Historic Liverpool Dwellings - Moss House

 

This is a surviving cottage known as Moss cottage originally built 1642 when Derby Lane may have been quieter, but when Liverpool was in the middle of the English Civil War. It predates Moss House, which was rebuilt as a brick mansion in 1776 by Peter and Mary Rigby on the site of the older stone house. Rigby was an ironmonger and merchant of Pool Lane and Mayor of Liverpool in 1774 and was involved in at least 35 slave voyages between 1760 and 1795. The house remained in the Rigby family until 1904 before being demolished in 1914.

1900s Map showing the location of Moss Farm and Moss House off Prescott Road

 

Moss House, which once stood on the corner of Derby Lane and Queens Drive was demolished in 1910 to reveal a 17th century house within. On a related note, the willow tree at this junction is said to have been in the garden of Moss House which stretched far into the road junction. It was a home for the Deville Family and their dairy for many years. The adjacent land is now a Doctors modern surgery and car park.

 

In 2022 Russian model Anastasiya Kasimova teamed up with with builder Jamie Gould for a TV show, 'The Great House Giveaway' hosted by Simon O'Brien, to renovate one of Liverpool's oldest homes, this 17th century Grade II-listed cottage. Allocated a budget of £110,000 by the Great House Giveaway's presenter, Liverpool-born property expert Simon O’Brien successfully bid for Moss Cottage, Old Swan, which dates back to 1642 - the first year of the English Civil War. Jamie, from Warrington, said: "It’s one of the oldest habitable buildings on Merseyside and, when we first saw it, it looked like a property with a lot of potential. But, in hindsight, it was probably one of the most difficult renovations we could have done, because of the age of the building. When we got inside, we found some damp and we saw that everything had been covered in hardboard in the 1970s or 80s. We had to rip it all out, which was a huge job, but it was good to be able to expose original features like a cast-iron Victorian fireplace." Anastasiya said they were lucky they didn’t uncover more than they'd bargained for when renovating the 380-year-old cottage in Derby Lane. She said: "When we started filming, we heard that the house was haunted by the ghost of a little boy, who'd once lived there. Luckily, I didn't experience anything personally but I was always quite cautious, and only went in at night with friends and family."

The renovated property at 75 Derby Lane, Old Swan was sold at a later date by Sutton Kersh for £110,000.

see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2022/10/historic-liverpool-dwellings-elmswood.html