Park Lane’s Lost Heritage

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Park Lane Goods Station, 1980
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Apartments on the same site, 2012
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Kean’s Hotel (originally Mayfair Hotel) 1980
http://streetsofliverpool.co.uk/wp-c...ane-Tabley.jpg
Park Lane/Tabley Street, 1980
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Comparative view taken 2012
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Park Lane/Liver Street, 1976
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Comparative view 2012
Park Lane is a short street, probably no more the 500 metres. I walk along it most days and always enjoy my quick walk into the centre. It has no pretensions to grandeur unlike its London counterpart but it was once a busy thoroughfare connecting Canning Place with the Dingle.
I can remember some of the buildings that once lined the street. The offices of the Park Lane station (the top photograph) were demolished in the last five years to make way for the blocks of flats shown in the second photograph. Next to the station stood that glorious folly of a pub, the Mayfair Hotel. Folly in that the brewery had jumped the gun when plans were announced to extend the railway from Edge Hill to Park Lane. Anticipating a great trade from thirsty travellers, they built an impressive gin palace, only to discover that the station was meant for goods traffic only. It was a remarkable sight and survived until the early 1980s. The next blocks were typical nineteenth century Liverpool – a mix of pubs and businesses with considerable character. My 1966 Kelly’s Directory has armature winders, flooring contractors, leather goods manufacturers, turf accountants, dried fish dealers, tailors, hairdressers and publicans amongst the trades listed. All in all, a very vibrant street.
The colour comparative photographs tell a different story. Most of the street is now vacant land. There is a new housing development walled off alongside the Swedish Church but the rest of the street is now cleared land – a soulless stretch only enlivened by sight of the Albert Dock in the distance. Why does this kind of destruction have to take place? I could understand it if the land was built on (like the new apartments in the second photograph) but to remove interesting and historical buildings for waste ground is a depressingly routine act in Liverpool. Who is to blame? Developers of the City Council? Either way, the destruction of Park Lane is a clear lesson in how not to develop an area. Like the Sailors’ Home, there is an undue haste to pull down buildings in the hope that development will become that much easier. The holes in the ground and acres of waste ground are scars the community must look at, often for decades.

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Nice Then & Now shots, and interesting background info Colin, Thanks.

collegepudding

I too remember Park Lane in the 'old days' Colin, and after comparing both aspects from your photographs, I agree with your comments regarding the destruction of the older but much more interesting buildings of yesteryear. Thanks!:PDT11

Thanks Colin. Great photos once again.

The last in the series: Park Lane/Liver Street, I thought was interesting, as I'd just stumbled across an archaeological report of St Thomas' Church graveyard, which stood opposite to the Park Lane/Liver Street junction shown.

I've attached the PDF link of the report below. It makes for very interesting reading; it includes, a developed history of the Church, its site, and records the status of notable interments they discovered there. One case in example was the grave of Joseph Williamson, the Mole of Edge Hill. His grave had been photographed, plotted on a drawing of the site, together with many others.

http://library.thehumanjourney.net/2...ullReportF.pdf

[OS map, 1848, courtesy of the LRO]

http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/a...ol_Page_29.jpg

Great comparative pic's,Colin! What a shame Kean's hotel has gone, a great example of it's type! An interesting document there,Dazza,any idea what happened to Williamson's gravestone,after it was discovered(broken) during the Liverpool 1 construction?

More fantastic pics and info Colin. Thanks for posting them.

---------- Post added at 12:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:04 PM ----------

St Thomas' church in 1896.


http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/9...rklane1896.jpg

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The interior as seen in 1904

http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/4...terior1904.jpg

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I have loads of these, many unseen or rarely seen before.

I walked up and Park Lane regularly in the late 1960s. Most the buildings needed demolishing. The lane had little character as a proper High St, being semi commercial. Some decent pubs which mainly did trade from the workers in the adjacent warehouses rather than the people who lived to the east of the road. However there were some gems which were needlessly bulldozed, like the pub shown. The obliteration of the Liverpool 1 (and 8) squares was a crime.

The Park Lane Good station was post war as the original 1830s structures were bombed. The Wapping tunnel emerges at the station.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wsteve55

Dazza,any idea what happened to Williamson's gravestone,after it was discovered(broken) during the Liverpool 1 construction?

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Hi Steve, the grave of Joseph Williamson, the Mole of Edge Hill, is still there, undisturbed. Grosvenor had planned to create a memoral garden here, but as the ground is still consecrated land, they would need permission, and archaeological survey approved by the CofE. One of the aims was to locate, and record Williamsons grave, which I think had been done to an earlier excavation in 2005.

What a shame that Kean's Hotel disappeared. Such a lovely ornate building.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ged

---------- Post added at 12:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:04 PM ----------

St Thomas' church in 1896.


http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/9...rklane1896.jpg

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

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Thanks for posting Ged. I don't think I've seen a photo of St Thomas' before today, excellent.

Not sure if the Williamson tunnels people have it either dazza?

I've seen a pic of Keans hotel before in the pub on every corner book and thought then it was very ornate and a sad loss, also the Greenbergs building (you can slightly see it on an angle on 2 of Colin's pics in the 1st post) was also a nice building.

Hello,

In answer to your questions; Joseph Williamson's Gravestone (The Tate Vault) was reburied in-situ.

When Oxford Archaeology North discovered the stone it was in a very bad state, it had fractured in the middle and had partially collapsed into the grave vault. The damage was so severe that parts of the lead coffin lining could be seen. As Williamson was the last of eight people buried in the grave this was probably his coffin.

Grosvenor have happily landscaped the site to create a lovely little memorial garden. The garden is dedicated to all those buried in St Thomas' Churchyard.

It includes a replica of the Liver Bird from the carving above the Sailors Home. This is a nice touch as for a few years the original was being stored at the Williamson Tunnels Heritage Centre on Smithdown Lane.

Thanks for that info' WT! Anyone got a pic' of the memorial garden?

Some cracking pictures there, never seen those before.

Attachment 24239

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dazza

Hi Steve, the grave of Joseph Williamson, the Mole of Edge Hill, is still there, undisturbed. Grosvenor had planned to create a memoral garden here, but as the ground is still consecrated land, they would need permission, and archaeological survey approved by the CofE. One of the aims was to locate, and record Williamsons grave, which I think had been done to an earlier excavation in 2005.

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Peggy from Runcorn emailed me this pic:
taken from the "Joseph Williamsons memorial page"


more info here also
http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/...2534-27232794/

Thanks Martin,

Here's the bottom part of Joseph Williamson's damaged grave-slab, and the location of the grave within the new memorial garden. I'm not sure whether there are any markers placed there on the site to identity the grave? The location plotted was taken from the archaeological survey that was carried out by Oxford Archaeology North.

The memorial garden has raised beds/planters on it, to minimise any distruption to what remains consecrated ground.

http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/a...Williamson.jpg

Thanks for that Dazza.....fantastic!:nod:

Thanks Steve,

Also, there's a sandstone Liverbird memorial directly over the top of the Joseph Williamson/Tate family grave. It was copied from the one that used to be on the Sailor's Home and has the following dedication inscribed on it:

'In Memory of All Those Buried in St Thomas' Church Yard'

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tompatto/5916513752/

Thanks Dazza, good work. You've beaten us to it!! :)

We've included the full transcription of the gravestone.

Gravestone of TATES and WILLIAMSON in
St. Thomas' Church,
Liverpool, Lancashire, England.

Attachment 24251

Gravestone Number; 221, Size: 6' 3'' x 3' 3''

To the Memory of Richard Tate
Who departed this life 7th May
1787 in the 51st Year of his age
Also Ann Tate, the Mother of the
above Richard Tate died the 6th
Day of October 1791 In the 76th Year
of her Age.
Hannah Tate the Wife of Richd Tate
died 29th July 1793 Aged 59 Years
Also the Remains of Elizabeth
Daughter of Richard and Hannah
Tate and Wife of Joseph Williamson
of Edge Hill who departed this life
the 3rd day of October 1822
Aged 56 Years
Also the Remains of Richard, the
youngest Son of the above Richard
and Hannah Tate who died 7 June
1826 Aged 56 Years
Also the Remains of
Joseph Williamson of Edge Hill
Who died the 1st May 1840
Aged 71 Years.

Here are some of the descriptions on the information plaque.

Attachment 24252
Attachment 24253

Thanks W.T. Great pic's!:nod:

Thanks WT. Interesting to see the full transcriptions. Good post.

Thanks for the great pics... Takes me back to when I worked in Bridgewater St (1976-1984).
Interesting to find out about Williamson's grave too... I didn't know it was down there.