up for local people to enjoy it." Sadly this did not come about as the mansion was damaged by an arson attack in 2003 and later demolished in 2004 causing a public outcry. Once the council discovered that the land could not be built upon for housing, it became a white elephant until 2008 when the council donated the land to the Anfield charity Liverpool Lighthouse. After a transition period, Liverpool Lighthouse became custodians of the park with plans to return the space to the community with a heritage focus, engendering civic pride in this most beautiful and largely forgotten space. In 2016 volunteers needed to support the Bright Park project in Knotty Ash were requested and the park opened in September 2016.

see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2022/07/historic-liverpool-dwellings-west-dingle.html