South Liverpool: Toxteth, Wavertree, Aigburth and Garston

	The Ancient Chapel of Toxteth One of Liverpool's half dozen oldest buildings, the original chapel (since modified) was built sometime between 1604 and 1618. It has always been associated with non-conformist religion and became a presbyterian meeting-house in 1672. This was an isolated rural community at the time that could get away with such sympathies, though surprisingly the land was donated by the catholic Molyneux family.
Toxteth in Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England (1848) No place in the suburbs of Liverpool has advanced so rapidly within the last few years, as this township. So recently as 1770 it was entirely composed of farms: about one-third is now covered with buildings and formed into streets, while another third is occupied with ornamental grounds, and studded with the villas and mansions of Liverpool merchants; the remaining third is chiefly pasture land, and the whole is remarkable for the purity of its air. [...] The Prince's Park, in Toxteth (the public park of Liverpool), is a great ornament to the district, for which the inhabitants are indebted to the philanthropy of Richard Vaughan Yates, Esq. That gentleman, desirous of forming a park that should be adapted both as a site for mansions for the wealthier inhabitants, and as a place of recreation for the public, purchased a tract of land for the purpose from the Earl of Sefton. About one-half of the hundred acres so obtained was set apart for ornament, and the remainder, around it, was laid out in building lots for villas and terraces, in such a way as that one house should not intercept the view of another; the sites commanding beautiful prospects of the Mersey, with the Cheshire shore and the hills beyond, and having the park with its rising plantations as a foreground. The terraces and villas, also, according to the plan, are to have gardens, adding to the beauty of the whole. A large piece of water has been formed in the centre, with two ornamental islands in it. On one side of this is a spacious garden, reserved, for the most part, for the inhabitants of the houses in the park, who have thus the advantage of retired walks. It is elegantly arranged, containing a choice collection of shrubs, pines, and scarce plants, each labelled with its name, so as to assist visiters in the study of botany; and the garden is on a sufficiently large scale to allow of considerable beds being occupied with the same flower. Privileged persons may also sail upon the lake, boats being provided on the spot. The ground on the other side of the water, which, with the drives, is open to the public, commands a view of the garden, and is disposed with equal taste. The Park [...] was completed in about three years, and the total cost was about £73,000, the price of the land being about two-thirds of the amount [...]. St. Michael's church, built in 1816, at a cost of £8000, is a handsome structure in the early English style, with a tower and pinnacles; the pinnacles, together with the pillars, the tracery, and the arch ribs of the roof, are of cast iron: the interior is very chaste. In this church was erected in 1826, by Holden, the astronomer, a marble tablet to the memory of the illustrious Jeremiah Horrox, who was the first to predict and observe the transit of Venus over the sun's disc, Nov. 24th, 1639. Horrox was born in Toxteth-Park, and died in 1641, aged only 22 years.
Toxteth in the Victoria History of the County of Lancaster (1907) This township, which comprises the ancient village of Smeedon or Smithdown, [...] has from north to south a frontage of 3 miles to the River Mersey, and stretches inland for 2 miles. The ground in the northerly half rises somewhat steeply from the river; inland there are several undulations, the highest point, at the corner of Smithdown Lane and Lodge Lane, being about 190 ft. [...] The northern half of the township is densely populated and there are docks and quays along the river front with the severe buildings of numerous factories reared in the background. In the southern half the character of the district changes abruptly, green fields and trees sloping down to the water's edge instead of stone quays and dock gates, and the neighbourhood becomes an important residential suburb, with larger houses set in private grounds. Formerly a brook rose in the eastern side of Parliament Fields, at the north end of the township, and ran down to the river near the boundary in Parliament Street, being used to turn a water-mill just before it fell into the river. About the middle of the river frontage is a creek called Knot's Hole, and a little farther to the south another creek once received a brook which rose near the centre of the township; the Dingle lies around the former creek, and round the latter the district is named St. Michael's Hamlet, from the church. Just beyond the southern boundary is the creek called Otterspool, receiving a brook, known as the Jordan, which rose near Fairfield, formed the boundary between Wavertree and West Derby, and then flowed south to the Mersey; it was joined by another brook, rising in Wavertree and flowing south and west past Green Bank. Portions of them are still visible in Sefton Park, part of the course having been formed into a lake there. [...] The Liverpool tramway system provides liberally for locomotion. The Overhead Railway has a terminus at the Dingle, and runs by the dock side, with a number of stations. The Cheshire Lines Committee's Railway from Liverpool to Manchester has stations at St. James's, St. Michael's, and Otterspool, with a goods station, formerly the passenger terminus also, at Brunswick Dock. The London and North-Western Company's Liverpool to London line passes through the south-eastern corner of the township, with a station called Sefton Park, opened about ten years since. The following docks of the Liverpool system are in this township: Queen's, formed 1796, and recently modernized; Coburg; Brunswick, 1811, formerly the seat of the timber trade; the old discharging ground has been utilized as the site of a carriers' dock; Toxteth, Harrington, and Herculaneum. To the south of the last are graving docks, and then the petroleum stores. The Mersey forge stood near the Toxteth dock. The flour mills are further inland. The Herculaneum dock takes its name from a pottery established there in 1796 on the site of a former copper works; it was given up in 1841. On the river side of the Queen's dock were formerly considerable shipbuilding yards. Near them a ferry was in operation for some years. The principal park is Sefton Park, formed by the corporation of Liverpool in 1872; a palm house and aviary have since been presented. A statue of William Rathbone, unveiled in 1877, stands in it. Prince's Park, purchased about 1840 by Richard Vaughan Yates, with the intention of preserving it as an open space, is now public property.
	The Ancient Chapel of Toxteth
	Cains Brewery, Toxteth Irish immigrant Robert Cain (1826-1907), after running a home-brew pub on Limekiln Lane, bought the old brewery on this site in 1858. The rear part of the present brewery dates from 1887 and the red-brick fa‡ade from 1902. It is a landmark of the Liverpool skyline. Cain established a reputation for excellence in brewing, but he was also a major driving force in pub construction in Liverpool, with over 200 built for him including some of the finest examples such as the Philharmonic and the Vines. When he died in 1907, 3000 mourners attended his funeral. In 1911, Cain's merged with Walker's in 1921 and production moved to Warrington. The brewery was bought by Higson's in 1923. When they sold out to Manchester's Boddington's in 1985, Higson's was still produced here until they in turn sold out to Whitbread, who closed the brewery down. In 1990, it was acquired by the Danish Brewery Group and operated under its original name, but by 2002 there were financial problems. The period since, under the management of the Dusanj brothers, has largely been one of prosperity. Tucked away at the corner of the brewery on Stanhope Street is the Brewery Tap, once known as the Grapes. In its authentically restored Victorian interior you can enjoy the full range of Cain's quality draught and bottled beers, including seasonal beers and an award winning traditionally-made lager.
	St. Michael's in the Hamlet The church was designed by Thomas Rickman and John Cragg. It was completed in 1815 and known locally as the Cast Iron Church because of the extensive use of cast iron in its construction. The frames of the building were prefabricated in this material and the parapets and pinnacles are made of it too. I would imagine that the rather striking pink colour is not a new-age, gender-balancing makeover but has something to do with rust-proofing. It is an early example of mass-production in building, as many of the casts for the frame of St. George's Church in Everton were re-used here. John Cragg, the visionary cast ironmonger, was a resident of St. Michael's Hamlet, which has been called 'virtually a museum of early 19th century cast iron architecture' (Quentin Hughes). He owned a local iron foundry, the reason why the stretch of the Mersey shore at the Dingle was once known evocatively as the Cast Iron Shore (the Cazzy to scousers). There used to be a bell outside the church that was rung to warn the local community of the presence of robbers in the neighbourhood, but ironically it was stolen - plus ‡a change ...
	The Christ Church Institute, Lark Lane, Toxteth Lark Lane is the focal point of a vibrant out-of-town community with local shops, pubs and many restaurants. Despite its popularity and redevelopment to suit contemporary needs, it manages to retain a relatively unspoilt old world charm. The Christ Church Instutute of 1884, one of the finest buildings, is now Maranto's bar and restaurant.
	Hadassah Grove, off Lark Lane, Toxteth This is another of Liverpool's step back in time corners. Hadassah Grove is a quiet cul-de-sac of 1840s houses off Lark Lane with an unsurfaced road and the period atmosphere entirely intact.
	The Britannia Inn, near St. Michaels The Britannia Inn is modern pub whose main attraction is its superb location overlooking the Mersey on Riverside Drive near St. Michaels. The panoramic view can be appreciated while spending a pleasant hour or two sitting outside in the sun. Even better, watch a raging winter storm at high tide from the comfort of inside.
	The Mersey Way near St. Michaels A winter storm at high tide can be extremely impressive, if rather wet!
	Spring Tide near St. Michael's
	The Mersey at Full Swell
*Mersey fisheries in The Streets of Liverpool (1869)* by James Stonehouse** The fisheries of the Mersey were at one period of considerable importance. In Doomsday [sic.] Book it is stated that the King's tenants in Lancashire were bound 'to attend to the King's huntings and fisheries'. In all the ancient leases relating to the town of Liverpool, the fisheries are mentioned. [...] About the middle of the last [18th] century, so plentiful was salmon in the Mersey, that it could not be consumed in the neighbourhood, and was obliged to be sent away elsewhere to be sold. One local historian states that there were in his time upwards of forty-five different species of fish to be found in the Mersey, from the lordly sturgeon to the humble dab or flounder. [...] At one time there were extensive curing houses in Wallasey, and several in Liverpool, and fish yards as they were called were established on the banks of the river at Garston. [...] The disturbance of the Mersey waters by the innumerable steamships and vessels constantly present on their surface, their pollution by the Manchester dyeworks, the sewage of the places they pass, and the reckless and improvident conduct.of the fishermen themselves, have all conduced to destroy the finny tribes that once made these waters their habitation.
	Wavertree Village In the 1700s, Wavertree was still a country village with only about 50 houses. However, by the end of the century, rich merchants already had their eye on the area as a place to build their villas away from the increasingly polluted atmosphere of Liverpool. Among the large houses built here at around that time were Olive Mount, Sandown Hall, Westdale House and the Grange. The Picton Clock Tower was presented to the people of Wavertree by Sir James Picton in 1884, having been designed by him as a memorial to his wife Sarah. He chose the site, at the centre of the old village, so that the clock could be seen by as many people as possible.
*Wavertree in Fragments (1817)* by Matthew Gregson** Wavertree is a pleasant village and has increased with Liverpool, within these few years, in a rapid manner [...]. The salubrity of the air is highly and very deservedly spoken of. In 1731 the township contained fifty houses.
Wavertree in Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England (1848) The orthography of the name in ancient records has the remarkable variations of Waudter, Wavre, Wastpull, Wastyete, and Wartre. [...] Its proximity to Liverpool, and the salubrity of the air, have made it the residence of numerous wealthy families, and the land is fast increasing in value. The high grounds on the east form a fine shelter to the lower parts, which include the Wellington road; and a new road is projected, from Gateacre, past Wavertree, through Spekelands, to the end of Myrtle-street, Liverpool [Woolton Road? - if so, it wasn't completed past Wavertree]; the houses are to be of the first class, and the road will form one of the principal entrances into the town. [...] In the township is an extensive brewery, established in 1836, and subsequently much enlarged by the proprietor, Mr. John Anderton.
*Wavertree in the Liverpool Daily Post* of 1895** Wavertree [...] is, as it were, one of the arms which, like other great towns, Liverpool, in the manner of a vast octopus of bricks and mortar, stretches into the country along the main roads which lead into it. At the point where this area of Wavertree joins on to the body of the city we have the brick and mortar plague now passing through its acutest stage [...] streets of cottages awkwardly fitted in anywhere, or leading into other streets, which seem in turn to lead nowhere. There are villainous-looking wastes, whose surfaces present an alternation of stagnant pools and hillocks of tipped rubbish, a lonely public-house or two built as speculations in 'futures' on what may turn out to be 'desirable corner lots', a grimy brick church, and board schools [...] but [...] the wastes are slowly and by degrees disappearing before the enterprise of the inevitable builder.
Wavertree in the Victoria History of the County of Lancaster (1907) The highest land is in the centre and north, rising to an elevation of over 200 ft.: the surface slopes away in the other directions, especially on the Liverpool side. The old village stood on the higher part of this westward slope, beside the road from Liverpool to Woolton, here called High Street; it has now grown into a town. The eastern half of the township still retains a rural or suburban character. [...] The Liverpool tramway system extends to the top of the High street. Near the terminus is a small green with a pond, and close by is Monks' well. [...] Close by is a clock tower commemorating Sir James Picton, the Liverpool architect and antiquary, who lived in Olive Mount. To the east is a piece of ground which by the terms of the enclosure award must remain an open space for ever. Near it is the old windmill. Lower down, towards the railway, is the fine children's playground presented to Liverpool by an anonymous benefactor.
	The Bluecoat School, Wavertree Pevsner described the imposing Edwardian Bluecoat School as 'spectacular'. It was opened in 1906, when the pupils were transferred from Bluecoat Chambers (1718) in the town centre to 'the countryside'. The school has been founded as a charity for poor children and retained an 'orphanage' role until the late 1940s, the boys and girls in their old-fashioned dress having been a familiar sight in Wavertree during the interwar years. Bluecoat schools date back to Tudor times and the long blue coat is a survival of the ordinary attire of schoolboys and apprentices of that time.
	Holy Trinity Church, Wavertree Holy Trinity dates from 1794 and was described by John Betjeman as 'Liverpool's best Georgian church'. Its construction marks the arrival of rich merchants' habitats in the area at this time.
	Holy Trinity Churchyard, Wavertree
	Wavertree Playground In May 1895, an anonymous donor purchased the Grange estate, following demolition of the house of that name, and presented the whole 108 acres to the City of Liverpool. He had levelled and grassed the area and suggested the name Wavertree Playground. It was to be a venue for organised sports and a place for children to run about in, not a park in the Victorian tradition. The Playground was opened by the Lord Mayor amid great rejoicing, a march past of 12,000 children and a fireworks display watched by 60,000 people, on 7th September 1895. The new park was immediately nicknamed The Mystery on account of the anonymity of the donor.
	Stanlawe Grange, Aigburth Stanlawe Grange, probably dating from 1291, is Liverpool's oldest extant building, though it has been modified many times over the centuries and is now two houses. The land around here was gifted to the abbot and monks of Stanlawe Abbey (founded 1178) on the opposite side of the Mersey by one Adam de Gerstan (died 1265). The property consisted originally of barns, monks' quarters and a granary, with a separate hall (Aigburth Hall, on a site on the opposite side of the road). By 1550, after the dissolution of the monasteries, the property had passed to the Catholic recusant Tarleton family and then, by the late 17th century, by marriage to the equally devout Catholic Harringtons. Both families were regarded with extreme suspicion by the Sheriff of Liverpool. After many changes of ownership, the property was in a poor condition by the early 19th century and Aigburth Hall was demolished in the 1840s. Conversion into the two present dwellings was undertaken in 1967.
Aigburth in Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England (1848) Aigburth is a wealthy and fashionable district extending along the banks of the Mersey, and studded with the noble mansions and splendid villas of the Liverpool bankers and merchants, the salubrity of the air and the delightful scenery inviting their residence here. The land is beautifully undulated, and there are fine views of the river, the Welsh mountains, the county of Chester, and the ocean.
	Otterspool Park, Aigburth Otterspool takes its name from an old tidal creek that was probably already in use as a fishery in Roman times and is now a large grassy hollow among trees close to the riverside. The remainder of the park is the peaceful wooded valley of the little River Jordan, whose waters once flowed here in cascades, but is now dry because of upstream damming to construct the lake in Sefton Park. In the early 17th century, a puritan community set up home near here and it is they who are responsible for the name of the river (originally Osklesbrok) and other biblical names in the area such as Jericho Farm. This community was the birthplace in 1618 of child prodigy, mathematician and astronomer Jeremiah Horrox, first predictor and observer of the transit of Venus.
	The Mersey at Otterspool Promenade, Aigburth The promenade has its origins in 1919 with the City Engineer's plan to enclose the foreshore from Garston Docks to the Dingle behind a massive river wall, to be filled in with waste. Construction of the wall took from 1930 to 1932 at a total cost of nearly £200,000. Most of Liverpool's domestic waste up to 1949, together with material from the excavation of the first Mersey tunnel, ended up here. The savings in comparison with the alternative, incineration, more than offset the combined construction and subsequent development costs. The resulting green spaces, paths and riverside promenade were opened to the public in 1950.
	The Esplanade, Grassendale Park, Garston The Esplanade at Grassendale has a fine location overlooking the River Mersey, only slightly marred by Garston docks a little further upstream. The elegant housing, in Regency style, is typical of much of Grassendale and Cressington Parks.
Fishing in the Mersey around Garston, early 18th century. Thomas Patten of Warrington, writing to Richard Norris of Liverpool, says: 'You very well know the mischief that is done on the River Mersey, or at least have frequently heard what vast numbers of salmon trout are taken so as to supply all the country and market towns twenty miles round, and when the country is cloyed and they cannot get sale for them they give them to their swine. Your brother did formerly take three or four salmon a week at a fishing in or near Speke, but of late hath taken very few or none, of which he hath complained to me, and he imputes this loss to the destruction of the fry'.
*Garston in Fragments (1817)* by Matthew Gregson** About twenty-five years ago the chemical preparation for bleaching was manufactured here by Mons. Bonnel, on its early introduction into England, but the work has long since been discontinued. Vitriol works were also carried on for a short time at Garston. [...] There are a few fishermen here; but formerly, it is said, great quantities of fish were caught on the Liverpool shore. [...] Many fishgarths, we are sorry to find, are stalled down from Runcorn Gap to Liverpool, viz. at Runcorn, Hale, Garston, and Toxteth Park. It is to be lamented that so much small fry is destroyed, particularly during spring tides; as their food being thus taken away, the large fish are prevented from visiting our shores as usual.
Garston in Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England (1848) The township, which is beautifully situated on the Mersey, abounds with gentlemen's seats and villas, and commands fine views of the Cheshire hills and Welsh mountains. On the banks of the river are extensive works for refining salt; and at Otterspool is a rivulet flowing into the Mersey, near which is an oil-mill. An act was passed in 1846 to enable the St. Helen's Canal and Railway Company to make docks here, and construct a railway to Garston, nearly 7½ miles in length.
Garston in the Victoria History of the County of Lancaster (1907) The township, bounded on the south-west by the River Mersey, has an area of 1,625 acres. The division between Garston and Toxteth is marked by Otterspool, a name now given to the waters of the Mersey, where a brook flowing through Toxteth falls into that river. Another brook flows - or did flow - diagonally through the township; and a third used to pass through the village and discharge by a narrow gorge into the Mersey; a small portion is still visible. The country is flat, covered with the pleasant suburban colonies of Aigburth and Grassendale, with streets of houses set in flowery gardens, many running at right angles to the principal main roads, and leading down to the river bank. Grazing fields are scattered amongst the houses and streets, especially near the river. Garston itself is a seaport town, with docks, iron and copper works, and large gas works. On the outlying land are cultivated fields where some crops are grown. These include potatoes and corn. Altogether the district is a curious mixture of industrial, agricultural, and residential features. [...] The Liverpool tramways reach as far as Garston. The Cheshire Lines Committee's railway passes through the township, and has stations at Aigburth, Otterspool, Mersey Road (close to the Liverpool cricket ground), Grassendale (Cressington Park), and Garston. The sugar works (glucose) have ceased work owing to the cases of arsenical poisoning traced to them. Formerly there were salt works which had been removed from the Salthouse Dock at Liverpool, and at one time the fishery was of importance.
	Grassendale Park, Garston Grassendale Park (adjoining Cressington Park) in Garston is one of South Liverpool's walled riverside housing developments dating from the 1830s and 1840s and built for the well-off middle classes (whom it still houses). Originally it was Gresyndale or Grese Londale, meaning 'grassy valley'.