1914 The Lost Shops of Sefton Road
I spotted an original photo postcard of old Litherland with an interesting story to tell. The photo seemed to be a colour painting over a photograph. The underlying photo was taken looking down Sefton Road towards where the shops are now. Looking closer in the distance there was a block of shops on the left-hand […]
LH986 VIEW OF LITHERLAND
This is an aerial picture of Litherland, taken 1947
St. Wilfrid’s School Trip to Knowsley
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1972 Our Day Out
Knowsley Safari Park School Trip 1972 – One of the great things about school was the chance to get outside the fence and go on a school trip. It wasn’t always cool, like the 1971 trip to London where Mr. Stevens kept us single file, no talking all the way (and back). This one was better, […]
1880 Forrest’s Carpenters
FORREST’S CARPENTERS, SEFTON ROAD, 1880s-1Between 1880 (approx) and 1906 there was a Carpenter’s workshop in Sefton Street, between where the barber and The Pantry is now. My Mum-in-Law’s maiden name was Forrest, and one of her family stories was about her great Grandad’s carpenter’s shop in Litherland.That was all the information there was to go […]
1910 St. Philip’s in the Snow
This picture was taken before the church got its clock, part of a sleepy village community. A lovely tranquil scene. What have they let happen along this road? The church, the schools and the people are all suffering now and still no one is doing anything about it . The date of 1910 is an estimate only […]
2022 Our Stella’s Tribute
A brief tribute to my cousin – Stella McGrath (1956-2022) was recently saddened to hear of the death of my Litherland cousin Stella McGrath. Its particularly bitter because our respective illness kept us apart near the end – so it was a shock to hear of her passing. Our golden years were as kids, when Stel […]
1979 When the Canal Froze
At new year 1979, Litherland was in the grip of a big freeze. It was so cold for so long it froze over the canal at the back of us in 53 Brunel Drive.Nowadays I don’t know how we coped when I think of the simple two-bar elecy fires we had to heat the whole […]
1960 Hatton Hill
These few pics survived only in negatives I found in a clear-out. They are of little Ed (aged two) with friends, relatives and a dog. Some places in the pics are still there today as described in the captions of the photos. Young Ed in tartan trews on the Witches Hat, Hatton Hill Park, c.1960. […]
1969 A Walk Around Litherland Park
The first houses in Litherland Park (Nos 4,5 and 6 according to an 1851 map were built in 1849) – the same years as St. George’s Hall and the Bank of England were being built in Liverpool. The higgledy-piggledy numbering of houses comes from them being added sporadically and named, but later numbered with in-fill […]
1972 Snowy Field Lane
FIELD LANE, 1972 These pictures were taken on a short walk along Field Lane in the snow of early 1972. More descriptions are under each pic. First one (above) is Owens Peck & Company Ltd Woodyard, Field Lane. The old building to left-of-centre is still there, itself being part of a Victorian mansion. A wider angle shot […]
0878: Litherland’s History Begins
In the years 876-878 the Vikings began to dominate the Kingdom of Mercia (see pic) and “parcelling up” of the lands had completed – so 878 is probably the year when the town’s name came into existence. The spelling then was Liderlant, meaning “sloping land” This was in Old Norse, the dominant language brought by Vikings […]
2022 Summer with Marina
Every Grandad knows there is a place called heaven where a little girl plays, serving up eggs and buttons, rock tea, and biscuits for the grass. It is forever sunny and happiness rules all day long. Its a place where everything is an adventure but is safe from harm. In this place water drips from […]
2020 Albert Haworth RIP
4 April, 2020 – With heavy heart I’m letting everyone know that my good friend Albert Haworth sadly died earlier today in Aintree Hospital. Albert was a founder member of the Litherland History Society, which I joined when we returned to Litherland after 29 years in 2016. That is where I met him. Albert’s […]
1991 Freddie Mercury
On 24 November 1991, Freddie Mercury died. I heard the news at East Midlands Airport, about to fly on the early morning plane to a science conference in Paris. I’d been here before, the day John Lennon died – a sense you had lost someone close, and feeling hollow. When I got to the hotel […]
1978 Mum and Dad Going to Work
29 May 1978, 53 Brunel Drive, Litherland I’d normally not catch them but I’d been up all night studying. When I used to hear the gate latch go I knew it was time to get up. Neither missed a day of work off sick in their lifetimes. Pointing my camera down from my bedroom at […]
1972 Tar Works Fire
On 31st August 1972 the Litherland Tar Works (Lanstar, Lancashire Tar Distillers) went on fire. Those who remember that night will never forget it – the area (where Tesco now stands) went up in a conflagration with huge explosions and massive billowing smoke. See captions below for commentary. The photos I took that night aged 14 […]
1971 Dad Puts a Bet On
“Dad Puts a Bet On” shows a trip in Dad’s Ford Anglia from Hatton Hill Road to Harris Drive in December 1971. Look out for Allinsons Theatre Club, Hawthorne Road, the Tar Distillers, The White House Inn, The Litherland Lift Bridge, Sefton Street, The Council Offices, Field Lane…
1971 Summer in Hatton Hill
… or 50+ year-old negatives brought back from the brink. These pics are from my first roll of 35mm colour film. I thought they were lost forever but during a sort out I came across them in an envelope marked “for repair”. The story goes that my dad bought me a £2 saleroom camera (see […]
1971 Litherland Panorama
A TWELVE-SECOND MOVIE PANORAMA FROM LITHERLAND, 51 YEARS AGO Below is a 12-second clip filmed from the open window of our prefab at 5 Hatton Hill Road in 1971. It unwittingly captured things that have changed, have gone and remain the same over the last half-century. Playing the movie itself doesn’t reveal much, it’s over in […]
1971 The Gala
Who can remember the old Litherland Galas (also known as “The Carnival”)? This video is an old silent 8mm film I did when I was 13 – but recently added sound effects and a bit of music sounding just how I remember it. Were you in the parade here? – I only found out 45 […]
1971 Cine Gear
For those interested, the 8mm cine kit I used to film the movies on this site (mainly 1971-1973) are shown below. For the initial filming, I used a Chinon Colt 70 (shown below, left). This camera took 50m cine film cassettes from Kodak (inset panel, bottom left). After filming, I would place the exposed cassettes […]
1969 Seymour Road
Photocopy of Bridge Road shops opposite the Seymour Road entrance, probably around 1969. I found it in Crosby Library last Monday looking for something else. It shows David Alexander, Loss Assessors, and Fairbuy Discount, where you could still get 20 fags for 3 pence.
1969 Humpty Dumpty
LITHERLAND CARNIVAL c.1969. This is an unusual float from the carnival that year (taken when I was coming up to aged 11 with a little Kodak “Box Brownie”). Humpty Dumpty is asking us to KEEP STAIRS WELL LIT! Trips on the stairs being quite risky for big egg people and humans too. This is from the […]
1968 The Pill
Following the Litherland Gala there was a funfair with stalls at Moss Lane and you could win little trinkets, or even goldfish if you tried hard. I remember about 1968 (when I was 10) my Dad used to say to me after his work “go and get the pill, Ed” and he meant “go and […]
1926 Remembering my Dad
Ted Conley (1926-1991) This Father’s Day I approach the age my old dad died in 1991. This is a little tribute to a very clever, “warmly scouse” man who worked hard all his life and loved his family. Happy Father’s Day, Dad. Although written for Fathers Day, 2022 this post is listed remembering his life […]