Historic Liverpool Dwellings - Deysbrook House

 

 

The Deys family were most ancient in West Derby records with them going back as far as 1300 and The Brook may have the fed the dam belonging to the watermill at West Derby from the 13th Century onwards. The wealthy Blundell family was responsible for over 100 slave voyages in the second half of the 18th century with Bryan Blundell, born in 1675, an English merchant who captained The Mulberry, which transported a large number of indentured workers to Virginia and was the first ship in the Old Dock in Liverpool in 1715. He was also co-founder of the Blue Coat School, became its treasurer, and dedicated his life and much of his wealth to it. Ince Blundell Hall was built between 1720 and 1750 for Robert Blundell, the Lord of the Manor but in 1761 Robert moved from the house to Liverpool, and the estate passed to his eldest son Henry. He then purchased land in 1776 that had been leased by the Townsend family from Lord Molyneux and in about 1811 purchased Summervale, later known as Deysbrook House, in West Derby, built in the 18th century with extensive grounds and an 11-acre lawn which was to be the family home for the next hundred years. Deysbrook House, one of West Derby’s great lost buildings, featured ornate painted ceilings. These were carefully removed before the house was demolished. The ceilings were packed into crates and stored away, unopened to this day, awaiting a suitable new use.

Born in 1755, Henry Blundell Hollinshead married Jane Benson in Liverpool in 1781. He died on the 8th of February 1832 at the age of 77 and was buried at St. Nicholas Church, Liverpool. Col. Henry Blundell-Hollinshead-Blundell was born at Deysbrook House on the 24th of January 1831, the eldest son of colliery owner Richard Benson Blundell-Hollinshead-Blundell who was born in 1793. In 1847 Alfred Stevens decorated three reception rooms for the Blundell family on the ground floor of their new home. He covered two of the three ceilings with Pompeian ornament, including allegorical figures in roundels on the coves. On the walls he painted nine oblong panels, enclosing figures personifying the Virtues and the Arts. The decoration was fully described and illustrated by Mr. D. S. MacColl in the Architectural Review for December, 1911.

It became a convalescent home for children in the 1920s operated by Liverpool's West Derby Union and in 1939 the House belonged to the Corporation of Liverpool and was used as a hospital. Early in the war it was purchased by the War Office and after the war, in view of the possible demolition of the building, the Corporation obtained permission from the War Office to remove and retain the decorations. The work was carried out in the Spring of 1948 with the Art Fund contributing £2,000 towards its cost. The decorations are now stored in the Walker Art Gallery, with a view to incorporating them ultimately in an Alfred Stevens Room.

The house was demolished in 1955 and the Land was the site of Deysbrook Barracks. The barracks was used by 59th (Volunteers) Signal Regiment of the Royal Signals until around 2000 and the last remains of the barracks are a few houses that were part of the quarters. The Deysbrook Estate, named after the large house on the site now occupied by Tesco, was in the pipeline during the early 1950’s. By the end of 1953, Deysbrook had approximately 700 homes planned for completion.The land around Deysbrook Lane was developed, transforming a rural backwater into a thriving suburb. 

see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2022/12/historic-liverpool-dwellings-fir-grove.html