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Toxteth is an inner-city area of Liverpool in the county of Merseyside. Toxteth is located to the south of Liverpool city centre, bordered by Aigburth, Canning, Dingle, and Edge Hill. The area was originally part of a royal park and known as Toxteth Park.
- In This Article
- The Landscape of Toxteth Park
- The Prehistoric and Roman Eras
- The Medieval Period
- Early Modern Toxteth
- Residential Expansion
- 19th Century Growth and Expansion
- 20th Century Slum Clearance
The landscape of Toxteth is undulating, rising to a peak at the north east, and there are three miles of waterfront. Toxteth lies to the south of Liverpool city centre, and before the Pool was filled in for the Old Dock travellers had to cross the Townsend Bridge, across the Moss Lake Brook, and past the Fall Well to get to the Park. The flat areas...
Prehistory
As with the majority of Merseyside, very little is known of the Toxteth area before the Medieval period. The Calder Stones are the oldest relics of human activity, and once formed a Neolithic burial mound in the vicinity of Calderstones Park, in the nearby township of Allerton. Another possible prehistoric monument is the Robin Hood Stone. Although its mythical connections are clear, this may be a standing stone, possibly existing in isolation or once part of the prehistoric landscape also oc...
The Roman Occupation
The remains of a Roman road were uncovered in the 19th century near St Mary’s in Grassendale, with the route also picked up close to the river in Otterspool some time later. However, very little Roman activity is known from the area west of the road running from Chester up through Warrington and towards Carlisle. The discovery of a small number of Romancoinsattests to contact between Roman and local people, but more than that we cannot say. Back to top
The Early Medieval Period
By the time of the 10th Century AD, the township of Toxteth was divided into two manors, owned by the Saxon thegnes Bernulf and Stainulf. Toxteth was recorded in Domesday as just one of a handful of coastal settlements on the banks of the Mersey, along with the manor of Smithdown (Smeedon) inland, and Garston (Gerstun) to the south. The area was part of the Hundred of West Derby, given to Roger of Poictou by William the Conqueror for his loyalty in the invasion of 1066. King John, increasing...
The Later Medieval Period
By the 14th century the park was fenced around as a Royal Park. The Park had two lodges – Upper and Lower – the first of which sat at what is now the junction between Sefton Park Road and Ullet Road (the entrance to Sefton Park). The Lower Lodge may have survived, in small pieces, near Jericho Farm, Fulwood Park, into the 20th century, and may have stood on the site of Otterspool Station. The main entrance way to the park from the north, and Liverpool, was Park Road. The land remained as a Ro...
The End of the Park and the Rise of Agriculture
At the end of the 16th century, actions were taken with the aim of dis-parkingToxteth. This would have allowed the locals to graze their animals on the land, a practise which already took place to some extent. Eventually, in 1604, Toxteth was indeed disparked by James I, although the bounding wall was still in existence as late as 1671. The disparking began the first major change in the landscape since the hunting forest was created in the 14th century. The conversion to arable and pasture la...
The Rise of Industry
Small scale industry was also a growing feature by the 17th Century. Mather’s Damwas originally the site of a water mill on the east side of Warwick Street. This reservoir formed from a stream at the top of Upper Warwick Street, which ran across the road and down the slope to the River Mersey. The whole area here was laid out for houses once the stream ran dry in the 18th century, although the water remained standing for some years afterwards. The land between Warwick Street and Northill Stre...
New Liverpool
In 1771 the farm of Thomas Turner was laid out for streets by the Earl of Sefton, and an Act of Parliament was obtained by the Earl for the granting out of building leases. This made it possible for a Liverpool-born builder, Cuthbert Bisbrown, who lived in Paradise Street to plan ‘New Liverpool’, a town to be built on Sefton’s lands to the south of the city. This ambitious scheme was in competition with the cities of Bath and Edinburgh, which were both creating impressive Georgian landscapes...
New Roads and More Terraces
What Picton termed “pioneer cottages” had been built on the west side of Park Road by 1803; otherwise the area had consisted of green fields and stone walls. Larger Georgian and Victorian houses were built along Princes Road, Princes Avenue (the Boulevard) and the Georgian Quarter in Canning over the coming decades. As William Leece mentions in a comment on this site: “the expansion of the city to the south of Upper Parliament Street and east of Mill Street seems to have paused for for severa...
Population increase and Migration
During the 1840s dense housing communities expanded at an incredible rate. Back-to-back terraces accounted for 65-70% of the total housing in Liverpool in the 1840s. The population never increased by less than 60% in each census between 1801 and 1851: in 1844 Irish migrants arrived in great numbers, fleeing the Potato Famine, and the building of the Greek Church on the corner of Princes Road in 1870 attested to the growing importance of the Greek community in Liverpool.
Toxteth Becomes Part of Liverpool
This massive growth in Toxteth was by no means an unusual trend. Liverpool itself was expanding as a city, and the municipal boundary took in the northern portion of the Park in 1835, along with Kirkdale, Everton and parts of West Derby. In 1895 the remaining portion became part of the city. All in all the landscape of Toxteth’s slums reflected that of any maritime town of this time concerned with commerce. Former industrial areas were soon also given over to residential areas. Between 1849 a...
Toxteth continued to grow rapidly in the middle of the nineteenth century. Princes Road was laid out around 1846, soon after Princes Park, with Croxteth Road at around the same time. Green Heys Road was constructed in 1850, Grove Park commenced as a cul-de-sac in 1852, and Bentley Road appeared in 1862. Snowdon, Danube and Avon Street had appeared ...
The rapid expansion of Liverpool took its toll on the urban landscape. In 1955 the Medical Officer of Health estimated that there were 88,000 unfit dwellings in the city (45% of the total housing stock). Ten years later little had been done to tackle the problem, and the number was still 78,000. 33,000 of these houses were in Toxteth, Abercromby an...
Nestled in the heart of Lancashire, this picturesque village offers a serene escape from the hustle and bustle of city life. From delightful local shops and cozy cafes to scenic trails and cultural attractions, Toxteth has something to captivate every visitor. Plan your visit and uncover the enchantment that awaits you in Toxteth.
Jan 2, 2024 · Nestled in the heart of Liverpool, Toxteth holds a tapestry of stories, rich culture, and a vibrant community spirit that’s as resilient as it is welcoming. It’s a place where history and modernity collide, creating a unique urban experience that’s hard to forget.
Jul 7, 2011 · Toxteth – redressing the balance. July 2011 marked 30 years since the violence in Toxteth which would hang a cloud over the suburb of Liverpool for decades, at least in the eyes of the public at large.
Mar 11, 2012 · Discover The Ancient Chapel of Toxteth in Toxteth, England: 17th century puritan church with connections to the Salem Witch Trials.
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Jan 4, 2024 · Toxteth has experienced mixed fortunes over the years, but L8 is on the rise. Statistically one of Liverpool’s most up-and-coming neighbourhoods, it has been name-checked in the Sunday Times Best Places to Live in the UK 2023 guide.
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