Toxteth
Toxteth is an inner-city area of Liverpool in the county of Merseyside.
Toxteth is located to the south of Liverpool city centre, bordered by Aigburth, Canning, Dingle, and Edge Hill.
The area was originally part of a royal park and known as Toxteth Park. It remained predominantly rural up until the 18th century. Toxteth was then developed during this time and into the 19th century, mainly as a residential area to accommodate the increasing working-class community centred on Liverpool following the Industrial Revolution. The Welsh Streets in Toxteth were constructed in the mid-19th century to accommodate this demand. Immigration continued into the second half of the 20th century, resulting in a significant number of ethnic minority communities in the area.
Toxteth was badly hit by economic stagnation and unemployment by the late 1970s, culminating in riots in July 1981. Although attempts have been made to regenerate the area and improve living standards, significant problems with unemployment and crime remain into the 21st century. Many Georgian and Victorian buildings in the area have since been demolished, as well as some of the more recent council houses and flats which fell into disrepair and became difficult to let to new tenants.
Description
The district lies within the borders of the ancient township of Toxteth Park. Industry and commerce are confined to the docks on its western border and a few streets running off Parliament Street. Toxteth is primarily residential, with a mixture of old terraced housing, post-World War II social housing and a legacy of large Victorian houses.In the 18th and 19th centuries, as Liverpool expanded the ancient park of Toxteth was gradually urbanised. Large Georgian houses were built in the Canning area, followed in the Victorian era by more grand houses, especially along the tree-lined Prince's Road/Avenue boulevard and around Prince's Park. The district quickly became home to the wealthy merchants of Liverpool, alongside a much larger poor population in modest Victorian terraces. Now, some of these streets of terraces are boarded up, awaiting demolition.
Two of the city's largest parks, Sefton Park and Princes Park, are located in or around Toxteth. The earlier Princes Park was laid out by Richard Vaughan Yates around 1840, intending it to be used as open space, funded by the grand houses to be constructed around its edge, as would later happen with Sefton Park. Sefton Park was created by the Corporation of Liverpool in 1872, inspired partly by Birkenhead Park, across the River Mersey. Sefton Park has a large glass Palm House, which contains a statue of William Rathbone V unveiled in 1887, and originally had many other features including an aviary and an open-air theatre.
History
Toponymy
There is some ambiguity as to the origin of the name. One theory is that the etymology is "Toki's landing-place". However, Toxteth is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, and at this time, it appears as "Stochestede", i.e. "the stockaded or enclosed place", from the Anglo-Saxon stocc "stake" and Anglo-Saxon stede "place".The manor
Before the time of the Norman conquest, Toxteth was divided into two manors of equal size. One was owned by Bernulf and the other by Stainulf. After the conquest, part was granted by Count Roger of Poitou to the ancestor of the Earl of Sefton. From this time to about 1604, the land formed part of West Derby forest. The boundaries of the manor are described in the perambulation of 1228 as follows, "'Where Oskell's brook falls into the Mersey; up this brook to Haghou meadow, from this to Brummesho, following the syke to Brumlausie, and across by the old turbaries upon two meres as far as Lombethorn; from this point going down to the 'waterfall' of the head of Otter pool, and down this pool into the Mersey." In 1327, Toxteth was granted to Henry, Earl of Lancaster.Over the years, various leases and grants were made and the park was owned by Adam, son of William de Liverpool, in 1338. In 1385, William de Liverpool had licence "to take two cartloads of gorse weekly from the park for 12d. a year rent." In 1383 a grant was made to William Bolton and Robert Baxter, in 1394 the lease was resigned and handed over to Richard de Molyneux. The park finally came into the hands of Sir Thomas Stanley in 1447. The parkland descended within the Stanley family until 1596, when it was sold by William Stanley, Earl of Derby, to Edmund Smolte and Edward Aspinwall. In 1604, the Earl sold it to Richard Molyneux of Sefton at a cost of £1,100. The estate descended from this time until 1972 with the death of the 7th Earl.
Toxteth Park
The ancient township of Toxteth contains the village of Smeedon or Smithdown. It stretches over an area of three miles along the River Mersey and two miles inland, the highest point being on the corner of Smithdown Lane and Lodge Lane. A brook ran from the northern end of the area, near the boundary of Parliament Street, where it was used to power a water wheel before it ran into the river. Along the river are two creeks; the one near the middle is known as Knot's Hole, and another further south, called Dickinson's Dingle, received a brook which ran past the east end of St Michael's Church, Aigburth.At some time in history the creeks were filled in. The Dingle is now in the area where the old northern creek was situated, and St Michael's Hamlet is situated around the southern creek. Outside the southern boundary of the area lies the creek known as Otterspool, which formed the boundary between Wavertree and West Derby. The major road through the area was Park Lane, now Park Place and Park Road. The road ran from the Coffee House, which stood near Fairview Place, down towards the Dingle, and the "Ancient Chapel of Toxteth".
Toward the end of the 16th century, the royal park ceased to be and Puritan farmers from Bolton settled in the area. Setting up 25 farms on land outside Church of England control, which became Toxteth Village, these Dissenters worshipped at the "Ancient Chapel" on Park Road, now known as the Toxteth Unitarian Chapel. In 1611, they built a school at the Dingle, appointing Richard Mather as schoolmaster. Some years later, he began preaching to the local farmers in the chapel. Toxteth Town Hall, which as "Toxteth Park Public Offices" was the municipal centre of Toxteth Park, was completed in 1866.
In 1796, the Herculaneum Pottery was established on the site of an old copper works. The site later became Herculaneum Dock, which was filled in during the 1980s.
The Pavilion Theatre opened on Lodge Lane in 1908, and hosted a Beatles concert in 1962. It later became a bingo hall and then a supermarket.
Smithdown
Smithdown, referred to as Esmedune in the Domesday Book, and variously as Smededon, Smeddon, Smethesdune, Smethedon, Smethdon, Smethden, has been merged into Toxteth Park since the granting of the Liverpool Charter in 1207. The definite boundaries of Smithdown have never been fully recorded, but the name continued in use from 1207 until the 16th century, although it is thought to have reached from Lodge Lane to the eastern boundary of Toxteth Park. In 1066, Smithdown was held as a separate manor, by Ethelmund. During the reign of King John the Manor of Smithdown was taken from its owner, and the king gave him Thingwall instead.Second World War
During the Second World War, the Free French 13th Demi Brigade of the French Foreign Legion were stationed in Toxteth. On 30 August 1940, the Demi Brigade departed Liverpool for operations against Vichy forces that would include the abortive Battle of Dakar and the storming of Libreville.Places of worship
As the area began to develop and become more urbanised, several places of worship were built to serve the growing community. The first church was St James's, in 1774. Other churches built during the 19th century include St Patrick's, 1827; St John the Baptist's, 1832; St Thomas's, 1840; St Barnabas's, 1841; St Clement's Windsor, 1841; St Matthew's, 1847; St Paul's, 1848; Holy Trinity, 1858; St Silas's, 1865; St Cleopas's, 1866; St Margaret's, 1869; Christ Church, 1870; St Philemon's, 1874; Our Lady of Mount Carmel, 1878; All Saints', 1884; St Gabriel's, 1884; St Agnes's, 1884; St Bede's, 1886; and St Andrew's, 1893; the last was built to relocate the earlier St Andrew's church from Renshaw Street, when its site was taken for the expansion of Liverpool Lime Street station.In addition, the following may be considered landmarks: the Welsh Presbyterian Church, nicknamed "Toxteth Cathedral", 1868; the Ullet Road Unitarian Church, 1899, "one of the most elaborate Non-conformist ensembles in the country"; the Church of St. Agnes and St. Pancras, also in Ullet Road; the Church of St Clare on the corner of Arundel Avenue and York Avenue, and the Princes Road Synagogue, 1874, "impressively combining Gothic revival and Moorish revival architecture". The Al-Rahma Mosque on Hatherley Street opened in 2008.
Politics
Politically, Toxteth is within the parliamentary constituency of Liverpool Riverside. In the 2019 United Kingdom general election, Kim Johnson of the Labour Party, was elected the Member of Parliament. The council ward is Princes Park, and has three Labour councillors.Demographics
After the end of World War II, Toxteth became a popular destination for Commonwealth immigrants who arrived in Liverpool from the West Indies and the Indian subcontinent.Immigration to Toxteth has taken place from the 19th century with the arrival of African and Chinese sailors and thousands of Irish Catholic and Welsh migrants, to the present day, most recently from the Caribbean, Yemen and Somalia with relatively few from the Indian sub-continent. The area has a very large community of mixed ethnicity as a result.