On the edge of New Ferry Park in Wirral, there is a little piece of history that has stood there for over 110 years.
Park Lodge was constructed in 1904 and was donated to New Ferry by Lord Leverhulme who built Port Sunlight.
The lodge sits a little back from the main road and has a timber frame and stone base.
It has two floors and Tudor-style entrances with a number of bay windows and is on the New Chester Road that leads right into the heart of New Ferry.
The lodge was originally the home of the parkkeeper who would lock the gates on the other side of the park every night.
The parkkeeper was also responsible for the shrubs and flowers that once grew in the park and did so for the many years before WWII.
In the war years, the park behind the lodge was one of the few open spaces for air raid shelters to be built for the people in the local area.
They could hold nearly 1,000 people and while the entrances were filled in, the shelters still exist to this day and can be seen as the mounds next to the children's play area.
During the 1970s and 1980s, the lodge was used by the council to store maintenance equipment.
In 1986 the lodge was given Grade II listed status and remains to this day, the only listed building in New Ferry.
It was then left empty before being bought by a private owner in 2000 who transformed it into a popular tearooms cafe.
The landmark building has also been a party venue, an animal sanctuary and a children's day nursery.
In 2019 it was put up for auction via estate agent SuttonKersh with a guide price of just £90,000.
It was sold for an undisclosed amount and the ECHO understands it is currently being used as office space, although not as frequently due to the pandemic and the government restrictions.
Have you got a Wirral story? Email rebecca.koncienzcy@reachplc.com
