Liverpool: Then and Now

Directions Website Contact the organisation

Liverpool: Then and Now Documenting changes to the Liverpool City Region by retaking modern-day versions of older images My intention is only to document changes to the city.
(529)

Old photographs of Liverpool city centre and suburbs, retaken by Keith Jones in 2012-2023 and put next to each other in a variety of ways for people to look at and compare. I very rarely share my view as to whether a change is for the better or worse. My main focus is on the challenge of matching the original view as accurately as I am able and sharing the comparison clearly, rather than to make a judgement. When the original vantage point is no longer accessible, whether because of a new building or a parked vehicle, I try to present as close a match as the current setting allows. In my view, decay is inevitable, tastes change over time and in this real world practical compromises sometimes have to be made by homeowners and businesses. I'm also conscious that improvement or otherwise is very much in the eye of the beholder and feel it's possible to appreciate the fact that something better went before a current day view, even if it's no longer there. This does not apply to the vast majority but for a few it still needs saying. If for some reason you feel like saying 'that house looks horrible now' or something else negative about a specific house, please don't. I'm not here to share insults or offending comments about people's homes. Offensive comments of any kind will be deleted without discussion. I don't half find comments like 'That side of the road isn't # # area. Technically it's # # ' really tiresome. I put a lot of time into the page but I'm not actually trying to publish a reference book. Those pedants who know the precise border of each district of the city might quibble but if a street is, for example, 50 yards into Edge Hill rather than Kensington, or like many roads borders two areas it's not something that's important to me, or most people, I suspect. Usually everyone else either already knows or couldn't care less. There are very few pairs of streets in the city that share a name, so 'It is where it is'. All the comparisons on this page are my own efforts - it's my own personal page rather than a group page. The 'Then' photographs of Liverpool originate from a wide range of sources including internet searches, old postcards, Facebook local history projects or are sometimes sent to me by their owners so my thanks go to all for their help, but unless otherwise stated, the old photos likely originated from the Liverpol Records Office at Central Library. My understanding is that they hold the copyright to the old photos and, in any event, the images on this page are not to be used for commercial purposes. If in any doubt over use, please contact me through the page and I will do my best to answer - contacting LRO for clarification if necessary or original photographer in the rare event that I have that information. If anyone has any old photos they think might be interesting to 'redo', I can't promise anything but would be more than happy to have a go if it's possible

Church Road North, Wavertree, 1900s and 2026With The Coffee House pub on the right in both shots"Believed to be one of W...
17/10/2026

Church Road North, Wavertree, 1900s and 2026

With The Coffee House pub on the right in both shots

"Believed to be one of Wavertree's oldest surviving pubs, featuring a date-stone marked 1641 and records dating back to 1777. The distinct Victorian interior architecture was designed around 1900 by prominent local architect Walter Thomas."

Picton Clock Tower from Church Road North, Wavertree, 1897 and 2026Built in 1884, the clock tower is a memorial to the a...
17/10/2026

Picton Clock Tower from Church Road North, Wavertree, 1897 and 2026

Built in 1884, the clock tower is a memorial to the architect (Sir James Allanson Picton's) wife Sarah Pooley, who had died in 1879.

The Abbey Cinema, Childwall Road at Church Road North, Wavertree, 1939 and 2026With the newly opened cinema showing Ging...
17/10/2026

The Abbey Cinema, Childwall Road at Church Road North, Wavertree, 1939 and 2026

With the newly opened cinema showing Ginger Rogers' 1938 film 'Having Wonderful Time'. in the older one. It closed as a cinema in 1979, was later home to a bingo hall, snooker/pool club and supermarket but is now empty

https://www.chestercinemas.co.uk/abbey-cinerama-wavertree-liverpool/

Date opened: Saturday 4th March 1939.

Original owners: Regal Cinema Co. Ltd.

Sold to the local Bedford Cinema Group (John F. Wood family), in 1943.

Architect: Sir Arthur Ernest Shennan FRIBA (1887 – 1959).

Construction cost: £50000.

Seating Capacity: stalls~ 1126. circle: 744. Total: 1870.

First film to be screened: “Joy of Living” starring Irene Dunne and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.

Opened as a Cinerama Theatre: 17th March 1964.

Date Closed: Saturday 4th August 1979.

Final film shown: “The Towering Inferno” starring Paul Newman and Steve McQueen.

Grade II listed: 2021.

Building extant: Present owners: Lidl Stores.

The Lockup, Wavertree, 1905 and 2026'Wavertree's octagonal Lock-up was built of local yellow sandstone in 1796, at the e...
17/10/2026

The Lockup, Wavertree, 1905 and 2026

'Wavertree's octagonal Lock-up was built of local yellow sandstone in 1796, at the expense of the villagers. ... Originally the Lock-up had a flattish roof, and it was not unknown for friends of the prisoners to hide behind the parapet while knocking a hole in the roof! A small stove was installed to keep the prisoners warm, and they were supplied with food and water, but otherwise there were few home comforts.

It is said that cholera victims were dumped there to isolate them from the rest of the village; and in the 1840s the Lock-up served as temporary accommodation for destitute Irish families trekking out from Liverpool into the surrounding countryside.

By this time the Lock-up was no longer needed for its original purpose, as a proper Police Station had opened in the High Street (on the site of the present Wavertree Gardens flats). The building gradually fell into decay, until in 1868 its owners the Wavertree Local Board of Health contemplated demolition.'

Mike Chitty (Wavertree Society), 'Wavertree Lock-up', Mersey Times, BBC Website (http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/localhistory/mersey_times/issue_01/lock_up.shtml)

The Abbey Cinema and Childwall Road, Wavertree, 1981 and 2026
17/10/2026

The Abbey Cinema and Childwall Road, Wavertree, 1981 and 2026

High Street, Wavertree, 1986 and 2026
17/10/2026

High Street, Wavertree, 1986 and 2026

Picton Road, Wavertree, 1950s and 2026With the baths and library just out of shot on the right
17/10/2026

Picton Road, Wavertree, 1950s and 2026

With the baths and library just out of shot on the right

Picton Road, Wavertree, 1970s and 2026I'm sure I remember going here in the early 1990s when it was a club - Panama Jack...
17/10/2026

Picton Road, Wavertree, 1970s and 2026

I'm sure I remember going here in the early 1990s when it was a club - Panama Jack's?

Botanic Road, Edge Hill, 1910 and 2026
17/10/2026

Botanic Road, Edge Hill, 1910 and 2026

Wavertree Road at Botanic Road, Edge Hill, 1910s and 2026
17/10/2026

Wavertree Road at Botanic Road, Edge Hill, 1910s and 2026

Address

Liverpool

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Liverpool: Then and Now posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organisation

Send a message to Liverpool: Then and Now:

Shortcuts

Share