Liverpool street names the slavery connection
Liverpool Street Names
Liverpool street names have in the past become a contentious issue , due to the fact that many commemorate individuals who prospered from the slave trade. In this article we will look at some of those streets – and how it was that they came to have places and streets named after them. Some believe that streets were not named after people because they were slavers. They were honoured in this way because they were landowners, decision makers, politicians, patrons of the arts and powerful business people.
Bold Street
Bold Street is named after Jonas Bold, who originally leased the land from Liverpool Corporation in around 1785-6. He also owned the plot at the top of the street, which is now the site of St Luke’s Church. At the bottom of Bold Street is the Lyceum Club, built by the architect Thomas Harrison and opened in 1802. It was built to house the Liverpool Library, which is thought to be the oldest public subscription library in the country. Many of the founder members of the Lyceum traded in enslaved Africans. Prior to Bold acquiring the land it had been home to the rope-works of the slave traders Joseph and Jonathan Brooks, hence the area using the Rope – walks title today.
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