The first notable structure here would appear to be a mansion built circa 1669 by Mr.Richard Norres. In a map of 1786 by Yates, the name Goodwin Esq. is written right across and under the Norris Green house. We know from Cooper and Power that Goodwin was the Lord Mayor of Liverpool in 1757. The Lord Mayor would have been a position of great importance at a time when Liverpool was growing economically, financially, and politically. The house was significantly bigger than all those around, only equalled by Lark Hill, bearing the name Heywood Esquire. and had a clear view all around the fields.
However on Greenwood's 1818 map of Lancashire, there is no sign of any building at all on this spot, which suggests that it was pulled down some time prior to this. This would suggest that the mansion existed just over a hundred years, which is not very long for a grand building, so maybe built 'on the cheap' as the Norris's were only financially recovering at the time of building due to their lands being given back to them at the Restoration period.
The person who rebuilt Norris Green Mansion in 1830 following a fire to the old building was Arthur Heywood who had a position of greater influence than the Mayor of Liverpool. He owned Heywood's Bank, and as such would be very much at the centre of Liverpool's growth both industrially and commercially. This was a time when Liverpool could be regarded as the second most important city and port in the country. It is interesting to notice that Arthur only lived there for six years, dying in 1836 at the age of 83. It could be that he decided to cease to be involved in the Bank when he was 77, and then retired to the countryside of West Derby, for a rest. A nephew of his, 33 year old John Pemberton Heywood, who worked with him in Liverpool and lived in the Bank house in Fenwick Street, married in the same year and took over the Norris Green mansion from John Foster, Surveyor and Architect to the Corporation, and would had moved in here.
To ease the housing crisis of the 1920s, Lord Derby of Knowsley donated the land to the city on the provision that no public houses were to be built within the estate. Liverpool Corporation records the purchase of Norris Green Estate in 1924 and the demolition of a mansion in 1931. Sir John Pemberton's moving house 'fitted-in' with the move of more affluent people looking for the fresh-air of the countryside. Thus a park was created from the gardens and grounds of the mansion and Norris Green gave its name to the vast council estate built to ease this housing crisis.
Described as a stable block, the ruins of Norris Green are of Grade II listed building status, leaving just one wall of sandstone blocks as the only remaining example of the classical architecture. Above the arch is a crest with the Latin inscription 'ALTE VOLO' ("I fly high"). How ironic that, almost the same time a hundred years later, possibly those same poor families' children were being moved into new houses built on the fields surrounding John Pemberton's country mansion.
see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2022/05/historic-liverpool-dwellings-sudley.html
1 LORD Mayor's only became 'LORD MAYORS when Liverpool became a city in the 1880's. William Goodwin was just a MAYOR.
ReplyDelete2.the land was NOT given to liverpool by anyone, its was bought from relatives of j p heywood for £65,000.
3 the alcohol covenant
3. The alcohol covenant was an experiment by the city council that ONLY APPLIED TO LAND OWNED BY THE HOUSING COMMITTEE. It applied to the whole city. It was rescinded in 1950..
DeleteI seem to spend all my time correcting these three points, but people keep on publishing incorrect facts without providence. Jim ashton ( friends of norris green park )