"DENNISON'S HOUSE", Woolton Hill Road built c.1812-16 ?
Architect - ? Demolished c.1886.

This house overlooking the Parkwood Road quarry, demolished c.1886 by James Thornely of Baycliff must be mentioned as both Cliff Cottage and Woolton Hill Road lodge to Reynolds Park were part of the estate.

No details or description of the house are possible, but because it is not mentioned at the Enclosures, when the site belonged to John Weston who was bankrupt in 1811, but we think it shows on the Sherriff map of 1816 with the name 'Topham' by it; therefore a building date of c.1812-16 is possible. The R.V. in 1876 suggests a middling size house, but the L.W. Tithe Map shows quite a large building and it may be that by 1848 it was somewhat sprawling. Because of its age it was assessed modestly? We have no evidence to suggest whether it was vernacular or polite.

John Topham (c.1777-1833) was a well known Liverpool attorney - and in 1835 Bennison had Mrs Topham's name there. By c.1840 John Dennison (1802-1865), a retired ironmonger from Liverpool, was the owner. He was not present for the 1841 census but in 1851 we see that he was 53, born in Kendal and now calling himself a Landed Proprietor. With him was his wife Isabella 40, his widowed sister Ellen Jackson 50; a cook and housemaid (none local). He was still there in 1861, his wife was shown as being born in Urswick, Lancs, and they had 2 different servants and a visitor - John Bouskele aged 8. John Dennison died in 1865 leaving estate of about £20,000 and we learn that he had a passion for conchology - the Liverpool Museum bought his collection of shells.

John Bigham (b.c.1815) born in Wigan, a retired merchant, and Helen his wife with two servants were living here in 1871; and for a few years in the 1870s Joseph Stubbs (c.1821-1885) see Marsh - was the occupier. In 1876 the R.V. of the house and estate of 7½ acres (in L.W.) was £190; the estate extended in to M.W. by nearly 2½ acres, R.V. £9, but the rates were in arrears, and the house seems never to have been occupied again.

We call it "Dennison's House" though it might have been "Topham's", but John Dennison lived here for nearly a quarter of a century and six years after his death the driveway to the house was still called 'Denison Road' in the census, but weeks earlier on 10 March 1871 an advertisement for sale by auction of Highfield names Woolton Park as 'Denison Road'. This name also occurs elsewhere as Dennison's name seems to have lingered in local memory. It was not until 1880 that 'Woolton Park' had a separate and lasting identity in the Rates Books, though the Directory had been calling it 'Woolton Park' from 1872.

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