| The
early 19th century was a time of rapid growth for
Liverpool. The newly developed steam engine was powering an industrial
revolution across northern England, and in 1830 the world's first
passenger railway was opened between Liverpool and Manchester. New and
bigger docks were under construction. Trade boomed between Britain and all
corners of the world, and the population tripled between 1831 and 1891.
While many of Liverpool's new citizens lived in overcrowded, sometimes
squalid conditions, the nouveau riche
could afford more luxurious surroundings. In 1800, the Corporation
Surveyor John Foster Senior had drawn up plans for an area known as
Mosslake Fields. Situated on top of St James's Mount away from the grime
of the city centre, the area offered an opportunity to live in spacious
comfort. Over the next 100 years a succession of developers built a large
number of imposing and elegant town houses, mostly in the Georgian style. |
