Municipal Housing: Eldon Grove, Liverpool

Three storeys with balconies. (Pevsner Page 204)

Opened in 1912. Early example of public housing following the passing of the Housing and Working Classes Act of 1890. They were the first deck access tenements in the country and featured half-timbered bays and gabling with Art Nouveau detailing. They are the only surviving buildings in an innovative housing experiment which had cottage-style artisan dwellings, large playground areas with gazebos, ornamental railings, underground conveniences for the children and a bandstand with electric lighting. In 1912 the tenements housed 1366 people. In the 1970's the building was converted into tiny bed-sits. Spot-listed in 1993 but the housing association which has leased the buildings from Liverpool proposed demolition of the three remaining blocks, then occupied by only five people. Proposal by Grek Johnston Architects to refurbish. [Architects Journal 23 November 1995 Page 16]

Reference    Pevsner county: Lancashire: South
Reference    Architects Journal 23 November 1995 Page 16