Originally Posted by
GeorgePorgie
They didn't survive the blitz,Chas.....they were actually weakened a bit more than they were,the bombing sent shock waves through the ground and add the minor earth tremors we have had over the years brought these victorian working mens houses to dangerous conditions to live in.
You have only got to look at the many pics from the LRO that show collapse of gable walls,bulging backwalls and actual collapse of various internal walls.
Our house in Albion St,the backitchen wall fell down making it dangerous for the bedroom above to be slept in.
The house I have just moved from,the kitchen wall was on the verge of collapse due to it bellying out.
We must remember that the mortar that ws used on these house was poor and over 100 years old in most working mans dwellings and became a substance that crumbled in your hand and you could even scrape it away with the finger.
I admit I don't have any knowledge of Victorian building practice apart from reading "the Ragged Trousered Philanthropists" but where we lived in Roscommon Street some houses were MAGNIFICANT. I recall my dad saying the back yard wall will need pointing in the summer, but that's about it. Our house had belonged to a Liverpool merchant in the past, it had a strange circular looking staircase on the ground floor and a circular skylight in the roof. it had an inside lav and bathroom, a kitchen and pantry, two living rooms and four bedrooms. Attached to it was a large stables, a small washhouse, and a front yard with a loose box building. We only managed to pay the rent by subletting parts of the stable to potato firms for storage etc. When the circus came to town we lodged many animals and pantomimes at the Empire had Shetland ponies and a Jack donkey which Buttons ( Ken Dodd) would ride! We also provided food and lodging to the animal's keepers. At this time my mam worked as a night nurse in Maghull homes, my dad looked after the premises and was involved in various enterprises, mainly to pay the rent. When we left under the CPO the stable wall adjoining Roscommon St school was still standing in the 1990's when the school was torched by vandals. Wish I'd have gotten a pic, you could still see where the impressions of the iron stalls in the wall.
Dad and mam managed to scrape together enough to buy a shop on Heyworth Street, next to the school again. This story could go on for a long time,so....
Getting back to your well argued points, George, the shop structure was sound. General maintenance jobs like pointing (again), no bathroom ( the wash house bathe were a short walk away) ,maybe could've had an bathroom extension in the back yard. Under the CPO we were awarded £300.00 for the property ( no good will as the council had cleared the area of customers by then), family was rehoused to a rented council house in Norris Green.
I keep saying that some properties had no obvious future, but total demolition of an area and it's communities was not the answer. High rise living was a catastrophe (apologies to Ged). I've never lived in the high rises but I visited friends many times. Netherfield Heights, the Bradocks, Garibaldi, Meazzi, St Georges,the Piggeries, Sheil Road...... all constructed in my lifetime and demolished. Good riddance.
It's too late to do anything about the past, let's not repeat the mistakes in the future (Edge Lane area etc). I think within 100 years Everton Park will be developed as a high class suburbia for the
elite. Vauxhall community stood firm and got it right.
The open view over Merseyside from St Georges church must have the developer's drooling.
"Have mercy said the blacksmith,
How are you gonna replace human hands,
Found guilty said the judge,
Of not being in demand." ~ The Band, can't recall the title, just came to mind.
Apologies for rambling, George, just getting things off my chest.
Keep smilin',
Chas
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