History
The house is dated 1867 and was designed by John Douglas. It was the most ambitious of Douglas' early works and one of the largest houses he designed. Douglas also designed the two entrance lodges. It had been built for John & Thomas Johnson, merchants and chemical manufacturers of Runcorn. However they lost all their ships in the blockade of Charleston in 1865 and subsequently became bankrupt. The house was bought from them by John Higson, a Liverpool merchant, who became the house's first resident. He was followed by John Hayes Higson and then by Captain William Higson, the head of Higson's Brewery in Liverpool.
In 1943 the house was bought by the Miners’ Welfare Commission and it became a rehabilitation centre for injured miners. In 1951 it became part of the National Health Service, initially for rehabilitation for people injured in industrial accidents, and later for rehabilitation for all groups of people, including children. It has been converted into flats.
Read more about this topic: Oakmere Hall
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