From a drawing by Herdman in the Liverpool Free Public Library.
RANELAGH STREET is named on Chadwick's Map of 1725 the way "To Manchester.” The Pool used formerly to follow the course of about Paradise Street and Whitechapel, cutting off the district of Church Street at high tide; but when the Pool was bridged Church Street developed, and afterwards Ranelagh Street, the line of traffic being along Lime Street—then called Limekiln Lane—to and up London Road, presumably to avoid Shaw’s Brow, then very steep, but which formed the most direct line of access to London Road from the centre of the town. The picture represents the street in the year 1825, when it was a quiet and unpretending suburb of Liverpool, and is copied from a contemporary drawing by the Rev. Dr. Raffles.
The point of view is from Lime Street, looking towards Church Street, and the large house at the left corner w*a$ the residence of the Harveys. In the distance are seen the shops in Church Street, and beyond are the Cheshire hills, with the mill and signals on Bidston Hill. The street took its name from a famous hostelry, named the "White House” on Perry’s map of 1769; but a new and energetic proprietor laid out its large gardens attractively, changed the name to “Ranelagh House and Gardens,” and gave open air concerts and firework displays. The inn occupied the site of the present Adelphi Hotel.
Bibliography
Muir, Ramsay, et al. Bygone Liverpool. Liverpool: Young, 1913. Internet Archive online version of a copy in the University of Toronto Library. Web. 29 September 2022.
Last modified 3 October 2022