A Liverpool Exemplar - Annie Garvey

Extract from the Porcupine, May 19th 1906

 

Annie Garvey, known as 'The Pier Head Squatter', was born in 1807 and lived a simple but contented life in a wooden hut by Liverpool's Pier Head. She and her mother are believed to have arrived from Co. Armagh on a ship to escape the terrible poverty in Ireland and Annie never lived anywhere else for the majority of her life other than in and around the George's Pier Head area.

Thanks to 'Liverpool Fragments' for these images on Twitter

 

She lived as a squatter for most of her life and as a girl occupied a shanty on the north side of the Floating Bridge, at that time a dock basin. When the bridge was built they had to relocate to waste ground on the South side where they pitched their tent, or shanty. Her Mum didn't last long after this move which left Annie alone to eake out a living selling apples and oranges and supplying food and drink to workers building the Landing Stage. In those hard times before pensions and benefits the only money she received was from selling these small items from her hut where the goods could be seen in the window, which could be opened and a lockable ledge lowered to form a counter. She lived in the hut/shop (shown above) after the Landing Stages caught fire in 1874. She had some good friends who saw to it that she did not go hungry and over the course of time attempted to persuade her to move into a home but Annie resisted. Even when the Dock Board attempted to evict her she 'sat tight' and weathered the storm with the help of friends.

Proud of her Irish descent she was a religious woman with great strength of mind and tenacity of purpose and attended Mass at St Mary's Highfield Street where the clergy took an interest in her physical and spiritual welfare. It was said she had one or two relatives in Liverpool but wasn't close to them being of a reticent disposition. Well known to the Landing Stage officials and the police who had the view she was not as old as she appeared to be. Indeed on her admission to the Workhouse Infirmary she gave her age as 86 years although many thought of her as a centenarian.

Annie collapsed in the street on her way to draw her old age pension and was taken to the Northern Hospital, unconscious with heart trouble. She was then moved to the Liverpool Workhouse Infirmary, Brownlow Hill where, after rallying slightly, she passed away on the 4th of June 1914 at the noted age of 107 years. Her death was reported to the Liverpool Institutions Committee at Brownlow Hill who were unable to get any information regarding connections or relatives of Annie.

see also:- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2021/05/a-liverpool-exemplar-sir-charles-reilly.html