Issue 117 – April 2016
ANCIENT TIMBERS
By Stephen Guy, West Derby Society
THE huge trees took centuries to grow, dominating forests teeming with deer and wild boar where few people ventured. Early settlers made clearings to create settlements which grew into villages. They began to drain vast swaps and marshes to create fields to feed the growing population. West Derby had a royal hunting forest for the exclusive use of the monarch. In a process taking many centuries up to the Napoleonic wars, Liverpool’s forests were felled to build ships and buildings. Three ancient half-timbered houses survived in West Derby until comparatively modern times. The best known was Boltons (pictured) in Finch Lane. This moated house was built by a wealthy miller around 1400. Local historian Richard Duncan Radcliffe helped to save some of the ancient timbers when Boltons was demolished in 1897. Richard, of 26 Derwent Road, came from a wealthy family – his father, a lawyer, built many of the first houses in Stoneycroft. Richard left us a detailed description of Boltons. The house was 51 ft long and more than 17 ft wide. The principal room – the hall – was 18 ft high with an open hearth 12 ft across with stone seats in ingle nooks at either end. A canopied seat for the master sat facing the fireplace. Two doors led to the partitioned parlour or women’s room featuring an open fire in a massive chimney breast. A winding stair led to a room over the parlour. The house had a kitchen with an open fireplace and brick
oven. There was an adjoining passage and buttery. Other aspects included a picturesque oriel bay window supported by corbel brackets. Alterations were made to the fabric of the building over the centuries as it deteriorated and needed refurbishment. However, three massive crucks (curved split oak timbers) supporting the building survived the changes. Parts of Boltons were re-assembled in Liverpool Museum but were sadly destroyed in the May 1941 Blitz. Other timbers were used to create the superb lych gate at St John’s, Knotty Ash. A medieval house similar to Boltons stood in Leyfield Road near the stone cottage north of Thornhead Lane until about 1890. Parts of the foundations remained for some years. Oxford-educated Richard said the third cruck-built house similar to Boltons, although much altered, stood in Almonds Green.
WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS (SEE INSIDE)
Join the West Derby Society at its next meeting 7.30 pm on Wednesday 20 April at Lowlands, 13 Haymans Green, Liverpool L12 7JG.