Historic Liverpool Dwellings - Abercromby Square

The redevelopment of Mosslake Fields, a stretch of boggy ground to the east of the city, was first planned in 1800. The Senior Surveyor to the Corporation of Liverpool, John Foster senior drew up the original plan but building work did not begin until 1819. The full enclosure of the square was completed in 1831 near St Catherine's church, consecrated on the 14th of January 1831 and situated on the east side of the square by his son John Foster Junior. This church was bomb damaged in World War 2 and demolished for the Senate House building. Pevsner credits the pavilion in the centre of the square to John Foster senior, the design concealing a shed for the storage of gardening tools. Despite the fact this beautiful space was surrounded by a workhouse, almshouses, a lunatic asylum, a female penitentiary, brothels of Myrtle Street and other delights within spitting distance, for a time it became the most desirable place to live in the city. It was ideal for the wealthy merchants of Liverpool and is named after Sir Ralph Abercromby, the intrepid general who was killed in Alexandria in 1801 after his brilliant landing of the British forces at Aboukir. The Square was sufficiently high to command a fine view over the river and the Cheshire bank to the rising hills of Wales beyond.The rich merchants quickly occupied the houses, and those who lived here, unsurprisingly as they formed the nucleus of the 'powers behind the throne' of Liverpool Corporation, made significant contributions to the development of the city, and to industry, engineering and medicine. Early inhabitants included several of the Liverpool dynasties, the Earle family, three branches of the Gladstones, the Littledales, and three of the prime movers in the creation of the Liverpool Manchester Railway, the company treasurer and solicitor, as well as members of the board. The mid 1800s saw the movers of money and shipping, with the 'merchant princes' of the Ripley and Doering families, the finances of the Langtons and Mozleys, and future shipping line owners like the McIvers moving in. The family of the future Prime Minister William Gladstone were influential residents owning several properties in the neighborhood, and after relocating to their various estates in the 1850s, the family retained close connections to some of their former neighbors in the Square. The elite occupants of the Square were particularly active in economic, military, and political activities surrounding the U.S. Civil War. An overview of the history of this neighborhood and its residents provides insights into how it became a base for Confederate support in Great Britain. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the port city of Liverpool was expanding at a phenomenal rate. This growth was primarily due to the ever-increasing quantities of American cotton required to supply new mills in manufacturing strongholds throughout Lancashire, and in particular in the city of Manchester. In the process, the ranks of wealthy Liverpool merchants were growing, and being placed between the new Wellington Assembly Rooms and the prestigious Botanic Garden, the Square became home to these wealthy elite.

The School of Architecture extension and the earlier terrace to which it was attached, were constructed with the proceeds of colonial trade, funded also by Viscount Leverhulme, whose family money came from the firm Lever Brothers and was completed in 1933 to designs by Charles Reilly, Lionel Budden, and James Ernest Marshall. Only the wealthiest could afford a home in this neighborhood, which inevitably meant that the majority of Abercromby's merchant residents were connected with trans-Atlantic commerce. In particular, many merchants who lived in the Square promoted trade with the U.S. South, and became central figures in the 'Southern Club' for Liverpool businessmen. As a result, there was a great deal of Confederate support in here with the unofficial White House of the former Confederacy based at 19 Abercromby Square. It was originally commissioned in 1862 by American cotton merchant Charles Prioleau as his Liverpool residence. The business interests of the occupants ranged from law firms, merchants, cotton brokers, and insurance agents, to customs officers, bankers, and shipowners. Nearly all of them found opportunities for profit both during and after the Civil War. Still, Confederate sympathies did not exclude business dealings with the North and many Liverpool businesses traded with both sides. 

 

c1831

 

The massive role the Square played in supporting the Conferedate South, was not just with the banker Charles Kuhn Prioleau, but the also the activist James Spence and several other 'behind the scenes' movers. Four extra houses were built in this decade, completing the construction of the houses, along with two extensions moving the front doors of 18a and 27 to face the gardens ( and officially change their addresses from Bedford Street South and Chatham Street to the more prestigious 'Abercromby Square'). The remaining decades of the Nineteenth century saw what some have described as a decline in the fortunes of the Square. While it is true it was no longer the breeding ground of politicians, merchant princes and railway pioneers, a new breed of wealth moved into the Square. We now see people like the Borough Engineer James Newlands, Fawcett's managing director Alfred Chapman, Sir Edward Russell of the Daily Post and Echo, and numerous surgeons and tradesmen of note, plus the creation of the Bishop's Palace, and occupancy by two successive Bishops, Ryle and Chavasse. By the turn of the century, we also see the emergence of the new 'redbrick' Liverpool University, and an increasing number of distinguished academics living here, even before the properties became the property of the University and began their journey of conversion to education. The period 1890-1930 saw probably the most significant changes to the fabric of the houses, internally at least, as they began to be joined together. 

 

see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2023/02/historic-liverpool-dwellings-stanlawe.html