Very rarely do I ever get to report on a good news story when it comes to the locations I visit, so this one felt like a nice change of the norm for me upon writing. The Victorian Grade II Listed Eldon Grove Tenenments - still standing as the last remaining original style tenement building in liverpool. Now recognised as an important part of city's architectural heritage, it was constructed as part of a labourers village in 1912, and for generations they served one of the most vibrant communities of old Liverpool. In more recent years the buildings were last used as student accommodation before several arson attacks left the building damaged beyond immediate repair. German bombs flattened most of the surrounding area during the war (including the building that the black and white image was taken from in the first comparison image - hence the different perspectives!). Despite being within a short walking distance from the city centre, the communal park area outside the tenements meant that the grounds were a place for all ages to congregate in large numbers to form social gatherings for music, games and most notably football. The balconies and fences meant that Eldon Grove was the ideal place for people to spectate a local game between amateur teams, with even legendary Liverpool FC Manager Bill Shankly once pictured watching a game of street football at one of the Eldon Grove Flats. In the era when Liverpool boasted a world-leading economy thanks to its docking industry, the Vauxhall area was perhaps most famous for having the Scotland Road running through it. This historic stagecoach highway took travellers to and from Scotland, providing a key trade route between the north and south of the UK. The transient nature of the place attracted the wide variety of immigrants to the area. Scottish, Irish and Italian migrants all began to call it home. Over time this ever-growing population created a significant need for more housing. This led to the growth of slums in the area. Determined to improve the lives of their poorer residents, Liverpool city council set out to change this. After its completion, Eldon Grove became the social hub for the area, as it was a place which brought the style of grand people into the lives of Liverpool's poor working class. They could lean over the elegant balconies in their flat caps and shawls and admire the dark timbers stretching along the white paint. In the not so distant horizon, the hooters on the docks on the Mersey sounded and the cranes groaned throughout day and night. If you listened carefully, you could hear the flush of water inside. Although families had to share bathroom facilities, they were within the confines of the building itself, and at a time when most inner-city dwellings were yet to have indoor plumbing, this was considered a great luxury. In fact, Eldon Grove was deemed to be amongst the best pre-war social housing in the country, setting a new standard for fashionable, affordable city housing. On my visit I met and was able to photograph an elderly couple (pictured) who grew up on the estate and have lived in a small two bedroom terrace overlooking the derelict site since they married and witnessed the decline ever since it closed down in the early 90's. They invited me into their home and both spoke with great admiration for Eldon Grove and what it stood for, and even got out their personal photographs to show me what it used to look like in its hey-dey. They tell me that to see it find a new lease of life and hear the noise of children playing here and families living their lives once more is nothing short of a dream come true for them. One year on from visiting the amazing Eldon Grove tenements in Liverpool and having the pleasure of speaking to the residents surrounding the flats who have witnessed for decades the weather and vandalism take its toll on the grade II listed building and the effect that it’s had on the surrounding area, I am so happy to see the new plans for restoration have officially now started on site. Upon taking these photographs the plans had not yet been announced and the buildings were reaching a critical point of dereliction, so I was very doubtful that Eldon Grove had any kind of future to look forward to. News like this is few and far between these days and for such a fantastic building to find new life is brilliant for the city and entire L3 area. Throughout the album, a number of archive images from documented life at Eldon Grove including brilliant photos from Bill Shankly’s visit to the tenements can be found, alongside images of the redesigned and repurposed rooms that are now appearing as part of the restoration. For more info visit: www.aspenwoolf.co.uk/redeve...
