This is the story of Mr Bruce’s house in Derwent Square …….. just off Derby Lane, L13
John told us ………”I have lived at 3 Derwent Square – a three-storey mid terrace property – for nearly 40 Years. The unusual development has all the gardens for the houses in a communal central square. The long demolished stables for the houses were in Carlton Lane, an adjacent road and there were large gates on the entrance until the mid 1950s.”
“My house is the most intact of all the houses in the square due to Mr Wilson, who was blind and lived from 1940’s to 1970’s, not bothering to modernise anything! Most of the fireplaces are original from 1860’s when William Ratcliffe, a Liverpool solicitor and property developer, put money into creating housing on the edge of Liverpool. Lots of other features remain including doors, staircase, kitchen range and servants bells from the 1900’s.”
Looking back in time using historic documents we are able to see who else lived in the house…….
1881 Census – The Bredin Family
The 1881 Census records the head of the family as James Bredin (age 56) Corn Merchant from County Mayo Ireland, his wife Mary (age 42) and their four children James C (age 16), Ethel (age 9), Francis K (age 6) and William Logan (age5). There were also two servants Charlotte Hyatt (age 29) and Ellen Eames (age 30) both from Ireland. The 1881 Kellys Directory records James Bredin had an office in Fenwick court, Brunswick St in the heart of the commercial centre of Liverpool.
Their neighbours in the Square and along Derwent Road were all ‘well to do’ with occupations such as Cotton Merchant, Jeweller, Solicitor, Rice Miller, Cotton Broker, Metal Broker and some people ‘living on own means’ (usually meaning they inherited wealth or a trust fund). The Bredin’s neighbour at No. 1 Derwent Square was the Consul to the Netherlands, Herman Van Santen.
At this time Old Swan, around 3 miles out of the noisy and dirty commercial area and docks of Liverpool, was literally a breath of fresh air. A transport revolution of the era meant as well as taking your own carriage into town you could use the fashionable communal horse drawn Omnibus which ran from the Turks Head Inn at Knotty Ash ……calling in at the big houses along Prescot Road…… to visit the City Centre for business if you were a gentleman, and for ladies too see the new fashions and home soft furnishings and china in the shopping centres of Liverpool which were centred around Bold Street and Church Street.
Entertaining to dinner was a popular Victorian activity where the servants had to work hard washing, ironing, and preparing the complex Victorian dresses for the lady of the house, and shopping for food, cooking and serving the meal. After the meal the ladies would, by convention, withdraw to the drawing room to play cards, discuss the latest fashions , china and fine goods arriving in the upmarket shops that they might visit in the coming week. The gentlemen would remain round the dining table, get out the cigars and discuss investments in ships cargoes travelling from Liverpool all over Queen Victoria’s Empire from India to Canada. It was a time of great profits and great loses, fortunes that could be wiped out in a storm at sea especially if the merchants and investors hade skimped on the insurance of the cargo and ship.
Other family pass times included taking the children in the carriage to Newsham Park to enjoy the fountains and the animal zoo and bird aviary.
1891 Census
The census from this year – shows Mary, now a widow living on own means (pensioner inheritance from James perhaps) – with her two sons Frank and William, a governess and three servants. Mary’s other children James and Ethel do not appear at 3 Derwent Square ……perhaps having married and moved to heir own homes. There is a spelling mistake between this census the earlier one – Bedin versus Bredin – by the enumerator.
1901 Census
Research ongoing
1911 Census
At the present time, the 1911 census records can be found only for adjacent properties at No.1 and No. 3 Derwent Square (and other houses in the Square) …….perhaps indicating that it was empty at the time of the return. Research continues for this period.
1939 Register
At the outbreak of World War II, a register was taken recording everyone who lived in the country – this was known as the 1939 Register. Our house in question at 3 Derwent Square was recorded as being a boarding house – kept by Eve Wilson (age 27). Also living in the property were Herbert Wilson (age 37) basket maker (possibly Eve’s husband or brother), Arthur J Scott – ???? proprietor, Percival Gilson – Pharmaceutical Commercial Traveller, Joseph Williams – Autioneers Clerk, Jessie E Williams – Ladies Hairdresser, Arthur C Jones – Engine Tool ???? Lily Jones – Tailoress, Frank Peake – Photo Litho Printer, Ellen Peake Circular Hosiery Knitter and Veronica Webster – Envelope Maker chargehand. The inhabitants of the square in this era are becoming more working that middle class.
If you have an interesting property in Old Swan, or a shop or business with a history that we can uncover…… and are interested in going back in time to tell the story of your building & its occupants, then please get in touch.
L13 WOMEN WW1 - THEN & NOW 
Wow, what an interesting read.
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