Greenbank House replaced an earlier building called Greenbank Cottage in about 1857. The house is described as a large gentleman’s residence. It had a large conservatory, a coach house and a stable. It was located on land behind the second (Greenbank) Church.
About 1885 the occupier of Greenbank was Cotton Broker, Thomas Scott Hannay, he lived with his wife and six children. The family had six servants: a nurse, a cook, a tablemaid, a housemaid, a kitchenmaid and a coachman.
One of the first cars in Upton was a Steam Car owned by Mr Hannay at the beginning of the century.
Both Mr Hannay and his wife were elected members on the Parish Council, and he was a founding elder of the Upton Presbyterian Church in 1900. They were both involved in the local community, Amongst other things, Mr Hannay founded Upton Cricket Club in 1901, and Mrs Hannay set up a reading room in the "Arches".
Following the death of Mr Hannay in September 1917, Greenbank was put up for sale in 1918.
Ownership of the house passed to Mr W S Hannay.
A Badminton Hall with stage, dressing rooms and kitchen was built in the grounds of Greenbank House, these were made available for the use by the people of Upton
In 1936 Greenbank was used to house Basque refugee children from the Spanish Civil War, and in the Autumn of 1939 Mr Hannay gave the house, free of rent, for occupation by czech refugees. About the same time he allowed the local A.R.P. Authorities (also rent free) to have the use of the out-buildings (stables, two garages and a wash house) together with the kitchen in the main house. This local A.R.P. worked as a branch of the Birkenhead Fire Service.
In the Spring of 1940, the army requisitioned the house and agreed that the Fire Service could continue to use the out-buildings and kitchen. This arrangement was changed sometime later and the army took possession of the whole house and out-buildings.
The house (but not the badminton hall) was de-requisitioned on 22nd April 1944, and Mr Hannay employed Edmund Kirby of Liverpool to handle the compensation claim. On inspecting the house, Edmund Kirby’s surveyor wrote to the War Department:
… In all our experience, we have never seen premises left in such a shameful condition and we think it only fair to warn you of this fact lest it be thought that the obviously wanton damage had been caused by the small boys of the neighbourhood in the interval between the date of de-requisitioning and an inspection by your department. ….
The War Department eventually paid a total of about £700 in compensation.
The Badminton hall was de-requisitioned on 4th May 1946, and Mr Hannay again employed Edmund Kirby of Liverpool to handle the compensation claim.
Greenbank was demolished in the late 1950s or early 1960s, its name lives on as the name of the undertaker's offices which were built on the site of Hall Hill Church.
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