Bidston

"BIDSTON, a parish in the lower division of the hundred of Wirrall, in the county palatine of Chester, 3 miles to the W. of Birkenhead, its post town. It is situated on a tongue of land between the rivers Mersey and Dee, and includes the townships of Bidston-cum-Ford, Claughton-cum-Grange, Moreton-cum-Lingham, and Saughall-Massey. The living is a perpetual curacy* in the diocese of Chester, value £150, in the patronage of the bishop. There is a small endowed school with an income of £10 per annum, and other charities which produce about £5 a year. On Bidston Hill, which is about 250 feet high, commanding an extensive prospect over the Irish Sea, Liverpool, and the estuaries of Mersey and Dee, is a lighthouse, which was built in 1762, and now belongs to the Mersey Dock and Harbour Board, Liverpool. It is of stone, 50 feet in height, with a fixed light visible 23 miles off. On the same hill is a telegraph station, one in a chain of 70 miles long, communicating between Liverpool and Holyhead. In the township of Claughton there is a district church called Christ Church, the living of which is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of trustees. The Birkenhead Commissioners are now constructing a cemetery in this township, with chapels for Church of England, Roman Catholics, and Dissenters; and also water-works, with water-tower, &c., for the supply of Birkenhead. In the village of Moreton there is a school, erected by subscription in 1861, and intended for the younger children of the neighbourhood."

"CLAUGHTON, (or Claughton-cum-grange), a township in the parish of Bidston, in the lower division of the hundred of Wirrall, in the county of Chester, 1 mile N.W. of Birkenhead. The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of Chester, annexed to the perpetual curacy* of Bidston. The church, dedicated to Christ, is a red sandstone edifice in the early English style. In this township is St. Aidan's Theological College, for the training of candidates for holy orders. The building is in the decorated Tudor style, and stands on a plot of 33,000 square yards of land, which cost £9,325.

"FORD, a hamlet in the parish of Bidston, hundred of Wirrall, county palatine of Chester, 3 miles W. of Birkenhead."

"GRANGE, a township in the parish of Bidston, hundred of Wirrall, county palatine of Chester, 1 mile N.W. of Birkenhead. It is united to Claughton. There is a school with a small endowment."

"MORETON-CUM-LINGHAM, a township in the parish of Bidston, lower division of Wirrall hundred, county Chester, 4½ miles N.W. of Birkenhead, and 9 N.W. of Great Neston."

"SAUGHALL MASSEY, (or Saughan-massie), a township in the parish of Bidston, lower division of Wirrall hundred, county Chester, 4 miles W. of Birkenhead.