Yahoo News Mansion knocked down and rebuilt more than four miles away
An Elizabethan style mansion was knocked down and rebuilt completely more than four miles away.
Nestled in Royden Park in Frankby, Wirral, is a mock Tudor style house known as Hillbark, which was re-erected there between 1929 and 1931. The original house, known as Bidston Court, was built on Vyner Road South in Bidston, Wirral, in 1891 for soap manufacturer Robert Hudson.
But just a few decades later in 1929, the house was dismantled and transported in its entirety by road to Royden Park in Frankby, where it was re-erected. It took two years in total to re-build the property.
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The house replaced the original Hillbark House which was built for wealthy iron merchant Mr Septimus Ledward in 1868. After being a residential home for elderly people for many years, Contessa Hotels acquired the new Hillbark house in 2002 and began the mammoth task of bringing the Grade II listed building back to its former glory.
Today the building is home to the UK's smallest five star hotel, complete with 17 bedrooms. In February, The Dining Room and Cellar at Hillbark Hotel & Spa was awarded three rosettes.
Critics said it stood out with its "sunny Mediterranean food", after they visited anonymously to review the venue.
Owner Craig Barker previously told the ECHO: "The building has been restored to how it was when it was a house, so when you come here it doesn't feel like a corporate hotel, it feels like it always did as a house.
"We're proud of any accolade that we get but to get five stars on 17 bedrooms is fantastic. We have become a destination hotel and Royden Park that we're in the middle of is beautiful.
"There are certain things that are drivers to get people into Frankby and the other close villages. The park is a big one and then the hotel is another big one. 25% of our customers are London, 25% are elsewhere in the country, 25% is Merseyside and the Liverpool city region and 25% is North Wales, so it draws people in.
"It's very close to West Kirby with the Viking museum and the Marine lake - so it's not just Frankby, there's a collection of villages here that have got an awful lot to offer."
Craig added: "The building is open to anybody from teas and coffees to the spa, dining, events, just coming in for a drink, visiting the two restaurants and as we're coming into summer now, people will be coming in just to sit on the terrace and have a glass of wine or an afternoon tea outside.
"It's great in the summer because of the terraces outside and it's great in the winter with all the fireplaces. It fits everything.
"Every month, we do the Hillbark walk from here which goes all the way down to the beach and then you walk all the way back to the building through the countryside and farmlands. It's a beautiful part of the world."
Merseyside is full of interesting buildings, each with their own story to tell.
From the first townhouse to be built on one of the city's oldest streets to the wooden chalets by the sea, we love taking a look inside these buildings and what came before them.
That's why we've launched our 'Behind the Doors' series to take a closer look inside some of the region's much loved buildings - and we'd love to hear from you.
Whether you live in a quirky or historic building or walk past one on your daily commute, we'd love to hear from you. If you'd like to get in touch please email: charlotte.hadfield@reachplc.com
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