Liverpool’s Stuart-era architecture: A lasting legacy

The nation burns effigies and colours the sky with fireworks every 5 November to mark the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot, an infamous act of Stuart-era treason. Annual explosions in the heavens aren’t the only reminder of this historical period in Liverpool, as several buildings erected during this age of religious, economic and political upheaval still stand.

As another Bonfire Night approaches, Your Move spotlights Liverpool’s historic Stuart architecture and takes a look at the role the Stuarts played in shaping the city.

Words by Mark Langshaw

Stuart England was moulded in the fires of civil war, gunpowder treason and glorious revolution, and bricks and mortar mementos from this volatile period can be found dotted around Liverpool.

The oldest of these buildings is the unique residential property Tue Brook House on West Derby Road, a Grade II-listed farmhouse which dates back to 1615.

Thought to have once been occupied by yeoman farmer John Mercer and later a local wheelwright, this age-old structure was under the ownership of Liverpool City Council until recently and was considered one of the most unusual council houses in the country.

Parts of the former farmhouse contain sections of its original ‘wattle and daub’ construction – a 6,000-year-old building technique combining timber framework with earth, animal dung and straw – which can be glimpsed through glass panels.

There’s even a priest hole built into the chimney breast as an eternal reminder of the religious persecution which was rife in Stuart Britain.

Although Tue Brook House and its historic significance often goes unnoticed by the countless motorists who pass along West Derby Road each day, the Stuart era’s lingering presence in Liverpool city centre is more prominent.

Determined to outdo their Tudor predecessors, Stuart architects had a penchant for the elaborate, and this trend is illustrated by the magnificent Bluecoat, the city centre’s oldest building.

Built in 1717 as a charity school, this Grade I-listed landmark is a fine example of baroque Queen Anne style design, following in the tradition of legendary English architect Sir Christopher Wren.

With its striking façade, classical columns and ornate ox eye windows, it’s easy to see why the Bluecoat has influenced the form of other structures in the city centre and kept Stuart design principals alive in modern day Liverpool.

“This architectural style permeates and persists. across liverpool you will see classical columns, ox eye windows, arches and keystones.”

“The high regard for the architecture of the Bluecoat is not a recent fad – in the late 1700s local landowners supported the extension and restoration of the building with the specific intention of preserving its much-loved façade,” explains Gavin Davenport, project manager on My Bluecoat, a heritage initiative which aims to digitise all of the building’s records.

“The European and classical revival influences that inform the design of the Bluecoat are part of a broader enlightenment trend which are embedded in the architecture of the Georgian town.

“This architectural style permeates and persists in Liverpool where other cities gravitate towards the 19th Century Gothic revival. Across Liverpool you will see classical columns, ox eye windows, arches and keystones which echo those of the Bluecoat.”

The Bluecoat, which has endured despite several proposed demolitions and incendiary bomb damage during World War II, has served as an esteemed arts venue since the Sandon Studios Society moved into the building in 1927.

Whilst gearing up for its 300th anniversary – which will be marked with a 300-day programme of special exhibitions throughout 2017 – heritage researchers uncovered evidence suggesting mason Edward Litherland and engineer Thomas Steers were the original masterminds behind the Bluecoat, solving a long-running mystery surrounding its construction.

South of the city centre in an affluent suburb stands another grandiose manor from the Stuart period – Woolton Hall, a Palladian villa built by influential architect Robert Adam in 1704.

Constructed from red sandstone sourced from a local quarry, Woolton Hall is regarded as one of Adam’s greatest undertakings and has played host to a number of famous residents during its 300-year history, including the Earl of Sefton and Liverpool shipowner Frederick Richards Leyland.

The manor was extensively renovated in 1772 and went through a number of uses throughout the 20th Century before being abandoned. The bulldozers loomed, but a campaign by local activists to save the building was successful and it now holds a Grade I listing.

 

 

These days, Woolton Hall is listed for sale as a development opportunity following a stint as a wedding venue and may yet become residential again, as the property is said to have attracted interest for private housing, older persons’ accommodation and boutique hotel use.

Less than four miles away on Park Road in Dingle, another sandstone memento from the Stuart age serves as a reminder of the religious strife which raged throughout the era.

The ancient Chapel of Toxteth was founded in 1618 as a religious school by a group of Puritans who sought freedom in their worship, serving what was then an isolated rural community.

This slate-roofed place of worship, which now holds Grade I-listed status, was partially rebuilt in 1774 at a time when the majority of its congregation were Unitarian. To this day, it continues to operate as a Unitarian chapel with services held every fortnight.

Although only a handful of Stuart-era constructions remain in modern day Liverpool, the Stuarts may have had more influence in shaping the city than meets the eye, as booms in the coal and salt industries helped Merseyside grow exponentially, with taller buildings springing up.

“One thing you come across frequently in records from the 17th and 18th centuries is how quickly Liverpool sprung up after the Civil War because of the growth in coal and salt,” says Dr Simon Hill, lecturer in history at Liverpool John Moores University.

“This led to more people migrating into the town to find work and as a result more buildings were erected and the area became more densely populated.”

Furthermore, it was at the end of the Stuart period in 1709 that work began on the Old Dock, a landmark development which helped Liverpool expand from riverside town to trade superpower.

“The construction of Liverpool’s Old Dock also began in 1709 at the tail end of the Stuart period and that really stimulated the development of the town,” Simon adds. “If you’ve got all these ships coming into the docks you need to provide warehouses and docking facilities, and that has an impact on the landscape of the town – it becomes more nautical in nature.”

The rest, as they say, is history.

> Related story: New research solves mystery of who built Liverpool Bluecoat