Earliest records of Fir Grove House have it being built by Joseph Jackson, the first occupier, who was a Merchant, carrying the title Esquire which in the 18th Century was used by English Gentry of higher social ranking. However, like many others who were building fine houses around this time, he was also involved in the slave trade and was involved in three slave voyages in the mid 1750s. He had a son also named Joseph Jackson, who was born in 1734 and died 1815, and a daughter Hannah. In 1754 Hannah married Richard Parr and they had 2 daughters, who never married and a son Joseph Parr born in 1755. He married Ellen Lyon and they had 2 sons and 3 daughters. At the time of his death in 1820 both sons inherited most of Joseph's estate with Ellen and their daughters provided with a lifelong income. The brothers were given the opportunity to purchase Fir Grove including house, gardens, pleasure gardens and all other buildings with money paid forming part of the estate. When their eldest son, also called Joseph, died in 1824 most of his estate passed to his brother Thomas Parr and Fir Grove House was sold around this time. Gore's Trade directory of 1825 lists the Preston family living at Fir Grove with a newspaper article listing donations to the Blue Coat Hospital School in 1826. Jeanette (Janet) Wilkinson had married the merchant Robert Preston on the 4th of May 1788 at St James' Church with Robert dying on the 19th of November, 1833, who was succeeded by his grandson, Robert Berthon Preston. At the time of his death his estate was reported to be worth £500,000 which was left to his 2 married daughters and grandchildren. The 1841 census lists the occupants of Fir Grove House as Jeanette Preston aged 80, Thomas Wilkinson aged 75, Mary Wilkinson aged 50, Jane Wilkinson aged 45 and female servants Grace Pegram, Sarah Hewitt and Alice Brome. Jeanette lived at Fir Grove House until her death at 90 years old on the 10thof July 1847.
By 1851 another Merchant is living at Fir Grove, James Williams of Chester with his wife Maria (nee Whitley) and their one year old son James who was born at Fir Grove House. After James Williams died in November 1876, Maria moved with the family to Hamilton Square, Birkenhead. When the William’s left Fir Grove House, John Haimes and his family, eleven children and two servants, who had been living at the nearby Fir Grove Farm moved into the house. By 1890 an advertisement in the Liverpool Mercury indicates that the Fir Grove Estate is being broken up. Part of the land is to be 'Let by Tender' by the West Derby land Truste, a charitable trust that continues today to provide financial support within the ancient of West Derby. The 1891 Census showed there was a new family living in the Fir Grove House, called the Rowlands who had Plant / Flower Nurseries on Green Lane. Half the family remained at the family home and nursery business at 28 Green Lane, while mainly the older brothers and sisters moved to Fir Grove House. Like many of the previous female residents of Fir Grove House, the daughters did not marry or have occupations and remained living with their unmarried brothers. As each one of them died they left their estate to one of their siblings. Septimus was the last siblings to die in 1961 at that time he was living in Westminster House in Kirkdale, Liverpool which was a local authority Old Peoples Home.
In 1895 an advert is placed in the local newspapers that following the death of James E Reynolds of Oak Vale Sandfield Park that both Oak Vale and the Fir Grove Estate are to be sold. The 1901 census lists both the Thwaites and Todd families living at Fir Grove House. Jeffrey Thwaite, a farmer from Yorkshire, moved to Liverpool around 1880 but sadly his wife Dorothy died in 1882 and in 1894 Jeffrey’s daughter Elizabeth also died. It was after this we find Jeffrey moving to Fir Grove with the 1901 census for Fir Grove listing a new wife for Jeffrey, Mary Ann Thwaites (nee Burton). Also living in Fir Grove at the same time was Andrew Todd who was born in Calcutta, India and his wife Elizabeth born in Middlesex. Andrew was a Minister and School Master from Highfield Road School but they didn't stay long as by 1911 the Londinis family had moved into Fir Grove boarding with the Thwaites. Eugenio Londini was a barrister in Italy before moving to Chicago in 1866 to teach Latin and Italian. He then moved to Liverpool as a mercantile correspondent before he took up the position of librarian of the Athenaeum on Church Street. He eventually became registrar, librarian and lecturer in Italian at the newly formed Liverpool University College. Eugenio died in 1913 and the Thwaites left Fir Grove around the same time. Laura Londini was the only child of Eugenio and his wife Mary, with her three children by her first marriage to Radolphi Gaillard all sadly dying young, and not having any children with her second husband Alfred, moved to Buxton.
On the 3rd of February 1914 Fir Grove House is advertised as ‘To Let’ with three entertaining rooms, seven bedrooms and all modern conveniences. It is believed that Fir Grove was used by the USA Army during WWI as it was close to the USA military camp on Springfield Park. In the early 1920s Fir Grove House was demolished to make way for the building of Queens Drive, situated on the site currently occupied by the Fire Station on Queens Drive, Stoneycroft. Until the mid-1920s Black Horse Lane extended along the stretch of what is now Queens Drive to meet Derby Lane. Alongside Fir Grove House on what is now the playing field of Corinthian School was Blackhorse Quarry.
see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2022/12/historic-liverpool-dwellings-springwood.html
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