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PHOTOGRAPHS BY AND COURTESY OF JOE DEVINE WHOM OWNS THE COPYRIGHT AND DID A FANTASTIC JOB IN RECORDING THESE TENEMENTS AND THE AREA DURING THE MID TO LATE 1980s.
Pictures courtesy of the Liverpool Records Office.
The last row of pictures above show the site of the old friends meeting house after demolition to allow the building of Gerard Close to finish off the development. War had stopped work which was not resumed until 1945. Notice how the landings of the mid section of Gerard Crescent were capped. The last pic taken in 1950 records the new lift.
These 8 pics are courtesy of Paul Birchall and Paul Sudbury.
The following 8 photographs were taken by and supplied to the site with thanks by Gerard Fleming. Gerard's mam, Peggy Gaskill was born in Gerard Street and worked as a barmaid in the nearby 'Morning Star' pub which stood on Scotland Place forming the backdrop to the little island of land that housed the 'Dandy' Pat Byrne drinking fountain. Later, she took over the running of the Brown Cow public house on Gt. Howard Street where Gerard was born, before becoming long term licencee to the Pontack pub on Christian Street which was a local to the residents of Gerard Gardens. Gerard was later to move into Gerard Gardens and here we can see some 'now' shots, some 20 years after the tenements bit the dust.
Taken from the roof of the polytechnic, our term for the technical college which has evolved into the John Moores University, this shot is looking East. The cars are parked now where Lionel House would have stood. The high wall where the white transit van is situated, is the original wall where once a brew, a sloping road took cars from the narrow Hunter Street up into the square. Cartwright House would have stood to the right of this picture, the wall would have continued to the right in front of it but Hunter Street has been widened that much, that it has reclaimed this land. The new houses sitting atop the wall was once the square where many a footy match took place until dusk. The 2nd pic, still looking East, is immediately to the left of the first photo. The Street in the foreground is Christian Street, St. Joseph's Crescent, running off it and away from us on the photo, was newly created to accommodate the ex tenement residents. The back gardens of the houses on the left are built on the abolished Holly Street which ran up to St. Anne Street before becoming Mansfield Street across the junction.
Panning around to the right, or South East, if you're holding a compass, we can now also see Tom Mann Close, named after the trade unionist who was active during the Liverpool transport strike of old. The Close starts almost facing Gerard's old abode, the Pontack pub, which is the white building, left/centre, and extends to Gerard Street which meets up again with Christian Street some 50 years after it was first abolished for the building of Gerard Gardens. Further South again, the 2nd pic shows the Byrom Street, Gt Crosshall Street, Hunter Street intersection with the Eastbound flyover and pedestrian walkway underneath. The Westbound flyover is in the distance heading towards Dale Street where the Art Deco, Blackburn Assurance building can be seen on its junction with Fontenoy Street, the Municipal Buildings tower protruding from behind.
Looking due West towards the river across Byrom Street. Fontenoy Gardens once stood directly ahead, demolished in 1987-88 to allow the building of low density housing. Bispham and Adlington house high rise from 1967 still stand, one of them having recently been renovated. The area to the North of Leeds Street now contains a whole host of new apartments, a desolate 1980s view of this same site can be found on the 'Streets ahead' page. The next photograph is looking North up Scotland Road. A very different scene than 40 years ago when shops and pubs lined both sides of the road before the construction of the Kingsway road tunnel to Wallasey.
The Comus Street and Peover Street area up to the early 1980s was very different than this indeed. 1950s unit flats, the likes of which are just being demolished on Grosvenor and Chaucer Street were once prevalent here. The next pic, panning right shows the Police Station (centre/right) built in 1970 on the Holly Street, Christian Street, Birkett Street, St. Anne Street block of 1912 'Eldon Grove' style flats to replace the Rose Hill bridewell which once stood facing.
Taken from the 1938 documentary 'Homes for the workers' - these stills show the completed Gerard Gardens, but only the mid section of Gerard Crescent in situ. The old friends meeting house can be seen on Hunter Street as well as old property on Christian Street, yet to be demolished. You'll also notice that Thurlow House is yet to be commenced to complete the quadruple of blocks to the rear of the development. Behind these blocks, the remainder of Circus Street and Gerard Street can clearly be made out with Byrom Hall at the mid top of the picture, fronting onto Byrom Street.
The second picture is a view through the main arch of Gerard Gardens showing the landings facing and the arch through to Gerard Crescent via the backie.
The last two stills show workmen completing Downe House. Little did they know that a year later, work would stop altogether due to the start of WWII and not recommence until some 6 years later.
Lionel House steeped in bunting to celebrate the opening of the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King on the feast of pentecost in 1967. Elsewhere on this page shows the party in the backie of Gerard Close on the same day. Oh what great foresight of those who had a camera to record such events.
For photographs of the reunion which took place in the Silvestrian on friday 30th October 2009, please see the 'People and Places' page and for pics of our band playing there, please see 'Our band' page.
Right: The Kings Regiment on parade in Christian St - 1962.
