Streets of fine Georgian houses are a legacy of Liverpool’s former wealth
The Georgian Quarter in Liverpool boasts one of the largest collections of terraced Georgian town houses outside of London. Taking in streets such as Rodney Street, Catherine Street and Falkner Street in the city centre, and Percy Street in Toxteth, it has become a hotspot for television companies filming everything from Hollywood blockbusters to TV dramas against the backdrop of the buildings, while restaurants and cafes are blossoming in the area. The result is a concentration of Georgian houses that makes Liverpool the second most popular urban film location in Britain after London.
Reflecting Liverpool’s rich past – a fifth of the world’s shipping once passed through its port – these houses boast superb proportions and a wealth of decorative features, from cast-iron balconies, doorways and internal shutters, to friezes and panelling. While the heritage of other big cities was suffering wholesale destruction, Liverpool’s commercial decline – its population was halved in a century – may have saved its best buildings. Although many Georgian houses were razed from the 1960s right up to the 1980s, there was simply no money to demolish the rest. Let’s not forget the picturesque cathedrals, combined by a street called Hope.
A local photographer, Simon James, has took to the streets with his camera to try and capture the beauty of the area. The cherry blossoms, the housing and more. Here is a collection of our favourites. Follow him on Instagram here.
