Bed & Breakfast
Rich with History
Dating back to the 19th century, Mere Brook House is an imposing Edwardian country house on the Wirral. It is the perfect venue for weddings, celebratory events, business meetings and rural getaways.
Who Are We
Our Story
Mere Brook House holds a rich history dating back to the 19th century. Originally built as a country home, the house has witnessed generations pass through its doors, each leaving behind their mark on its character. Today, we’ve transformed this heritage property into a haven for wanderers and explorers, maintaining the warmth and spirit of its history while infusing it with contemporary hospitality.
Mere Brook House
In a nutshell
Mere Brook House is an imposing Edwardian country house on the Wirral. It offers high class bed and breakfast accommodation in eight bedrooms and has facilities for events, such as celebrations and business meetings.
Mere Brook House is owned by Annabel, from Thornton Hough. Mere Brook House has eight en-suite bedrooms and superb facilities for celebrations and business meetings. The 5 Star Gold bed and breakfast is situated on the edge of the picturesque village of Thornton Hough, nestled between the famous cities of Liverpool and Chester. This makes it an ideal base for exploring both cities, as well as visiting the many attractions on the Wirral.
Whether you’re staying on the Wirral for business, a social visit or to play golf, we can offer a warm welcome, with comfortable and luxurious surroundings in which to relax. The gardens are a peaceful sanctuary, home to many species of butterfly, birds and wildlife. In keeping with the relaxed atmosphere of a private country house, the eight bedrooms have been individually designed, using a mix of antique and contemporary furniture and fabrics.
Mere Brook House
A Brief History
Mere Brook House was built in 1897-98 by John Orrell, a Liverpool brewer. Prior to occupying Mere Brook, he lived next door in “The Foxes” and, during the construction; he supervised operations from a wicker chair in the open air. Although Orrell died in 1905, the house remained in his family and was occupied by Thomas, John’s son, and Thomas’s niece until 1918. The house was then empty for two years before being purchased by Cass, an accountant for Lever at Port Sunlight.
He divided the house into two and let the coach house. He subsequently sold off land on which he had built a pair of semi-detached houses and a bungalow. Around 1928, he went to live in one of the houses and sold Mere Brook to the Englen family, two brothers and two sisters who turned the house back into one residence. The Englen sisters sold the house to a Mr Nickson in 1937.
Then, in 1941, it was bought or rented by Ann Davison (and her husband), who was famous as the first woman to cross the Atlantic single-handedly. In her book, “Last Voyage”, she describes Mere Brook House as “an uninspired stucco villa, the outside belying an interior of pleasantly proportioned rooms” but “desolate, neglected and overgrown”. The Davisons had two ponies, goats, hens and ducks. Ann mentions going everywhere on horseback, or pony and trap, and selling apples from the orchard in Birkenhead. The family stayed for three years and Ann comments in her book: “In some ways, these few years at Mere Brook were the happiest in our lives”. We now have a blue plaque to honour Ann’s achievements.
Mere Brook House
Then & Now
The house was subsequently bought in 1944 by Mrs Jackson, who, in turn, sold it to Dr McGibbon and his wife Betty in 1949. The McGibbons progressively restored and repainted the house to as high a standard as possible in light of post-war shortages. Fortunately, good timber was still available. The panelling in the dining room came from John McGibbon’s consulting rooms in Rodney Street, Liverpool, where he had originally installed it after salvaging it from a Hertfordshire house that was being demolished. Sotheby’s date it around 1650.
The fireplace in the hall was a bedhead in Betty McGibbon’s family home, which they, as children, had always been told belonged to Prince Llewelyn. Betty McGibbon’s daughter sent a letter in 1987 to the previous owner stating “Well, we all loved Mere Brook. We kept pigs in the sties – kindly built by the German POW’s – lots of chickens and Chinese Geese which we gave to Chester Zoo”. She added that, having seen a recent photograph of the house, it looked exactly the same as when she had lived there. Mr and Mrs David Aicken purchased the house from Mrs McGibbon in 1960. Aicken was a naval architect.
In 2002 Donald and Lorna Tyson, bought Mere Brook House when the Aickens decided to move to a smaller house in Caldy. Donald and Lorna let the property to a South African family and then a Dutch family before embarking on a renovation and extension programme in 2006. This was in preparation for developing a bed and breakfast business. The main house, with four bedrooms, was opened in 2008. The coach house, providing a further four bedrooms, was completed in 2012. In 2022 Donald and Lorna sold Mere Brook House to Annabel, a Thornton Hought local who is continuing to run Mere Brook as a bed and breakfast and event venue.
See What Mere Brook Can Offer
