Rev William Hillis
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The wife of Rev William Hillis (Eliza Jane Clarke), was the only daughter Edward Clarke (seed merchant from Ireland, who moved to Liverpool) and Mary Singlehurst, daughter of shipping magnate Robert Singlehurst and his wife Hannah Ashbury.
Mary Clark was a true philanthropist, an unsung heroine of Liverpool. She was responsible for a home for "the benefit and comfort of elderly ladies in reduced circumstances" which still operates today in 2022. Each lady was to be provided with unfurnished rooms, coal and gas free. On the first of every month they would pay 1/- for rent and 1/- towards a Nursing Fund in aid of sickness. Dr. Nisbet was the "honorary" surgeon. Dinner would be provided each day in the dining room on payment of 6d.
The great Liverpool merchant families gave their support to the home, where their dependants and other ladies connected with Liverpool could continue to live in comfort and dignity. It would accommodate widows and aged daughters of Liverpool professional men, merchants, and Church of England clergymen.
Mary Clark was born in 1807, the daughter of Robert and Hannah Singlehurst. She was baptised in St. Peter’s Church ,Church Street, Liverpool - marked today by a gold cross set in the pavement. . Her father had a hosier’s shop. in Whitechapel, just around the corner. He subsequently ran the Red Cross Shipping Line whose headquarters were in Red Cross Street, near Canning Dock. It is now a car park.
Mary married Edward Clark, an Irishman, and emigrated to Australia in 1848, in one of the Red Cross Line ships. On Edward’s death, in 1854, she returned to Liverpool, and took up residence at 10 Livingstone Drive North, on the edge of Sefton Park, in a "mansion of superior quality".
She died on Christmas Eve 1887, leaving £110,000 - at least £11 million at today’s value. She expressed her wish that the money be used to build and endow "sheltered accommodation for elderly ladies, and to give them the privileges of home without all the anxieties". Her daughter, Eliza Jane Hillis (nee Clark), carried out her mother’s wishes very well.
Building started in Ullet Road in 1891. The firm chosen was Morrisons, who went on to build the Anglican Cathedral. The home is a fine example of high Victorian architecture, with everything of the very best that could be provided, including a beautiful mahogany staircase.
On 23rd May, 1893, Bishop Ryle, the first Bishop of Liverpool, officially opened the home, which still serves its original purpose today.
The following is the "Mary Clark" home built by authority of Eliza Jane Hillis (nee Clark).
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