Neston Town Trail
Page 5
No 12 Elmgrove House on the left hand side was probably built in the late 18th century. It suffered a few years ago
from a serious fire and has now been converted into two town houses.
Next to it is Elmhurst, which can be identified on an estate map of 1732, although its fine semicircular bays have been added more recently. It too has been divided into two properties.
No 13 Almost opposite are Wayside Cottage and Dee Cottage, bearing the date table and the initials of Benjamin Norman, a tailor, and his wife Mary.
An inn called The Spotted Cow was being run in this house until 1855. On the other side is Beech House, built in 1847, and its neighbour Turzum, also of the early 19th century.
No 14 Next to Turzum stands Bank Cottage. This is a problem house, because although it has a date plate of 1724 on its side, we known from an estate map, this site was empty in 1732.
The date plate must have come from another house, probably from one, which used to stand on this site, beside the houses next door, Fern and Hawthorn Cottages. These belong to Joseph Pemberton the house-wright in 1732.
No 15 The Library (pictured) was intended to be Neston’s memorial to Queen Victoria after her death in 1901. It was not built, however, until 1907, largely with funds provided by the Scottish-American industrialist Andrew Carnegie.
He made the condition that the land should be donated; Mrs Russell, the widow of Dr Russell who lived in Vine House, gave it. The footpath which runs beside the Library garden down to the Wirral Country Park, used to be known as Doctor’s Styles.
Their son Frank was a partner in the firm Knowles and Russell, engineers to Neston Council, and his firm were the architects for the library building. It was greatly extended in 1973. The whole building was updated and underwent structural and internal alterations in 2003.
