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 side that are no longer there – the following pics tell the story of those shops and the postcard.

This is the main postcard view - it shows just how narrow the original Sefton Road was before widening (see below). Look out for future pics of the houses along this route (which those entrances lead to).
Zooming into the postcard picture showed the Wilsons Lane entrance on the left and beyond that a building with a large advertising hoarding on it. The details are unclear, but the big word in the middle seems to be "BREAD" in a very fancy font. This was one end of of the "lost shops" - on the plot where the Hawthorne Court accommodation is now.
Another close-up of the left-hand side shows a narrow pavement that was significantly widened at some point (probably the 1920s-1930s?). Some may recognise the large stone wall - these look as though they were re-used in the rebuilding of a wall after widening. Note also the grand gas lamp-post (that were common throughout Litherland at the time) ...and the gate leading to a residence that was demolished for the road widening (more on that in a future post).
On the right-hand side of the postcard is a long stretch of wall (some of which still exists) complete with fleur-de-lys railings (likely to include the entrance to Beech House). This is about the same width of pavement that is there now. The fleur-de-lys railings were a common design around the Litherland Park area. However, they didn't survive the world wars due to requisitioning for armaments. Note also the lone figure walking towards the camera - since this was November 1914 you wonder how that person was affected by the forthcoming War.
Looking for pictures that reveal the scene in more detail, I came across a newspaper clipping with local children (closer to the "BREAD" sign on the side of the shops which is still visible but now faded). For the first time you can see there is quite an elaborate facade of four shops - however they were built very close to the road that was going to be widened. On the other side of the road you can glimpse the fashions of passers-by.
This picture (a photocopy from the late Albert Haworth) reverses the view and includes a set of familiar houses that are still there along with some stone pillars). This picture positions the "lost shops" best of all. if you look closer there are baskets left outside in the street, a number of hand carts and even someone up a ladder! The hat and dress fashions indicate this is late Victorian, but there is a "You May Telephone from Here" sign (on furthest shop) that dates it later than that.
This picture is from the same direction as the last one (from the other side looking back up to Wilsons Lane). Hand carters are to be seen (probably delivering out to local houses or fetching supplies as this was before the car). It was clearly a sunny day as the shadows are strong and most of the shop's awnings were out. You could imagine that spot getting quite a lot of passing trade.
For comparison, this scan of a photocopy from Albert moves back down the road towards The original Litherland Hotel (near where the main postcard pic was taken from). It is quite atmospheric and informative. On the left you can see what look like a bunch of delivery boys (one wearing an apron, another holding a tray and a third with a pet dog). On the right-hand side there are two gents pausing to look in a gated entrance, along with a group of young girls in their winter coats and scarves. You can see the road coated in frost hiding the usual horse manure which has started to appear again! This would have been a very quiet scene, apart from the clip-clop of horses hooves and peoples voices.
The original photo was from a Litherland postcard and it had a story to tell: The date on the reverse is 21 November 1914, and the writing says: 27 Inman Road, Litherland Dear Mrs. Hawkridge, I arrived safe & found my mother in a very bad condition, she did not know me when I arrived but now she is trying to make a fuss of me, dont expect me back before 10PM on Monday. Kind Regards Willie
Table of tradespeople at the time the photos were taken. The list merges Sefton Street (from Bridge Road to the current Roundabout) and Sefton Road, from the roundabout to further up the road.
Marked is No 27 Inman Road where the postcard was written in 1914... One can only imagine the writer's circumstances.
This is where the postcard was addressed to: Mrs. Hawkridge, 3 Dumfries Street, Barrow-in-Furness, Lancs. All-in-all a nice bit of Litherland history.

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