Welcome to Inacityliving - with over 10,000 Photographs - The History of Liverpool in Pictures

Streets Ahead Page 1


Scenes that will be 'right up your street'
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Many of these 1980s pictures were taken by Joe Devine. An ex neighbour of mine who must've had good shoe leather and knees, judging by the places he traipsed around.. Other contributions include my own and persons who have kindly granted their permission and have been given the appropriate credit. Also there are three photographs at the top of the page, courtesy of Glynne Gianelli, the nephew of John Frank and Maria Gianelli.


An index to which photographs are on this page is at the bottom of this page. 


Islington Place towards Gerard Gardens

Gianellis Chippy, the best Chips 'n' Fish in the city !

Gianelli's at number 2 Islington Place showing the Wellington Monument St Georges Hall and
St John Beacon, these photographs are all c.1977 when demolition work had begun in the area.
© Glynne Gianelli







The area of Clayton Square, Cases Street, Parker Street and Elliot Street was much changed for the building of the Clayton Square Shopping Centre. Many people can't believe that the road sloped so much that we have the steps that now exist leading up to Gt Charlotte Street. The Jacey Cinema which became the Blessed Sacrament Holy Shrine was lost as well as pubs such as Egerton's, Casey's Bar and The Villiers.


Church Street, pre-pedestrianisation (thanks to Rob) then a Green Goddess army fire engine with its civil counterpart on the same street some years later. A horsedrawn Higsons dray cart advertisement heads up Richmond Street   towards Williamson Square which is shown in the next photo as it was before the water feature. Hood Street at the bottom of Roe Street with its walkway bridge and to finish off, a fantastic night view of St. George's Place in the 1961 by Brian Saville. A much preferred scene than is currently on show.


Three views of the Whitechapel Post office which seems to have come and gone in a very short space of time. The Met Quarter building, a continuation of the Victoria Street G.P.O. now stands here. The last pic is courtesy of NancyO.



Entering Dale St from the Churchill Way flyover (westbound) as viewed from the roof of Blackburn Assurance Building.
A view up Moorfields, past the Wizard's Den towards Exchange Station. This Street is now much changed
Commutation Row, built at the time of the tax of the same name once contained 12 properties, 4 of them being pubs. This now contains a single block of apartments.


Castle Street in the 1980s taken by Ken (Springy) Notice the old Police Jeep which offered rides for free.
 The Games shop was a favourite with many a child who pined for 'Hobbies'.
Victoria Street which contained underground toilets which split the traffic as it entered from the West. The Mersey Tunnel end of Victoria St.




A demo makes it way down James Street which then had the bridge across to Wilberforce House.
Mann Island and the Voss Motors building which has just been demolished (July 07) for new apartments.
A scene which has hardly changed, looking down Water st.



Peek-a-boo. The Tower as seen from Pall Mall. The Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King to give it its full name is viewed here in a mixture of architecture from four different decades. A nice red Vauxhall Viva and front gate post on Hope St is the foreground in the next picture with thanks to Martin S.


Seymour St as captured by NancyO when it seemed to be in a state of disrepair but has now been restored to its former glory.





Islington. Transport House boxing club, Barney's sweet shop and Peppers Public House can be seen here but have now all bitten the dust.





Manchester st. Another dozen properties including the Games shop, the Batch hatch, Shank's (ex The Tiger) Gilroy & County, Ace Security Services, An amusement arcade, Callan Military, Yates and the old furniture shop.


The Byrom Street road improvement scheme saw the demolition of tenement blocks such as Gerard and Fontenoy Gardens. Here in the background is Blackburn Chambers.











The Leeds Street area as seen from Scotland Road at its South end. A crane demolishes the last warehouse on Addison Street as road widening and a new housing estate is to soon get underway.









St. John's house stands alone in 1987. The car park on the former Queen's Square now contains the Marriot Hotel, bars and restaurants.









Moss St. A row of delpidated properties including Aspinall's floor coverings and Hartleys auction rooms. A real grot spot that could do with more than a make over. This shot is from 1990.







Merseyside Collectors Centre as remembered in Temple Court. The building once housed Livingstones, a night club of the late 70s.













Lord Nelson St. looking towards Lime St. This terrace has since undergone a bit of much needed tlc.







Bombdies galore! Islington, The block from Camden St to Fraser St as it was in 1990. During the 1970s, these were to serve the local kids well during the build up to bonfire night.
The block bounded by Norton St, Islington and Fraser St. Here now stands the coach station.



Shaw Street. The first two pics are the West side. Firstly from the top of William Henry St and then nearer the Islington end. The 3rd pic is the East side just past the Collegiate and where Staples office equipment now stands.



More bombdies on the fringe of the city centre. The doss house on the corner of Springfield in the first two pics has now been cleared for the new city fire station. The 3rd pic shows a curved terrace on Fox st which stood next to St. Mary of the Angels church (the Friary) and is now wasteland.


Follow the last pic around into Everton Brow and this is what you'd find. Within these shacks, businesses operated such as Railton's sweet shop, Kit's Chippy and Joe Mitchell's workshop. The next two pics are of Soho Street, firstly looking towards Everton Brow and then face on with the Piggeries and John F. Kennedy heights in view. Properties here consisted of John Evans Engineering, the Ah Thi Laundry and Cotters barbers.


A close up of the last two premises on the last pic. The Ah Thi Laundry and Cotters barbers shop.
Max's barbers, Audley St. (nicknamed the mad russian) by kids unfortunate enough to have to suffer the 'basin head' haircut at the hands of his competitor, Mr. L. Cotter. (as seen previously)
Arden House salvation Army hostel on Bevington Bush which started life as an hotel. Seen here from Chaucer St.


Tenement backdrops feature in this section. John Gianelli's chip shop on Christian st served meals to the rich and famous appearing on the nearby Empire Theatre. John, his brother Frank and sister Maria were well known local figures in this area which was known as Little Italy in the early 1900s. Gerard Gardens can be seen behind. The next shot, overlooking the Vauxhall Road/Tithebarn st junction shows the curved Prouts Garage which you could drive in one side and out of the other. Here, it has been taken over by Heather's coach tours. The wasteland facing has been used by the JMU, Vauxhall Gardens is in the background. The last pic is looking eastwards up Burlington st towards the Black Dog pub on the right (now a bookies) and Portland Gardens on the left.



J.P. O'Briens, Pall Mall who have supplied many a barrel and party 7 to local partys. A snowy scene across Bevington Bush and down Blackstock St showing the former St. Bridgets school which became a BCG and nit nurse clinic.Looking towards the Pier Head along Wapping from Blundell St. The warehouses on the left are now prestige apartments.


Pilgrim St on the fringe of the city centre. Old properties are still in use and each picture is the continuation of the last. A fine part of town.



Rice st facing Ye Cracke pub. New housing built to compliment the old in this area.
An interesting first floor extension to the rear of property on Mount Pleasant.
Jamaica House on Upper Parliament street looks like it's lost this argument with a digger.


There is lots of industry within a stones throw of the city centre though these pictures show what once was rather than what still is. Looking towards Old Hall st and St. Paul's eye hospital in the middle distance, we have Bibby's corn mill on the right. Costco and Toys R Us now stands here on what was Formby street. If you turned your back and looked in the opposite direction along Gt Howard street past the Victoria pub you would see the Graham Gratrix sign which was a landmark in the area for many years. Looking through one of the Exchange station line bridges at Whitley st from Love Lane and you can see the Goat public house.


Looking up Porter st from the dock road and across Gt. Howard street and up Sprainger st. Dods Vaults stood on the corner opposite Graham Gratrix bathrooms supplies. Tate and Lyle sugar refiners can be seen behind. Lascar House can be seen here on Waterloo Road, again, Tate's forms the backdrop. The last pic is looking South along the dock road with the Tobacco warehouse on the left and Clarence dock power station with its 3 ugly sisters chimneys on the right.



Fairries on Vauxhall Road was also part of Tate & Lyle. Here it can be seen whilst looking North beyond Burlington st. Eldon st tenements are visible on the right which stood behind the Glass House pub. The warehouse attached to Fairries can be seen next. The newer brick at first to third floor level in the bricked up archway once housed a bridge which spanned Vauxhall Road to its offices on the East side. The last pic shows the circular turret like structure, it's 1847 date and grade II listing didn't save this building. George Lyons & sons Ltd scrap yard was next door, the bus is the 21E heading for Walton.



The Swing bridge in operation facing United Molasses.
Heading out of town northwards and this delapidated row of houses are on Fountains Road, Kirkdale.
Sign city. The corner of Bankhall St and Stanley Rd.


Portland Place behind Gt Homer st. A hidden little terrace.
Roscommon st and the demolition of property facing the School and the Cotton Picker pub.
Shaw st, looking towards the heights on Netherfield Rd.


Maybe it's Sunday but this is a quiet scene on Nethy. Ann Fowlers women's hostel is boarded up, Mazzini, Garibaldi and Cavour House are in the distance.
A disused chapel on Hampton st. This is not a route for cyclists with dodgy brakes. This was demolished in Jan 09.
A   Learner bus driver passes along St Oswald's Street, Old Swan past the tenement gardens and towards Edge Lane. Picture with thanks to Rob.



The Walton bound 85 passes the maisonettes in Mill st. Picture courtesy of Rob.
109-115 Park Road, still standing and hopefully will remain so after a revamp. ***SEE LATER ON PAGE***
Yates St, which like neighbouring Corn St is elevated and thankfully is in good condition.


Summer 1981 and the aftermath of the Toxteth riots. First we see two burnt out cars on the junction of Park Way and property which fell down during its blaze behind Princes Road.


A crash scene on Queens Drive.
A motorbike & sidecar in Clubmoor.
A mobile shop on Grosvenor St. Closed for business.


Woolton Village and surrounding roads, July 07.



Eldon Grove in 1990 and currently undergoing renovation. Opened in 1914, other pre WWI workmens dwellings like this existed largely in the Bevington street area as well as the south end but these are the only remaining specimens.
Western Avenue, Speke. 1930s tenement style buildings like this still exist overhead shops on both sides of the avenue at its west end.
(Right) The cellar of 94 Seel street was where my parents were living when they had my older bro Joe in 1951.


Picton Clock Wavertree and the old Abbey Cinema which is now a Somerfield.
Hale Road, Speke.
Southern Road, Speke.


A 1930s block of tenement flats above shops off Church Road, Litherland, also showing the rear balconies.



Ford St and Paul St off Vauxhall Road. Once a hive of industry, as captured by Ron Formby of the Scottie Press.


A disused Melly Fountain on the Princes Dock estate behind the Malmaison hotel.


(Left) Looking down Moorfields on a glorious August morning. The new art installation in Cross Keys House can be seen literally in full swing on the right.
(Right) Tempest Hey seen here from Tithebarn Street. These old warehouses, still to be cleared can tell a story or two of the city's industrial past.



Walls of distinction. The first one off Wavertree Road commemorates Stevenson's Rocket. Edge Hill Station is not far from this spot.
The side wall of what was Ma Daley's pet shop in Tithebarn Street can be seen in it's original state on the right, and tarted up with a Birkenhead dockside scene more recently.



A war reminder in the shadows of the Citadel (Derby House)
Vauxhall Road and the Marybone student accommodation as captured by Ron Formby.



Art Deco 1930s Liverpool. Dovecot Place houses a row of shops with flats above, built in a crescent off East Prescot Road. The 3rd pic shows another row on Kingsway in Huyton, a feature of the Huyton and Dovecot area as there are others on the likes of Hillside Road and Greystone Road. Pic 4 is of Adshead Road off Muirhead Avenue. Another area built in the 1930s under the direction of city architect, Lancelot Keay, the art deco influence noticable throughout. The next pic shows one of three seperate similar blocks which line the North side of Walton Hall Avenue and The East Lancs Road. Flats at the top end of Western Avenue, Speke can be seen next, following by 1930s houses facing the English Rose pub on Mackets Lane, Woolton. The bottom row features a little tenement block on Blackhorse Lane, Old Swan, part of St. Andrews Gardens which is known as the Bullring and finally The New Dock pub, Tyrer st, Birkenhead


Quaint and old Liverpool



Barlow Lane which leads up to Spellow Lane. Chatham Street complete with a Victorian post box. Everton Road contains a row which once housed the Liverpool Red Triangle karate club.


A surviving Georgian Terrace on Great Mersey Street, Kirkdale, half of which has been renovated from a priests house (St. Alphonsus) into the Rotunda College, which is actually 3 houses knocked into one and are joined at different levels inside. The city's 2nd Jamaica House on the corner of Dale st and Vernon st (the other one seen earlier on Upper Parliament st). This one has just been declared structurally unsafe and demolished within a month (Dec 07). Further East along Dale Street on the corner of Cheapside is a delapidated row which looks even more structurally unsafe.


One of a number of the quiant parts of old Liverpool. This little house on East Prescot Road now houses a party shop. Nearby in this Knotty Ash district is Little Bongs, the entrance of which is shown on pic 2. The next pic shows the continuation of the road.


These could be off an olde English village jigsaw box lid. Off Thingwall Road is Wavertree Nook Road and Wavertree Garden suburb institute followed by the village green.


Lord Nelson Street, happily renovated during the 1990s to its former glory as was nearby Seymour Street. Oriel House on Oriel Road/St. Catherine's Road, Bootle with its unusual bronze figures depicting children at play.


Three scenes from December 1990. Christmas in Church Street. Looking down Lord Street from the window of an office block on the corner of Fenwick St and James St. The Old Haymarket from the roof of Blackburn Chambers.


Is it Leningrad or Berlin? No, our marvellous William Brown St on Sunday 11th November for Armistice day and right, looking up to nearby St. John's beacon.


Renshaw Street or should that be Rapid's Street as they own most of the West side of it. They have since moveed out into the old George Henry Lee's building and John Lewis have moved into the new L1 Grosvenor development. Peter's chippy and neighbour on Everton Brow in the 1980s just as time was well and truly catching up with them. True blue Goodison Road.


Gateacre Village crossroads: Gateacre Brow/Belle Vale Road and Grange Lane/Halewood Road.



Woolton Village: Church Road/Allerton Road junction. Back Hadfield Place (off Church Rd) and Garden Street cottages.


Rushton Place, Woolton, looking uphill towards St. Peters Church. The Childwall Abbey looking down towards All Saints church. The former Abbey, now a pub is on the junction of Childwall Abbey Road and Score Lane.


A Lark Lane double fronted house on the corner of Little Parkfield Road - Late - Back Parkfield Road. Lark Lane as seen from the Unadopted Hadassah Grove. A Georgian Curve on St. Oswalds Street, Old Swan.


Steble Street, Toxteth. The old baths is now incorporated into the new Park Road Sports Centre, the old street sign directing you to it is still in evidence though. Next, is a grand old house on the Merton/Hawthorne Road roundabout in Bootle.


Back Commutation Row as seen in the 1980s. These properties fronted onto Commutation Row itself before demolition for the new apartments that now take up that row. More bombdies on Fraser Street which were just to the right of Pickwick's nightclub and were finally demolished in the 90s. D. Evans/Tapley was a Company based on the block bounded by Fontenoy Street, Gt Crosshall Street and Byrom Street. In the late 1990s, this property, along with neighbouring pub 'The Dart' were developed into student accommodation called 'Imperial Halls'. These themselves have just recently been demolished after a short life.


In the late 1980s, the City Council entered wholeheartedly into massive road widening schemes which decimated the tenement communities in the inner city. Here is Scotland Road and Hunter Street undergoing such radical changes which have seen mini motorways constructed through which was once a densely populated area. Hunter street was quadrupled in width which together with the existing flyovers produced a concrete carbuncle of 10 lanes.


Islington being widened before the demolition of its South side in 1987. The corner of Scotland Road and Wright Street undergoing demolition two decades later. The Merseyrail 'Hunts Cross' line goes underground at Grafton Street resulting in this shaft at Cockburn Street. The Streets here run West sloping down towards the infilled Toxteth, Brunswick, Harrington and Herculaneum dock system, one of the Streets (Elswick, was used for the sitcom series 'Bread')


These quaint little cottages can be found on Deysbrook Lane and Mill Lane, West Derby, respectively. The third pic shows original houses on Kensington facing Guelph Street, one of which has had a chapel built onto its front garden.


A then and now shot of a row of properties on Prescot Street from Moss Street to Epworth Street.


The Sacred Heart club which sat next to its Church on the corner of Hall Lane and Prescot Street. Here, in 1992 it is undergoing demolition. The chimney belonging to the Royal Liverpool hospital can be seen behind. A lone house, saved from the bulldozer somehow still exists off Mount Vernon Street to the rear of the hospital at its car park approach road. A wrought iron firm and Aspinall's flooring occupy old property on Erskine Street.


Some more old and quaint: Summerseat, built in 1910 in Vauxhall could have been there forever and lies in the shadow of Eldon Grove from 1912. Towerlands Street terrace joins Hall Lane to Wavertree Road. Rodney Street, Liverpool's Harley Street has been the birthplace and home to many a famous son of the city.


The ropeworks area of Duke Street seeing a revival after the revovation of Georgian Terraces and merchants houses as seen above. Once a grot spot and a blight of the city centre fringes, even the warehouses are enjoying new occupancy. Below left, Humyak House, Duke Street, dating from 1864.


Byford Street 1972. LRO.
A familiar sight in 1960s liverpool. (Right) A coalman delivering into a coalhole in Shaw Street. Photo by Keith Rose.


Love em or loathe em, The Beatles continue to bring in the American Dollar and Japanese Yen. In fact, Liverpool city council were slow on the uptake of how we could capitalise on our most famous sons when in the 1970s, the original Cavern was demolished to make way for an underground tunnel vent for the loop line. An appreciation statue for them was even vetoed but now they're everywhere. The National Trust have bought a couple of former homes of Lennon and McCartney and Paul and Yoko have donated time, money and efforts on the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) and Strawberry Fields home in Woolton. Here, we see hoardings in Duke Street, sprighted up, Sgt Pepper style whilst the hoarding surrounding what will be the new 'A Hard days night' hotel in North John Street feature the boys from that 1964 era and Christmas lights over Whitechapel depict the lads negotiating that famous Abbey Road zebra crossing in 1969.


'Four' our feline friends in the city. Lark Lane, Aigburth. The High Street, Wavertree. Gt Mersey St, Kirkdale and Berry Street. (No, it can't be a rat surely - but even if so, cats like em')



Colourful Edge Lane (the city centre end). Sadly though, only because it's boarded up with artwork as the last residents fight the council's compulsory purchase orders through the courts. The idea was for the gateway to be widened at an angle towards Hall Lane, many years after the initial continuation of the M62 city bound was disregarded.


A scene now consigned to history  this 1960s parade of shops and Concourse House office block has given way to a new plaza styled public realm leading to Lime Street station ala the World Museum frontage.



Panning around to the left past St. Georges Hall, a busy St. John's lane as saturday shoppers head home and Roe Street as ever is awash with buses, single deckers seem to be the order of the day.



The hod carrier statue, Hunter St after the UCATT service

St. James Station as viewed from Stanhope Street with the Anglican Cathedral in the background. This is now a disused station and was on the Central line to the South of the city. The next photo shows the very little property which still exists in the street but does include a Georgian Semi. Cains brewery can be seen in the distance off Stanhope Street.



Looking up Richmond Street towards the 'Radio City' tower on this wet, grey, murky saturday afternoon..



Upper Mason Street and Irvine Street Georgian terracing in the Edge Hill area. This ventilation shaft for the Waterloo tunnel emerges at the rear of Archbishop Blanch school onto Mason Street and looks like it has been extended at the top at some point in time.


BOOTLE:


These splendid Villas can be found on Merton Road.

Bootle is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, in Merseyside, England. It is 4 miles (6.4 km) to the north of Liverpool city centre, and has a total resident population of just over 77,600.   Historically part of Lancashire, Bootle's economy has been around the docks and their associated industries for decades.
Bootle, along with Southport, is one of the two main administrative headquarters for the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton. Bootle forms part of the Liverpool Urban Area. The old civic centre of the town contains large Victorian buildings such as the Town Hall and Municipal Baths. East of this centre is a sizeable area of large office blocks, to the west is the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and large areas of
Docks lining the River Mersey. To the north is the New Strand Shopping Centre Bootle derives from the Anglo Saxon Bold or Botle meaning a dwelling. It was recorded as Boltelai in the Domesday Book in 1086. By 1212 the spelling had been recorded as Botle. The spellings Botull, Bothull and Bothell are recorded in the 14th Century. Bootle was originally a small hamlet built near the 'sand hills' or dunes of the river estuary. The settlement began to grow as a bathing resort for wealthy residents of Liverpool in the early 19th century. Some remaining large villas which housed well-to-do commuters to Liverpool are located in the area known locally as 'Bootle Village'. Orrell was added to the borough in 1905. There are still large areas of Victorian terraced houses in Bootle, formerly occupied by dock workers. These are built in distinctive pressed red brick. Bootle's Town Hall and other municipal buildings were erected in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. The population of the town swelled during this period, boosted by Irish immigration and the attraction of plentiful work on the docks. The wealth to pay for the splendour of the town hall and the gentrified 'Bootle Village' area was generated by these docks. The skilled workers lived in neat terrace houses in the east of the town, while the casual dock labourers lived in cramp, squalid dwellings near the dockside. The docks made Bootle a target for German bombers during the Liverpool Blitz and approximately 90% of the houses in the town were damaged. Situated immediatedly adjoining the City of Liverpool, and the site of numerous docks, Bootle had the distinction of being one of the most heavily-bombed borough in the UK. Bootle played an important role in the 'Battle of the Atlantic'. The famous u-boat hunter Captain Frederic John 'Johnny' Walker, would rest in the Mayor's Parlour of Bootle Town Hall. His ship, HMS Starling, sailed out of Bootle and the ship's bell and flags signalling the General Chase can still be seen in Bootle Town Hall's council chamber today.


TERRACES OF DISTINCTION



Mornington Terrace, Upper Duke Street and Clare Terrace, Marmaduke Street.


Church Mount off Marmaduke Street. Another view of old property at the bottom of Erskine Street and a warehouse on Bankhall Street.


Renshaw Street East side from Benson Street to Oldham Street showing the different rooflines. 69A seems to be an older property. At the top of Renshaw street behind St. Lukes church is Bold Place with further Georgian properties.


The top, north side of Seel Street, just off Berry Street with a close up of No.79, currently in a run down state.


Priory Road. One way to keep out of the rain with the shopping, build yourself a nice enclosure up to your front door. An old sign pointing the way to Stanley Park and Anfield Cemetery adorns the wall of the Willowbank pub.


With living in Gerard Crescent/Gardens, the flyovers became an integral part of everyday life. At the East end, a subway was constructed to get you safely to Islington, at the Byrom Street end, a myriad of walkovers were more of an obstacle and white elephant than any sort of help and were often bypassed for a stint of traffic dodging instead. Clayton Street and Cuerden Street once ran at the back of the technical college and museum until the old property was cleared. One advantage of the walkovers though, was the vantage point they give when watching the football teams come down Scotland Road with the cup. The last pic shows the view as you come off the city bound flyover into Dale Street.


During the 1970s, Keith Rose took some fantastic photographs of the ordinary 'mundane' streetscapes of Liverpool. Unearthed and Seen here for almost the first time in three decades, it is with thanks to people like Keith that we can all share in these scenes today.


From the top, clockwise: Congress Street, Edge Hill Aug 71. Mason Street, Edge Hill. Mount Pleasant, Sept 70. The next two are streets off Heyworth Street, Everton, Aug 70. The bollard in the first pic is from a cannon which was common back then. The last one is of Walton Road, Mar 73.


Sunset from Sheil Park heights on Christmas day 1971. The Breeze Hill junction in Aug 1970 is next showing the Mons pub (bottom right) and the covered reservoir (middle left). The pic opposite is of West Derby village in 1977 showing the Sefton Pub on Mill Lane. Pic No.4 is an Aug 71 view of the Everton district, the Lyric Theatre is at the forefront on Everton Valley, Walton Road running off at an angle behind it. The last picture again shows the area looking north from the high rise flats.


Moss Street left and Everton Water tower, Aubrey Street, both 1970 (K.G. Rose)


Off to the east side of St. Domingo Road in 1970 showing Penrose Street and Sir Thomas White Gardens (amongst others). Looking along Queens Drive from Cherry Avenue flats in the same year.

SOME OLD FRONTAGES


Galkoff's jewish Kosher butchers shop is seen here as photographed by Cyril Galkoff in 1990. It is addressed as 29 Pembroke Place, the adjoining property being No.31. The distinctive tiled frontage dating from the 1930s was supplied by Tomkinson's, the builders of St. Georges Hall. English heritage has now awarded 'listed' status to this building.

The premesis of Hastie and Patterson in Gradwell Street near Wolstenholme Square, this area is now being surrounded by 21st century glass and steel. Wavertee High Street hosts one of the very few original Georgian shop frontages in Liverpool.


Originally McGuffies chemist in Castle Street, the mosaic name can still be seen underneath the current owners welcome mat. Picture with thanks to Philip Mayer. 31 Cheapside, another building with ornate tiles was once the Bridewell Vaults. Information with thanks to Philip Mayer. The corner of Dale Street and Stanley Street showing a number of small shops trading below.


Now and then. A fine Merchants house on Everton Road in 1992 and sadly derelict 18 years later. In an elevated position, the views from the rear of this property over the city below would be fantastic. A lone Georgian property on Walker Street, behind Low Hill in 1992.


Abercromby Square property front and rear and Canning Street in the early 1990s with thanks to The Rotunda College.


The last row of houses of this type on Cresswell Street, off Everton Road, L6. Bankhall Street showing an array of signs at its junction with Bankhall Lane and old factory and warehouse property on the canal on the North side of the bridge. The canal was once a thriving transport route of course, before the advent of road transport and evidence of its heyday can still be found along its banks.


A little side street that survived the new Clayton Square shopping arcade was Clayton Street, seen here running off Church Street. Something looking like it won't survive much longer though is this ruin in Picton Road.


Parr Street, showing the premises of one of the many ropemakers including a unique little outdoor corridor and terrace. Further down on Gradwell Street near its junction with Hanover Street, workmen get on down to laying a basement in what will become even more new retail developments.


But for the prestigious cars, you could be walking down Duke Street in another lifetime. We can only hope that most of these are preserved and brought back to their original splendour.



Arena House at 82-84 Duke Street. Top right is a row that is due to be incorporated into a new apartment development which saw their corner neighbour disappear. Art graffiti for 08 ironically declares 'Do you like your neighbours'.
Seel Street furniture is long since gone but not the signage. Further up the street, bottom left, is the rear of the Seel Street frontages held up by steelwork. These have since been demolished altogether.



Everton Brow looking decidedly European in the noughties. Next, one of the few surviving old buildings on Highfield Street, this being on the corner of Prussia Street. New apartments have recently gone up in this area replacing the 1930s corporation tenements whilst 2 of its old pubs, the Rose & Crown and the Wedding House have had a change of use to offices. St. Marys church and its newer replacement have long since gone. At the foot of Prussia Street, across Pall Mall was the underpass beneath the Exchange station railway line, this came out in Bixteth Street near to Liverpool Stadium but is now closed off.


Ye olde area of Canning



Above: The Canning Street elbow looking east to west towards the Anglican Cathedral. Other shots here include Percy Street, Huskisson Street, Back Sandon Street and Little Catherine Street showing L8 in all its Georgian splendour.




WATERLOO AND CROSBY



No.13 Beach Lawn, Crosby. The one time home of Thomas Henry Ismay, the founder of the White Star Shipping line who built the Titanic.
Detailing in the window showing stained glass and a sculptured head
The blue plaque put up by the council on the houses of eminent people.



Looking North to the end of Beach Lawn from No.13 and then looking South down the length of the row.



Beach Lawn looking North from Blucher Street. The 2nd pic is South, across Blucher Street and Beach Lawn's continuation which is Adelaide Terrace. These candy stripe houses in subtle pastel shades remind me of nougat somehow.


Marine Crescent is the street you turn into when heading North at the bottom of South Road, Waterloo. There are some fantastic individually designed houses on these rows, some with landings, decking, cast iron balconies and canopies.


The view across Crosby Marina from the bottom of South Road. Likewise the views West towards the River Mersey and Crosby radar station and the parklands from Beach Lawn.


Heading back towards the city and the war memorial at the three lamps is on the junction of Crosby Road North and Great George's Road, Waterloo. On the corner of Crosby Road South and Cambridge Road is Potters Barn Park, a secluded little haven which is a stones throw from the busy gateway to and from Seaforth docks.


The Victorian canopied staircase leading down to Waterloo railway station on South Road. The Marlborough Hotel on the main drag into the city. The Riverslie residential care home is grandure set amongst run of the mill 1930s and 1960s housing on Crosby Road South near Seaforth Docks.


Back in the city...........



Parr Street - any old iron. A feat of mechanical engineering here with these old drain pipes and fire escapes. A revamped Georgian Terrace on Nelson Street.

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The Chinese Arch and the Anglican Cathedral as viewed from Nelson Street. These structures are often pictured from the East side. This is the largest Chinese arch outside of China itself, there are 200 dragons on it and was erected in the year of the dragon. The red colour is for good luck. Liverpool has the oldest established Chinese settlement in Europe, second only in the world to San Francisco.


Construction galore as seen on sunday 13th April 08 as the new Museum of Liverpool life takes shape and facing it the new ferry terminal building. Below the museum, the new canal link can be seen. On the right is the canal link taking shape looking from the old floating bridge towards Princes Dock.


West Derby Cottage Homes off Longmoor Lane in Fazakerley contained a baths and quarantine house where the 'inmates' were scrubbed clean. Industrial teachers taught the children the art of fruit, vegetable and flower growing as well as tailoring, shoemaking and baking. Still run by the local authority and housing the social services, they're like a village within a city.



Taken from near the old floating bridge looking towards the foot of Chapel Street with a right cross section of architecture spanning many decades. Bailey Street runs between Cummings Street and Grenville Street South in Chinatown, each of the houses are gates on the windows and doors.


Cressington and Grassendale.



Above and below - The Esplanade which overlooks the Mersey at its widest point to Eastham.




The top 3 photos show a pink residence on North Road and the corner property on the esplanade as well as the view down to the River. The last 2 pics are of mansions on South Road and old garages on North Road.



From the conserved ^   to the condemned.....
An old industrial reclamation company in North Dingle, which is actually a street in Kirkdale. This property is flanked by housing.


Ye olde Huyton

Huyton Parish Church is situated at the South end of Bluebell Lane. The monument facing is just in front of the cemetery where lays the body of Stuart Sutcliffe who was the bassist with the Beatles before fame and fortune came along. Sadly he died young in Hamburg having stayed behind after one of their tours there. His girlfriend Astrid is acknowledged as the inspiration behind the Beatles haircut. Also facing the church is a little row of quaint old properties. Just a couple of hundred yards past these across the main junction, we come into the 21st century with the main shopping centre.


Earlier on this page, we saw the old warehouses of Bootle and the ropeworks area. These ones are situated in the Baltic triangle off Jamaica Street. The Queens stores Company advertising turbine bags, ships chandlers and sailmakers would be from the days when sailing ships frequented the nearby Queens Docks and other across Wapping. Joseph Heap and sons rice mills are off Park Lane and the Supper Club is on Blundell St L1.


Old property on Flint St and Queens Dock warehouses make up the last of these pics but Bridgewater St, Norfolk St, Greenland St and New Bird St are amongst others that offer these sort of bygone scenes.


Mersey Road Liverpool 17, an affluent area of Aigburth near the railway station. Sparling Street survives WW1 and beyond, a little haven off Park Lane.


Century Building on Sefton Street and Tower Street. Part of the Brunswick Business Park which saw restoration of many of the dockside sheds along this stretch. The fountain and steps facing Harrison Way are now incorporated into the new developments on the East side of the street including the new Brunswick railway station.


Sudley House, another of Liverpool's art galleries. Based in Mossley Hill, here we see the frontage, side view and coach house.


As can be seen from Harry Ainscough's photographs of the front and side view in 1974, nothing much has changed. The grand staircase was pictured in 1962 by the records office. The National Museums and Galleries own description of the house and its contents follows:

A Victorian shipping merchant's legacy.

Sudley House contains fabulous works by Gainsborough, Reynolds, Landseer and Turner, all displayed amongst original Victorian décor. The house itself is surrounded by pleasant gardens and parkland. A visit to Sudley House is a step back in time to an oasis of calm and beauty.

At Sudley you can see the only Victorian merchant's art collection still held in its original setting. Ship owner and merchant George Holt bought the paintings during the late 19th century. His daughter Emma bequeathed the house and its contents to the city in 1944.



The Radcliffe estate........

Based on a Cornish fishing village, the Radcliffe estate must be one of the most ill conceived and shortest lived housing developments in the whole of liverpool's modern history. Sandwiched between Shaw Street and Everton Road, it was built in the early 1970s after the clearance a decade earlier of lengthy thoroughfares such as Gregson Street and Radcliffe Street and all their many tributaries such as Well St, Wilmott st, Lytton st, Napier st and Cobden st to name but a few. Many old locals will tell you that the sacrilege was the sacrificing of the much loved local landmark, the Boars Head public house.

When I hung around the newly constructed Radcliffe Walk in the mid 1970s due to having some school mates who'd moved in there, the place was pretty clean and cared for by its new inhabitants. However, the maze of dark passages and complicated walkways soon made for escape routes for the more uncouth of our society and heaven forbid that a delivery wagon or fire engine should ever need to gain access to a residence in the middle of the estate.

Nigel King, a chap influenced by Freddy O'Connor's book 'It all came tumbling down' decided to capture the estate in it's last throes of decay , but yet whilst the last few families were still living there in their eerie surroundings that winter nightfalls no doubt brought. In 1987 on his way home from drinking in town, camera poised at different vantage points, no doubt one eye on whatever may have emerged from his left or right, Nigel recorded history. A job well done, lest no council records seem to exist of it, perhaps out of embarrassment. Within two years of these photographs, the whole estate was razed to the ground.



In the 3 photos immediately above. First we see a shot looking West towards Shaw Street where you can see the Georgian rooftops and one of the John F. Kennedy heights on Everton Brow. Next is a view from Everton Road looking down towards the city. The last pic is taken from a stairwell, looking South with both cathedrals on the skyline as well as the Collegiate and SFX on Shaw Street and Salisbury Street respectively.



Dark, dingy, dull passages. Top right, one place comes with new fangled air conditioning. Bottom left and some kitchen appliances form the beginnings of a bonfire.





Top left: looking uphill, South towards the Gregson Well pub at the top of Brunswick Road. Top middle and if you look carefully, you can see the top corner of Gleave Square heights on Everton Road. Next is the spire of SFX looking east to west. Left: The spire in view again as is the property on Shaw Street from a stairwell - looking South.


ART DECO NEW BRIGHTON






The 1930s funfair as taken on bank holiday monday 5th May. Although the weather looks overcast, the resort was heaving and it was a warm and clammy day, the sun even shone at about 5pm.












Walton Hospital off Rice Lane.



The wards have now been converted to nurse and student accommodation for rent and sale.



Princess Drive runs south to north from the old Page Moss bus terminus to West Derby via Dovecot. These photographs show the 1930s flats, built in the tenement style but with only the wooden clad verandas and not the landings. Pic 1 is the east side, pic 2 is opposite on the west side.


Little bits of history. A remnant of George Henry Lees in Tyrer Street, later John Lewis and nowoccupied by TK Max . James Troop on Sefton Street will soon vanish in this guise as planning permission is granted for yet more new apartments. A victorian pillar box at the Albert Dock forefronts the new developments in the area.




Thursday May 29th 08 saw the opening of phase one of the 1 billion pound Liverpool 1 Grosvenor Shopping development which covers most of the old Paradise Street/South John Street footprint. With Debenhams and John Lewis taking centre stage, these pictures are from the saturday 31st. The next phase was opened in September along with the much revamped Chavasse Park, complete with water features.







The Douglas Haig Memorial Homes for ex-servicemen situated in a nice little haven of tranquility on the otherwise busy Muirhead Avenue. This could be Wavertree Garden suburb in fact. These beautifully kept Almshouses were bequethed by Liverpool tobacco magnet, Thomas Ogden.



Prescot Road, Old Swan - taken from Baden House flats. Three of the shots are the view Southwards with skyline shots of both Cathedrals, St. John's beacon and the former Littlewoods art deco HQ on Edge Lane. Other pictures show the rooftops to the East and the old Curzon Cinema to the West with the glare of the setting sun at 8pm. In fact Baden House stands on the site of the new Regent cinema, built next door to the old Regent which actually still exists as the kwik save. That snippet of info is greatly received from Philip G. Mayer, a specialist in Liverpool's Cinema history.







Saturday 7th June saw the opening match of Euro 2008 but a few of these flags were not to be seen at the host nations in Austria or Switzerland as none of our home countries made it to the finals. Clayton Square is busy nonetheless as the Lord Mayor's parade has just finished and the Ark Royal is berthed at the cruise terminal. Right: A distorted view of Radio City as the tower peeks into Central Station on Ranelagh Street.



The Spiral staircase of the new Q Park car park within the L1 development. A new development off Sefton Street where the foundations consisted of piling rods through a disused tunnel into something a little more substantial.



Looking North from the Salthouse Dock towards the liver buildings. Looking East, inland across the Strand towards Chavasse Park. Mann Island looking South across the new canal cutting towards the Albert Dock and the pumphouse. Finally, the duck tour landing craft goes under the bridge at Salthouse.



The below ground level car park from where the Central station line used to run south. Above the sheer walls you can see the rear of properties on Bold St and above the bridge, the old rope walks pub (formerly the Newington). Panning to the left and Central Hall, Newington buildings and the massive rear of Lewis's can be seen.


Tithebarn Street art deco. Once W.H. Smiths warehouse, this building has been given a new lease of life as apartments accommodating the ever increasing student population in this area. Viewed from Gt Crosshall Street, Hunter street with its walkways and flyovers in the sky. Islington is in the distance as is the Royal Hospital incinerator chimney.



The top of Vernon Street looking across Tithbarn Street into Pall Mall. The superbusinesslamb banana, one of about 100 recently introduced to the city in its capital of culture year takes pride of place. The old Bradford Hotel has also been renovated and the old Littlewoods building in St. Paul's square is now the Plaza. Hadwen's buildings nameplate somewhat hidden up a coachway on Tithebarn st.



In with the new. Vernon Street looking across the rear of the Premier Inn to a fine piece of architecture that wouldn't have been dreamt about in the stagnant 1980s. The foundations are also going in on a new high rise on Gt Crosshall Street as seen here from Lace Street. Don't step out the back door of St. Patrick's Court just now.


Williamson Square showing the Queens public house. Whitechapel looking South. The soon to be revamped rear of M&S back in the square.



Walton Village, first looking East and then West towards St. Mary's church.



Some really old property exists just off the village. Birchfield Road once had a crockery sale I believe, also a first floor garden terrace by the looks of it. Church Road West has a tapering building with a charmful little 1st floor veranda. The chalk writing on the wall advises that medals and coins are wanted.







All grand and majestic in their own way in their time. The former corporation offices in Church Road, Walton. The annex to the rear of   Alsop School used by their technical dept. St. Pauls church, Derby Lane, Old Swan, designed by the same architect responsible for the Anglican Cathedral.





London Road in 1989. The Burtons building at the bottom left is nothing more than an advertising hoarding for fly posters and the Jeromes building next to the Lord Warden pub is still standing. The Odeon displays its old signage and T. Brown the jewellers still trades.


Millers Bridge in 1936 showing the childrens playground and pond which was on its south side on the stretch between Kings Road, looking downwards and Westwards towards Derby Road. The three storey terrace facing ended with the Old Toll Bar pub which was only demolished in the 1990s.



Bridge Road, Litherland with its mock tudor shopping parade is just off the busy Princess Way A5036 which connects Seaforth docks with the motorway network. Small industrial units sit facing this row.
Whitechapel 2008. The reflection of the Radio City tower can be seen as one of our hundred or so superlambananas looks like it's trying to ride up it.



Well they say an Englishman's home is his castle. These properties of architectural character were afforded a bit more than the normal run of the mill terracing. They can be found in Sandringham Road, Tuebrook.


A heaving Mathew Street (left) during its annual festival - August 08. A sea of heads from North John Street to Stanley Street and elsewhere throughout the city centre as a number of outdoor stages were erected for live bands. Dale Street is seen next enjoying a similar scene.







A view up Stanley Street towards Dale Street showing what can be achieved by retaining historic facades in new builds.
A murky view down London Road from inside the warmth of my car (or is it that the windscreen needs washing?)






My seeing double view of the tower after the festival and too many pints of Magners.










I've just received a number of photos from an ex resident of Lionel House in the Gerard Crescent tenement development from the early to mid 1970s (she wishes to remain anonymous)

These are fantastic pics showing the construction of the Eastbound flyover and the curved elavated walkway at the foot of the backie in 1970.

The second photo shows the completed works, you may notice that the slide has come out in reverse. Each photo shows the polytech and it's car park and the Byrom public house known to locals as the 'pie shop'.




I do like this pic as although it'll be innocuous to most and was taken from the back veranda of Lionel House, it is a similar view, though not quite as good, to what we had from the top veranda of the top block, Thurlow House.

It records a number of buildings lost to the area in the early 1970s and beyond. The Tysons cranes are building the extension to the polytech which is now the tallest part of it. We can see from left to right, Comus Street flats, Peover street flats undergoing demolition, the roof of St. Joseph's church, Rose Hill police station, high rise along Gt Homer street and St. Annes church on the corner of St. Anne street and Great Richmond Street. To the extreme right is one of the veranda walls from the next landing up.

Another batch, this time with a difference. Kindly contributed by Garry McGee and taken from Britain's tallest bar in Beetham's West Tower on Brook Street.



First looking South West up and across the river showing the Royal Liver buildings and the Seacat. Then the ferry heads in with the old Cammell Lairds shipbuilders in the background. Then looking South to South East across the city rooftops with both Cathedrals and the Radio City tower in view. Ending with a good view straight down to Bath Street and New Quay - not one for you if you've got vertigo.


Looking Northwards over the rooftops from William Henry Street towards the old Campion secondary school which is flanked by view 146 high rise which are actually behind it on Conway Street. St. Georges Church, aka The Iron church can be seen high on the hill of St. Domingo Road.

Looking South East towards SFX Church and school with the Collegiate to the left of them.

This block on William Henry Street extends from Soho Street to Jenkinson Street, largely owned by J&J Morris & Sons is mainly Georgian with 1950s and 1970s additions.


Waterloo Road

Waterloo Road is the small stretch of Dock Road running to the North of the Liver Buildings between Bath Street and Regent Road. It starts at Paisley Street near ToysRus and finishes at Dickson Street before it reaches the Stanley Dock.



The ventilation shaft and outlets for the Kingsway tunnel which was built in 1970 on land reclaimed from demolished warehouses.
The former Victoria public house was a one time popular haunt for the workers of the nearby industry which included Tate and Lyle and Bibbys.
There's not much left of its neighbours who have left the rather confusing instructions that 'When shut, we have moved 3 blocks <-------Look'




An old warehouse currently enjoying a new lease of life is used by Vulcan Studios as rehearsal rooms for local bands, complete with a full kit out of everything required for the next stars of MTV.

On the opposite side of Vulcan Street is the Riverside Diner and the former International public house which is also seen head on from the dock road.



Porter Street is still like time's stood still and has a fine looking ornate warehouse, the ground floor of which is a new bar/restuarant called 'Elude'.

Higher up the street is a connecting bridge, the likes of which were once so prevalent in this area.

Lascar House is a grand name you might think would be associated with four storey Victorian mansions around Sefton park, but no, it's the one time premises of Beldam Asbestos Ltd. This property can be seen nearer the top of this page when in better nick.


One block at the bottom of Carlton Street is taken up by the huge premises of Key Plant, a very modern take on warehousing in comparison to the rest on the street.

Warbreck Engineering neighbours 'The Farmers Arms' public House, still open and trading on this sunday afternoon in January 09. The Stanley dock tobacco warehouse (in the distance) has just finished its heritage market for the day.


The West, or river side of Waterloo Road features the Waterloo dock warehouses which were converted to luxury living accommodation some time ago. These are almost facing the kingsway tunnel shaft seen earlier.

Jesse Hartley's six sided Victoria Clock tower can be seen peering through the gates of Clarence Dock, the stone pillars of which are marked with the dock name. It was a little further North, on the other side of these walls that the Clarence Dock power station with its three chimneys known locally as the three ugly sisters once stood.





A montage of Alsop lower school during demolition. The main Alsop was situated on Queens Drive, these pictures, taken by a teacher show the lower off County Road. Pic 1 shows the main building. Pic 2 is looking from the shell of one of the ground floor classrooms towards Lowell Street. Pic 4 is viewed from opposite Orry's on County Road. The last pic shows the Kwik Save supermarket which is now on the site and how close the school was in proximity to Arnot Street school.













J&J Tyrer is a general store which has been serving the Kirkdale residents on Stanley Road for as long as even the older generation there can remember. Old Mrs Tyrer sadly died but John and Mavis now run the show and it's great to see such shops that are the lifeblood of the local community still thriving. It is flanked by the 'Two Flowers' chip shop, known locally as Yans after the owner, another stalwart of the area, and to the right is the Prince of Wales pub, known locally as the Pansy as it's on the corner of Pansy Street. A lot of
pubs in the area have succumbed to closure for one reason or another, I can think of at least half a dozen, yet the Pansy bucks the trend. The general locality is known as the 'flower streets', these being from South to North, Harebell, Woodbine, Daisy, Pansy, Snowdrop and Crocus with Primrose on the opposite side of the road.

Tithebarn Street is pictured on Saturday 10th January on what was the 'transition day' or the handing over of the city's Capital of Culture title to Vilnuis in Lithuania, the first such time a handing over ceromony has taken place between the old and the new holders. You may have to look carefully to see the fireworks eminating from the Pier Head area, i'm afraid you'll just have to imagine the thunderclaps of sound which accompanied them.



Continuing our walk along the dock road just past where Waterloo Road becomes Regent Road. I bet these two warehouses off Blackstone Street have a tale or two to tell. AWD Ltd and Associated haulage seem to work out of the one that lines Fulton Street.



The West, or Riverside of the road sees some huge gate pillars and stone walls lining the Bramley Moore, Wellington and Sandon Docks. These were built by Napoleonic prisoners of war and fountains inserted at regular intervals to allow for water supplies to carters for their horses who would drink from the troughs that also lined the road. An hydraulic pumping tower and the remnants of a structure, dockside can also be seen.



The block from Blackstone Street to the North is taken up by engineering works and tyre suppliers. It's always a welcoming sight to see these age old buildings in use as some of the more recent additions along this road have a bland design with a lot of brick usage and very few windows. The premises losing its flaking blue paint is the last reminder of when it was Bonkers fun pub in the 1980s.



Three 1976 views of what we knew as Threllies. The first shot taken from the Byrom Street elavated walkway shows the barrel stores on Fontenoy Street that later became Withy Groves Safe stores. Here, it still carries the 'Worthington E' lettering near the roof line, you can just make it out. Outhwaite and Litherland auctioneers are to the left and still trade there today but the skyline is dominated by the main Whitbread brewery which was situated at the top of Trueman Street. We moved into No.4 Trueman Street in 1977 so it was a common sight to see the magnificent brown tankers going up and down the street and the smells of malt and hops being brewed like stewed tea was always in the air. Other views here are from Primrose Hill and across the begining of the flyover at Great Crosshall Street.



Some magnificently attractive 1920s housing fronts onto both carriageways of Muirhead Avenue in the clubmoor district.


New housing angling off from Roscommon Street in the Everton district. This, and the grassed area once housed Rossy school.

St Peters church and the shewsy club at it's new turning point as dusk falls on this saturday evening.


Langrove Street and Arkwright Street looking very different from how they did just a few decades ago. View 146 heights are on Conway Street in the distance.


Dereliction, demolition and demise

Norris Green - The Boot Estate - Background



The Norris Green 'Boot' estate was built in the 1920's.   Of its 2000 homes, 500 around the edge were built of brick; whilst some 1500 in the heart of the estate were built with prefabricated reinforced concrete. These were mostly three bedroomed houses. These homes were popular when they were first built. However, by the end of the 20th century the prefabricated houses suffered greatly because of a design fault. The concrete used in the 1920's was poor, and created structural defects that were serious enough for them to be classed as "defective dwellings" under the 1985 Housing Act.  

Cobalt Housing Association manages the brick built homes on the edge of the estate. These are being modernised in a planned investment programme. However, it was decided that that defective prefabricated houses that form the major part of the estate should be demolished; and that new homes built to replace them. The idea to develop a master plan for the Boot estate was first approved in June 1999. This started a major consultation exercise in the area. A number of decisions regarding development proposals have since been taken, including sorting out which residents should be rehoused first. The rehousing of residents from the first decant area began in October 2000. By Summer 2006, of the 1509 properties; approximately 835 had been demolished. The remaining homes will be demolished in phases over the coming years whilst new homes to rehouse existing residents of the estate who wish to remain are built.

The New Development Area

New City Vision is one of the partners working with Liverpool City Council to rebuild Norris Green and the area formerly known as The Boot Estate.   New City Vision is a property developer, formed as a partnership company between Bishop Loch and Laing O'Rourke. These are both well known house building companies; each has over forty years of experience. New City Vision's main task is to build quality, affordable housing on time and to budget. This will support the renewal programme for the local area and the community. By the summer of 2006, New City Vision had launched their new development - called Ellergreen - and begun phase 1 construction. The development east of Lewisham Road will consist of 90 social housing units for rent. These will be managed by Cobalt Housing Association. On the western side of Lewisham Road there will be 104 homes for sale. These will be two and three bedroom mews and semis; three and four bed detached houses and a four bedroomed, 3 storey mews property.

Houses for Sale

In April 2006, New City Vision opened the marketing suite and two show homes to preview the properties for sale. The first ones went on sale to the public in May 2006. Local residents were given priority option. The response was very positive and many of the houses were sold immediately. Do you want to know more about a new home at Ellergreen?   You should ring the New City Vision Sales team on Tel: 0151 256 0900 or email: tclare@newcityvision.co.uk.  

Social Housing at Ellergreen
Cobalt Housing Association will buy and rent out 90 new homes in this first phase.   These will be given to re-housed and displaced tenants from the area.  

These 90 property types comprise:-

20 x 2 bed 4 person bungalows, 24 x 2 bed 4 person houses, 33 x 3 bed 5 person houses, 4 x 4 bed 6 person houses, 10 x 4 bed 8 person houses

This first phase is all rental properties.   These houses have all been allocated and residents have been nominated to the homes by the City Council.

A view to the future - Phases 2 and 3
A further 412 homes of varying property types will follow across phases two and three.  

The second phase of social housing will be a maximum of 60 homes.   Up to fifteen of these will be reserved for shared ownership sale.

It is hoped that work on Phase 2 will start immediately after the Phase 1 works are completed in 2008.

Phases 2 and 3 will comprise 2, 3 and 4 bedroomed contemporary and stylish family homes. They will feature innovative design and energy saving features focusing on reducing energy consumption and conserving natural resources. These will include:-

all the new homes will be highly economical to run, helping both the owner's pocket and the environment;  
they will be built from more thermally efficient block work which is far more effective at retaining heat than previous houses. This will reduce the costs of heating and cut both fuel bills and carbon emissions;
larger windows will create a brighter interior, cutting lighting costs;  
dual flush toilets will help reduce water usage saving the environment and saving money too;
water butts will be included as in every garden to help collect rainwater for gardening purposes which will further reduce the demand on the domestic supply.

Together these features have helped Ellergreen's homes to achieve a BRE ECO Homes rating of Very Good.   This recognises the excellent green credentials of the designs.

The above is the official council blurb, but some years on and in January 2009, this is the sight to behold when on the boot estate. It is fantastic to see what has been achieved on the Boswell Estate on the triangle between Walton Hall Avenue and Queens Drive at Walton and hopefully this will happen here. However, for the time being, firebugs continue to torch these empty houses and litter causes rats whilst people are still living amongst it all.





The dereliction on the boot estate is all too plain to see and you can see how some people get disenfranchised and dissillusioned from events like the capital of culture which seem a million miles away. Monksdown primary school has to function just yards away from this. The pictures are of Monksdown Road, Glassonby Crescent, Harewell Road, Blaisdon Close and Lewisham Road - Liverpool 11.


The Easby estate- Kirkdale.



Best described as pebbledash central, the Easby estate is another whose lifespan will not last the half century. Some of the residents have already been moved to newbuild in the Everton area at St. Domingo Road and off Great Homer Street but those few who took up the right to buy find themselves in an isolated hell-hole. Lambeth Walk, Harcourt Street, Easby Road and Rollo Street are pictured in January 09.


ANFIELD

Huge swathes of streets are tinned up with the occassional signs of life between. Eastwards from Robson Street, the likes of Davy Street, Herschell Street, Adam Street and Hartnup Street lie largely derelict.


A sorry sight. Granton Road and Donaldson Street, once thriving terraced streets with some fine architectural merit in places.


Venmore Street, first looking West and then East towards the kop end of Liverpool football stadium. This is a sorry sight for visitors to the match and with plans for the regeneration of the area faltering with price rises meaning a postponement of any new ground move, the sooner a plan B by the council is put into place the better.


Venice Street Board School may well become a victim to the bulldozer when the demolition commences. Varthen Street looking towards Venice Street along Vyrnwy Street completes the set of 'V' Streets with Venmore Street. These are across Walton Breck Road from the football ground and so are in Liverpool 5.


Salisbury Road and Herschell Street complete this set.


FAIRFIELD



A whole block from No.209 to 299 on the North side of Prescot Road at Fairfield is up for demolition. Running from Orphan Drive to the Prescot Drive entrance to Newsham Park which sits off the rear of them, these have been grand houses in the past with the park's bowling greens visible behind. Notices are plastered on the metal window grills that all valuable items have been removed from these properties to prevent would be opportunists. A close up of No.213 gives an indication of the room sizes. A book shelf still adorns the attic room wall, a fireplace is in the bedroom.



Most of the block is continuous but this rare glimpse of what lies behind shows equally derelict housing on Prescot Drive which front onto Newsham Park. Between both sets of housing is a rear common passage.

The top end of the block sits facing the police training ground at Fairfield.




Looking East from first Lorne Street at the garage and then Fairfield Street at the corner of the police athletics ground.


EDGE HILL

Another huge swathe of streets in the blighted Liverpool 7 area are due for clearance. Bounded by Marmaduke Street, the city end of Wavertree Road, Durning Road and the city end of Edge Lane, they include Dorothy, Winifred, Lily and Janet Street. Here are two views of the property on Marmaduke Street, first from Gladstone Road and then from across the road face near Church Mount.




Gladstone Road at its junction with Winifred Street as well as Royston Street, soon to be no more.



Arriving at the top of Plimsoll Street, one side of which has already been demolished but captured by me earlier on the pubs page (see The Grove), we are met with housing from two very different decades but which are united in their demise. Thorburn Street is seen here tinned up, breeze blocked up, looking decidedly fed up. Across the small park facing we can see Dorothy Street. For other Edge Lane dereliction, see higher up this page, you can't miss the brightly coloured boards put up on the windows.


TOXTETH - The Welsh Streets



As with a number of these 21st century clearance areas which seem to have come all at once in Liverpool, they are part of what is known as 'Heartlands', a government scheme to build brand new homes, demolishing what are now deemed are unfit for habitation. Some people protested that they are happy just as they are and even Granada TV bought a house and modernised it showing it could be done for cheaper than demoltion and a rebuild. However, because by and large the communities are being kept together, it hasn't caused quite the stir it otherwise might have.

Here, we see Kinmel Street from High Park Street and Madryn Street showing some signs of subsidence. Beatles drummer, Ringo Starr was born here at No.9 as plain old Richard Starkey on 7th July 1940.



Powis Street looking South towards South Street and next one along towards Princes Road is Rhiwlas Street.



Two views of High Park Street itself showing housing from different eras. It's off the South side of this thoroughfare that the Welsh Streets lie tinned up awaiting demolition. The corner of Voelas Street can be seen at one junction.



The tower goes up behind the Playhouse theatre as taxis line Williamson Square and New Quay warehouses see out their last days as neighbours to the sailor's church. Captured by film maker, photographer and painter - Peter Leeson.


The old G.P.O. Victoria Street as seen from Sir Thomas Street - pre Met Quarter and the old Quiggins building in Peters Lane as captured by John Lynn.



109 and 111 Park Road sadly had to undergo demolition due to part of 109 collapsing into the street during the last week of January 09. This row, which also takes in 113 and 115 runs from Upper Park Street to North Hill Street and can be seen in a slightly better state nearer the top of this page when pictured a year or two ago. The rear view is from Malta Street.



Ainsworth Street industry from the top of Royal Mail Street which is located to the rear of Copperas Hill Royal Mail sorting depot.



Royal Mail Street at Hawke Street to the rear of the Adelphi Hotel. Reeces dairy/bakery building once took up a large portion of this area, part of which became Mrs Smith's frozen foods store who show their H.Q. address as being in Stretford, Manchester.



Demolition did start in October 2008 as the banner states but this block on Hanover Street which once housed Blacks camping store and the Golden Phoenix restaurant still holds firm. There was also a gymnasium situated in the lower floor of the multi storey car park behind.




The lone wall of Seel Street manages to escape the comings and goings all around.
Old wall signage still exists around Liverpool if you know where to look. This is in Benson Street next to the block that used to be the signing on centre in the late 1970s. A little further down the street and Hard City records, a little off the beaten 'track' - Oh never mind. Rapid Hardware across Renshaw Street can be seen in the distance.



Costa packet outside Costa coffee in the new Liverpool 1 shopping development.
It's Saturday on Whitechapel and the footy scarves take pride of place.




Everton clearance and a wet Greaty by Peter Leeson.



A snowy February scene 09. Early hours of the morning at Wavertree Garden suburb. This is the Queens Drive junction with Thingwall Road.



The Tate & Lyle sugar silo conveyor is to be dismantled shortly, so was captured for posterity.



The Speke Wave. Hellllllo!!!


MOUNT PLEASANT - ISN'T IT



So much grand architecture is on this street but concentrating on the Southside between Rodney Street and Roscoe Street for starters are these two fine buildings.



Highest numbers at the top, lowest numbers nearest the Town Hall which is the same for every street. Here we see No. 66 and number 64a one of the oldest residences in the city centre dating from the 1760s. In the next picture we see the continuation of Georgian Splendour with No.64 (with the yellow door) which back in previous decades served as the South end registry office and was where John Lennon wed Cynthia Powell. The row continues down the hill featuring No.62 which has been modernised to a tea rooms.



No.60 (with the blue door) is a grand old building but for grandness, see the magnificent YMCA building.



The Memorial Gardens which are also the resting place of Roscoe. For the full information, see the plaque.



Mount Pleasant from the top level of its multi storey car park. First looking up to the East and then looking down towards the city centre.



Two more aerial views of places we've walked down a million times. Looking up Dale Street towards the flyovers and down Water Street towards the Pier Head, both taken by my mate Chippie from Martins bank building.



Down our street

The Fort Victoria nestles in Canada Dock as seen from Bankfield Street. The former Dominion pub is seen on the corner of the dock road.

Not Amsterdam, but one of the new and massive wind turbines from the top of Lambeth Road, looking past the newly refurbished Sandhills railway station.


The Lord Nelson Hotel and the Carling Academy can be seen here as well as the view up Lord Nelson Street.
Neston Street and the view which greets householders of either persuasion when they retrieve their morning milk.







Two wonderfully atmospheric snow scenes, captured by Gerard Fleming in February 09. The architecture, night setting, street lighting glow and weather combine to make these come to life. The composition is first class, the angles, what's in view and the people positioning.












The East Lancs Road/Townsend Avenue junction and a funeral cortege proceeds unders the bridge at Utting Ave. Pics courtesy of my good mate Dave Duff, cheers Dave.



A familiar sight for me in that I lived at No.4 Trueman Street for thirteen years. At the beginning, Whitbread's was at the top of the street and an elavated passageway stretched across the street from one building to the other (see the post war b&w page). The big brown tankers trundled the area and smell of the hops brewing was a memory all of its own. The big Threalfalls chimney could be seen right outside our kitchen window and that building was demolished for the JMU library which is the new red brick building on the right of Trueman st. Whitbread's social club was opposite and occassionally there would be a charabanc party turning up there. The ground floor of our flat was a part games room with slate bed snooker table and model railway layout and our bands pracky room which with no near neighbours was perfect. We could sunbathe on the flat roof in the summer and take our pick from the caretakers flat roof or that of Blackburn Chambers itself which offered great views. Dave's sweet shop was built into Blackburn Chambers at the time so was a great convenience but the city centre was our local anyway. The Mitre became one of our band's gig venues which was also handy and my job at 99/101 Dale street meant lunchtime at home. How lucky was I.



Like many, i've seen the Pier Head go through a number of guises and being a local Liverpool 3er, it was a hanging around place during my growing up years. The old bus station with the subway, flat roof viewing area, shops with the long counter, diagonally parked buses etc were of their time. This year (2009) we see a new futuristic development which takes the Liverpool/Leeds canal along Canada Boulevard afront the 3 graces with a public realm area and a new ferry terminal building which will incorporate part of the Beatles story museum. The new Liverpool X shape museum will complete the Riverfront, the black granite apartments lying behind at Mann Island. Here as dusk falls at the end of February, we see a calm before the summer storm of people that will no doubt descend on the area come June. Captain Johnnie Walker sees off the Mersey ferry from the Lanny.



Take a look up. Some fine architecture peers down onto Church Street and Parker Street, even St. John's beacon has weathered well.



A recently listed 1700's house in Hockenhall Alley off Dale Street. 99/101 Dale street was my workplace from 1980 - 1992. Handy, as I lived in nearby Trueman Street at the time.



Nos. 198 & 200 Grove Street, Liverpool 8. Symetrical splendour.



Walk Tall, walk straight and look L1 right in the eye.....It's The Beatles.



BOOTLE



Bootle village again and a 2009 view of a photo that appears over 100 years earlier on the 'pre war' page - note the similarities. Above right: Waterworks Street.



Rose, Stanley and Peel Villas on Litherland Road, Bootle village.   No.2 Merton Road is featured next.


Hertford Road, Bootle, all tinned up and ready for demolition. Also shown here is the opposite side with the rears of property on Keble Road. The last picture shows the huge swathes of derelict land around Exeter Road and College View awaiting redevelopment. These roads, and others in the area are named after Oxford and Cambridge University colleges.



Some fine examples of housing in Bootle include this row on Oriel Road numbered from right to left as No.s 32 to 46 which is unusual as this is largest numbers being at the Town Hall end of the road, possibly a feature in Bootle township as opposed to Liverpool's way of numbering. Other examples include these, the last one being on Merton Road.


Millington's dance school and function suite make good use of this double fronted villa on Merton Road. The old and the new stand side by side, firstly on Hertford Road and looking West past Keble Road.



The Willows on Hawthorne Road are more fine four storey dwellings, the rear of which include an elaborate array of fire escapes.



The refurbed Oriel Road railway station, the double bridge at Millers Bridge and the split level track.



Bootle industry is not surprisingly largely tied in with the docks. First is the view from Millers Bridge towards the Irish ferry terminal, seen closer up in the middle pic. King Storage have a large warehouse on Derby Road.



The scrapyard dock is situated at the bottom of Lower Bank View. The Leeds/Liverpool canal runs right through Bootle, seen first here looking south, towards Liverpool past the back garden of adjacent property and then north, running parallel with canal street.



The Pacific Steamship Navigation Company offices as were, at the Canada dock No.2 branch - abbreviated here on the building as PSNC. Further on is Nortons crap, errr, sorry, I mean Norton Scrap. It starts its life as full car bodies and the like on the land side of the dock road where it is cubed then broken down further before making its way across the dock road via the overhead conveyor belt to be unceremoniously dumped into a slag heap awaiting shipment elsewhere.


The Northern line runs from Liverpool through Bootle, eventually to Southport. The Strand and the Triad are pictured next and are the shopping and business centres. The corner of the dock road and Millers Bridge is seen here lastly. The former 'Docker's Hook' pub proclaims 'Fine Wines' - Cargill's tanks on the dock estate no doubt produce fine vegetable oils.



Another view towards Hertford Road from Keble Road showing demolition in the area. Across Stanley Road and the South East side of Wadham Road has new foundations going in. The last pics shows the block of shops with flats above on Stanley Road from its junction with Wadham Road.



Off Derby Road, old property on Lodwick Street, just down from the disused Woodhouse pub. Further along and old Georgian stock on the corner of Raleigh Street. Further into town and the Kirkdale area we see housing from two very different decades. Crocus Street is one of the flower streets off Stanley Road. The pre war housing on its North side was demolished as unfit with replacements built in the 1970s.



A view from the grassed area on Commercial Road, Kirkdale, looking South along the Liverpool/Leeds canal towards the old British American Tobacco works which are now apartments. The oil storage tanks on the right are accessed via Sandhills which runs across the bridge in the distance. They were once part of Samuel Banner & Co. whom I dealt with for their Shipping imports from India. The next shot is looking West towards the docks down Effingham Street, Bootle, from Derby Road.



Central Buildings, Crosby, as captured in 2006 by Mike Murphy. Pritchard's books and Quirk's records now consigned to history on this row.



Bedford Road underpass with its 'Bootle - A History' mural.



Part of the ongoing demolition around Edge Hill. Milroy Street with its old 'Woodsons' shop signage is on a row facing its last few months. The second shot shows the scene further up the street, its East side. At least there are no such plans to rid Smithdown Road of its vibrant blocks of shops though as seen here on pic 3.



The West side of Scholar Street has already bitten the dust as has the top of the East side. Mulliner Street a little further along Smithdown Road awaits the same fate.



Sefton Road becomes Gorsey Lane leading from Litherland towards Ford Cemetery at the junction of Richard Martin Road.

Tunnel Road contains these old railway workers cottages belonging to the Edge Hill station, now bricked up as an ancient reminder.

This big fine old house exists on the corner of Thingwall Road and Childwall Road in Liverpool 15.



Baltic Street, Lothair Road and Gilman Street are all situated off the North side of Walton Breck Road just West of Liverpool's football ground.



1) Rockfield Road, another of the Anfield casualties. 2) Newman Street, Kirkdale which is off Fountains Road. 3) Across the way and it's Wykeham Way, a part of the Easby Estate which is coming down.



A small and old row of cottages on the stretch of West Derby Road leading to Mill Bank at the Muirhead Avenue roundabout. Legend has it one or more of these are haunted. Ghosts must only haunt old places dont you know. Gardner Road branches off to a dead end but is lined by this little quaint row. The North side of West Derby Road from Victoria Road to the roundabout is lined with shops with flats overhead.



West Derby Village, olde worlde, quaint, quiet, rural maybe - but not on this day. The police were in evidence and four of the local pubs were closed and cordoned off due to shootings the night before resulting in four people being hospitalised. Nevertheless, lovely scenic views can be found around Town Row and Meadow Lane.



Old property relating to West Derby Comprehensive school can be found on Bankfield Road. The second pic shows Florence Street at its junction with Burrell Street off Walton Lane L4. The near property was once a shop and its diagonal entrance is now bricked up. The property at the far end is an unusually situated B&B. The last pic taken across the rooftops in Dingle from Grafton Street shows a fire raging at Bromborough landfill site.



Two views from the top of the steps as you enter the Metropolitan Cathedral. The first, looking along Hope Street, past the Everyman Theatre towards the Anglican Cathedral shows the aforemention fire which looks much more fierce and closer than it actually was.

The second shot takes in the flats on Cathedral Walk as well as the college building on Russell Street with the Radio City tower behind.



An old open back Corpy bus at St. Johns Lane. The Netherton and Ford buses used to leave from here and it was where i'd walk my girlfriend to for her last bus to Kirkdale in 1982. Now she's my wife.

Lime Street traffic, captured from above the now abolished subway.

The Met Cathedral completes the Bull Ring skyline.



The Klondyke estate in Bootle as row upon row of terraced housing makes way for redevelopment.
Monfa Rd at its junction with Mary Road, looking North towards Harris Drive. Someone has a unique way of getting rid of their old shoes. The next pic is Monfa Road at Staley Street with the demolition boards in evidence.




Monfa Road 'The Dairy' awaiting its fate. Perspex sheets cover the doors and windows with notices telling would be thieves that all valuables have been removed from the empty houses.



Monfa Road looking South, first at Mary Road and then at Elizabeth Road.






And you're next. Willard Street with its North side boarded and ready for the bulldozer, the South side getting a stay of execution. Staley Street and Humphrey Street have already gone but Glynne Street is still showing signs of life.






An aerial view of Kensington taken on 28th July 1963. From the top of the picture left to right are the side streets from Farnworth Street to Denman Street. Jubilee Drive is the main street down the left hand side of the photograph, then comes the library and Holy Trinity church with Kensington Gardens behind. The grassed square at the very foreground is the covered reservoir.



Five photographs of the tin estate which is a nice, quiet, neat little area of a part of Northern Litherland called Stanley Park which basically consists of Anderson Road and Harrington Road between Moss Lane and the main drag of Church Road. The majority of the houses here have their upper floor clad in corrugated tin and usually painted in a brightly coloured yellow or beige.



Lascar House, once home to Beldam Asbestos Company started life as the Anglo American Hotel public house. Seen elsewhere on this page, in the early hours of the last days of July 09, it collapsed into the street. Seen here from the dock road and Vandries Street, whose junction it lay at, the cellars can be clearly seen and in this dangerous condition it surely won't be long before the rest is pulled down.


Off Jamaica Street..............



The above eight shots take in an interesting and largely untouched stretch of land from St. James Street to Chaloner Street encompassing Bridgewater Street, Flint Street, Newhall Street, Watkinson Street, Norfolk Street, Greenland Street, Brick Street, New Bird Street and Jordan Street.



Since the demolition of Aspinall's flooring on the corner of Erskine Street and Moss Street, The City wrought iron centre now stands in isolation as the last remnant of a bygone age. Surely it won't be long before this is swallowed up in a new development.



Formerly Parry Books, Blackwell's which serves the University with academic writings is parked on Brownlow Hill. A little further down on Clarence Street is part of the John Moores Uni, a typical 60s layered glass structure.



Bootle. Hawthorne Road is seeing some dereliction but this block just North of Linacre Lane bucks the trend. On the opposite side of the Lane though, all is cleared towards the Klondyke estate except for this little piece? Any ideas anyone?


Great Newton Street off Pembroke Place. Blackburn House with its wholesale newsagent livery looking a bit worse for wear. Second pic is of Moss Lane in Litherland to the rear of the Priory pub and a nice looking old Austin van.



The Anglican Cathedral popping through some greenery at Crump Street. Mill Street showing the recently refurbed Park Palace and a derelict building sprouting some greenery of its own.



Taken from the roof of my car to see over the boards keeping would be adventurers away from this decrepit old warehouse on Bridgewater Street. Almost next door is another showing signs of wear and tear.



A quacker photo here. Four of the WWII landing craft duck mobiles which do sightseeing tours around Liverpool city centre before plunging into the Albert Dock for their finale. Resting up here in New Bird Street (appropriately enough) at the end of their shifts.

Forlorn industry in Garston. A lone chimney on the corner of King Street and Blackburne Street silhouetted against the rainclouds.



Weaver Cottage and its piano restoration neighbour on Blackburne Street, Garston.



Garston Docks including the container terminal. The scrap site is to the left and rail lines are embedded in the quayside.



The lovely light and airy Teapot Cafe on Blackburne Street, Garston. Actually that's unkind as my mate off the Weaver Industrial Estate tells me it was very nice for a full English brekkie.

Vulcan Studios take up most of the habitable space in this old dock road warehouse these days with music belting out from nearly every floor at some point or another.

The old barred windows and loading bay can be seen in Vulcan Street and nearby Savages in Vandries Street still advertises the old 051 telephone number above its shutters.



Dungeon Lane is in the direct flightpath of incoming planes to JLA. You can almost touch these easyjets, and the noise upon landing as the reverse thrust is implemented is deafening as is the revving up for take off as the one on the right taxis into position just yards from us.



Breck Road looking East first from Fowler Street and then from Belmont Road. The crowds are just leaving Anfield after their pre-season friendly defeat to Athletico Madrid on Saturday 8th August.
The last pic shows a higgeldy piggeldy of various shaped buildings including a white one with a gable end chimney at what looks to have been the original corner of Breck Road and Breckfield Road South before the pub and cinema (now a 3 piece suite showroom) were added on.




The top end of Eberle Street showing a building which has been in continual use for many decades now. In the 1980s it was a health and fitness club before becoming Images nightclub which also incorporated Flash Harrys bar. For the last few years it has gained prominence as Garlands gay club.

City of Angels is a pampering parlour catering for hair, nails, tanning etc but is situated in a beautiful setting all of its own, a fine building which is sadly surrounded by dereliction and wasteland around the top of Hackins Hey.


Looking Citywards down Leather Lane past Rigbys to Dale Street whilst at Hall Lane the dereliction leading up to the widening of the road has begun right up to Sacred Heart Church near the junction with Prescot Street.




Saturday 8th August saw a massive fire, believed to be an arson attack, sweep through a building in Stanley Street, Liverpool city centre. It started in the basement of an Indian Balti house around 6.30 am and the crews were still there at 5pm when I took these. The building is situated on the West side of the street near the bottom. First, we are looking down the blocked road from Dale Street and then there are three views along Victoria Street, first looking East and then two looking West.


Another little look around the ropeworks area






Wood Street
















Back Berry Street








Seel Street old property. Old yes but still functioning as commercial and residential properties.



Well do you? More commercial frontages with their own warehouse and storage facilities. Around the corner is Gostins arcade with the upstairs now having a new lease of life for specialist shopping.



Probe record shop on wood street with some old gable end signage on the higher property behind. The pavement cafes of Concert Street give a European feel to this area now.



What remains of Schofield Brothers mineral water manufacturers though probably better known as Schoey's Lemonade. Their premises complete with tower were in Dalrymple Street, Liverpool 5 which runs between Scotland Road and Great Homer Street.



More delapidated remains, this time the Central Cafe right in the middle of Liverpool on Brooks Alley. How they've survived the recent renovation of the surrounding area is anyones guess.



Left is the coach house and stables on Roscoe Street hailing from circa 1780 and looking in very good shape considering. Right is the splendid Georgian property on Bold Place to the rear of St. Lukes church looking down towards Berry Street.



Lime Street, taking in the lengthy block from the Crown pub to the Vines. Renshaw Street, long lauded as Rapid Street has now undergone a change with Rapid's move to the former John Lewis Building and the re-development for Central Village going on behind the former Rapid Premises.



Inside and outside No.69A Renshaw Street, now a varied mix of music, clothes, jewellery, ornaments and artefacts. It wasn't like that back in 1979 though when I worked here when it was Quiggins hardware store. Dave Boner was a lad I worked with and we'd sometimes go the Masonic pub on Berry Street in our dinner hour, red haired George was the manager behind the counter who later went to work in another hardware store on Victoria Street but the real boss man sat upstairs behind an oak desk - a very unapproachable scenario. Please sir may I have a pay rise. Part of my job was in the warehouse that backed onto Oldham Street and the closed down property next door on the pic above was then an Indian restaurant and it used to pong out the back where the flue was. Another job was taking the mail to nearby Leece Street post office.



The Dock Road Bascule Bridge at Regent Road, closed for the last year whilst supposedly undergoing renovation work, it now may be condemned altogether.



Some if its finer workings include the curved mechanisms which allowed it to open to let vessels through to Stanley Dock from the River Mersey. They were directed from the overhead housings, Stanley Dock being the only landside dock and is now used via its locks to allow barges down the Leeds/Liverpool canal to the new waterway at the Pier Head.



This whole area is full of history and heritage including Jesse Hartley's 6 sided Victoria Clock Tower and the massive Stanley Tobacco warehouse.


Two neighbouring streets off Vauxhall Road with some distance of setts still intact are Gascoyne Street and Eaton Street.


Festive feelings at Liverpool One shopping centre on Sunday 22nd November 09.




And the following Saturday 28th around town.



There seems to have been a passion for blue LED lights over the last couple of years and very nice they look too in my opinion. Spot the silhouetted goths on the now disused World Museum steps at dusk. A little up the street and it's throwing out time at the Walker too.



The Central Library gasometer also gets the festive works. The circular International Library sits within these walls.



The magnificent St. Georges Hall with its Athensesque exterior and Romanesque interior sits majestically at the head of St. Johns Gardens. The cobbled street off William Brown Street known to all who have had the privilege to work in the hall as the 'van passage' where those on trial were taken to await their fate inside. Store rooms sit off here to the left and a large gate at the opposite end leads into St. Georges Place.



Christmas lights galore adorn the leaf shed trees of St Johns Gardens bringing a festive feel to the area. From the gardens we first look out across St. Johns Lane to St. Johns House and St Johns beacon, the Radio City tower doesn't have the same ring to it to me. Then looking down William Brown Street towards the foot of Dale Street.



Byrom Street with its own illuminations now that the Churchill Way flyover changes subtly from blue to purple. Williamson Square is turned into a colourful mini fairground with its own ice rink this festive season.


The North side of Newby Street, Liverpool 4 with original housing. The opposite side still has two grand town houses with the newer housing built in a complimentary design though noticably smaller.



Luton Grove off the East side of Walton Road still has some old housing on its South side, the rest of the street with newer red brick developments. Its continuation, Florence Street has its older properties on the opposite North side, this row, including a b&b facing some very recent housing.



Lister Road is off Prescot Road and like nearby Lockerby Road, contains some fantastic old period property. With their cellars and garrets, these on the left a 4 storeys whilst there are newer 1930s additions on Lister Crescent which is a well kept private road 100 yards down.



Flashback. Whitechapel showing Llewellyns and the open eye gallery in the 1980s by Philip G Mayer. For a now comparison, see the 'Then and Now' page on this site. Pic 2 taken in 1965 by Dave Rogers shows the Queens Drive/Rice Lane flyover under construction, a good 9 years before its partner further along the Drive at the Rocket.

Sunday 29th November saw the Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive or MPTE to you and I celebrate 40 years with a fine display of their motorised carriages at St. Georges Plateau which always bring back a memory or two. Gladly, P Gorton was there to capture some of these for old times sake.



The old Corpy open back 56 which ran between St. Johns lane and Netherton and the A55 Ribble which were both routed via Christian Street past our house were on show. I can always remember the sloping home straight down past the rear of the Museum as it came into the terminus at the Old Haymarket.



Two Atlantean buses seen here, one in Wirralian livery of the early 1970s, the other in Corpy green and cream. It was a summer weekend ritual for my mam and dad to take me over to New Brighton on the Royal Daffodil, straight to the pier or via Wallasey on the Leasowe or Egremont (back then the Overchurch and the Woodchurch were the Birkenhead ferries). After a day on the fair it'd be up the hill to Victoria Road which ran at the back of the big bumpy slide and home on the blue and cream 31 or 32. (possibly one number ran from Liverpool to Wirral and the other number in reverse). It always seemed on the top deck that the bus was going to hit the corner of the arched tunnel roof but it never did of course. There's a pic of a bus running this service as it comes out of the Kingsway Tunnel on the 'other tenement pics' page of this site. Appropriately the other pic is of the No.40 (Huyton service) on the 40th Anniversary.



A single decker one man operation showing the No.1C to Bootle's Miller's Bridge whilst another open back on the 80E Princes Park route is pulled up to the rear of the 28 to Netherton which would have plied its trade along that stretch of Lime Street up until the 1970s.



The 317 Liverpool to Prescot bus, the 60 to Cross Lane via Whetstone Lane and an open top to Ainsdale Beach - well you wouldn't be going there in the first place if it was raining would you?



Abbey Lawns Private nursing home on Anfield Road is an imposing building with its fine gates commemorating three Queens in Mary, Victoria and Anne.



There are some fine residential properties on Anfield Road. The first pic shows the West Side looking across Arkles Lane. The second is a detached residence converted to flats with a detached brick built garage. The last row, further North are aestestically pleasant.



Back Commutation Row just off London Road shows a little bit of time stood still to the rear of the more recent apartment developments on Commutation Row itself. The cast iron pipework looks ancient yet it could only have been put in after the warehouse hoist was removed. These properties actually front onto Camden Street.



Take the cars away and it could be eighty years ago. From left to right, top to bottom - London Road, Skerries Road, Breck Road - Anfield, Priory Road and Green Lane.


A little stroll around the Canning district of L8 on a cold but dry December night 09.


Canning Street and Percy Street



Falkner Street x 2


Some MPTE hardware, kindly shared with us by Tony Salmon who when growing up in Woolton, had some real mean steerie models. See here .



Index

A: Audley Street, Adshead Road, Aubrey Street, Abercromby Square, Adelaide Terrace, Alsop School, Arkwright Street, Ainsworth Street, Anderson Road, Abbey Lawns, Anfield Road.

B: Byrom Street, Burlington Street, Bevington Bush, Blackstock Street, Bankhall Street, Blackhorse Lane, Bullring, Barlow Lane, Belle Vale Road, Back Harfield Place, Back Commutation Row, Byford Street, Berry Street, Bold Place, Breeze Hill Aerial, Bankhall Lane, Back Sandon Street, Beach Lawn, Bailey Street, Bluebell Lane, Blundell Street, Bridgewater Street, Birchfield Road, Bridge Road, Blaisdon Close, Benson Street, Bootle Docks, Bedford Road, Baltic Street, Bankfield Road, Brick Street, Brownlow Hill, Blackburne Street, Breck Road, Back Berry Street, Brooks Alley.

C: Cases Street, Clayton Square, Church Street, Commutation Row, Chaucer Street, Christian Street, Church Road (2), Chapel Street, Chatham Street, Childwall Abbey, Cockburn Street, Clare Terrace, Church Mount, Churchill Way, Congress Street, Castle Street, Cheapside, Canning Street, Cresswell Street, Crosby Road North, Crosby Road South, Cressington Park, Central Station, Church Road West, Carlton Street, Canada Boulevard, College View, Crocus Street, Commercial Road, Central Buildings Crosby, Childwall Road, Crump Street, Concert Street.

D: Dale Street, Dovecot Place, Deysbrook Lane, Duke Street, Derby Lane, Donaldson Street, Dorothy Street, Derby Road, Dungeon Lane, Dalrymple Street.

E: Elliot Street, Everton Brow, Eldon Grove, East Lancs Road, Everton Road, East Prescot Road, Erskine Street, Edge Lane, Everton Valley, Esplanade, Easby Road, Exeter Road, Effingham Street, Eberle Street, Eaton Street.

F: Fraser Street, Fox Street, Fountains Road, Ford Street, Flyovers, Flint Street, Fulton Street, Fontenoy Street, Florence Street, Falkner Street.

G: Gt Howard Street, Grosvenor Street, Gt Mersey Street, Goodison Road, Gateacre Brow, Gateacre Village, Grange Lane, Garden Street, Gradwell Street, Gt George Street, Grassendale Park, Gt Crosshall Street, Glassonby Crescent, Granton Road, Gladstone Road, Gt Homer Street, Grove Street, Gilman Street, Gardner Road, Glynne Street, Greenland Street, Gt Newton Street, Garston Docks, Gostins Arcade, Gascoyne Street, Green Lane.

H: Hope Street, Hampton Street, Hale Road, Halewood Road, Hawthorne Road, Hunter Street, Hall Lane, High Street, Heyworth Street, Highfield Street, Huskisson Street, Harewell Road, Harcourt Street, Herschell Street, High Park Street, Hawke Street, Hanover Street, Hockenhall Alley, Hertford Road, Harrington Road, Hackins Hey, Haig Memorial Homes.

I: Islington, Islington Place, Irvine Street.

J: James Street, Jordan Street, Jamaica Street.

K: Kingsway, Kensington, Kinmel Street, Kensington Aerial, King Street.

L: Lime Street, Leeds Street, Lord Nelson Street, Lord Street, Lark Lane, Little Parkfield Road, Little Catharine Street, L1 Shopping Centre, London Road, Langrove Street, Lewisham Road, Lambeth Walk, Litherland Road, Lodwick Street, Lothair Road, Luton Grove, Lister Road, Lister Crescent.

M: Moorfields, Mann Island, Manchester Street, Moss Street, Mount Pleasant, Mill Street, Macketts Lane, Mill Lane, Mount Vernon Street, Merton Road, Mornington Terrace, Marmaduke Street, Mason Street, Marine Crescent, Mersey Road, Muirhead Avenue, Millers Bridge, Mathew Street, Mersey, Monksdown Road, Madryn Street, Milroy Street, Mulliner Street, Meadow Lane, Monfa Road, Moss Lane, Moor Lane.

N: North John Street, Nelson Street, New Quay, North Road, North Dingle, Norfolk Street, New Brighton Promenade, Neston Street, Newman Street, Newhall Street, New Bird Street, Newby Street.

O: Old Haymarket, Oriel Road.

P: Parker Street, Pall Mall, Pilgrim Street, Portland Place, Park Road, Princes Road, Picton Clock, Paul Street, Prescot Street, Priory Road, Penrose Street, Pembroke Place, Picton Road, Parr Street, Prussia Street, Percy Street, Potters Barn Park, Pier Head, Princes Drive, Prescot Road, Porter Street, Primrose Hill, Powis Street, Peters Lane.

Q: Queens Drive.

R: Richmond Street, Roe Street, Rice Street, Roscommon Street, Renshaw Street, Rushton Place, Rodney Street, Radcliffe Estate, River Mersey, Regent Road, Royston Street, Rhiwlas Street, Royal Mail Street, Raleigh Street, Richard Martin Road, Rockfield Road, Roscoe Street.

S: St. Georges Place, Seymour Street, Shaw Street, Springfield, Soho Street, Sprainger Street, St. Oswald Street, St Marys Street, Seel Street, Southern Road, St Andrews Gardens, St Catherines Road, St Johns Beacon, Steble Street, Scotland Road, Summerseat, St Johns Lane, St James Station, Stanhope Street, St Domingo Road, Stanley Street, South Road, Sparling Street, Sefton Street, Sudley House, Sefton Street, Strand, Sandringham Road, Stanley Road, Salisbury Road, Speke Boulevard, Smithdown Road, Scholar Street, Sefton Road, St Johns Lane, Skerries Road.

T: Temple Court, Tempest Hey, Tithebarn Street, Tyrer Street (2), Thingwall Road, Towerlands Street, Tower Street, The Strand, Thorburn Street, Townsend Avenue, Trueman Street, Tunnel Road, Town Row.

U: Upper Parliament Street, Upper Mason Street, Upper Duke Street, Utting Avenue.

V: Victoria Street, Vauxhall Road, Vernon Street, Venmore Street, Venice Street, Varthen Street, Vulcan Street, Vandries Street.

W: Williamson Square, Whitechapel, Water Street, Wapping, Whitely Street, Waterloo Road, Woolton Village, Western Avenue, Wavertree Road, Walton Hall Avenue, Wavertree Nook Road, Wavertree Garden Suburb, William Brown Street, Walton Road, West Derby Village, Walker Street, Waterloo Railway Station, West Derby Cottage Homes, Walton Hospital, Walton Village, William Henry Street, Winifred Street, Waterworks Street, Wykeham Way, West Derby Road, Willard Street, Watkinson Street, Wood Street.

Y: Yates Street.