Toxteth, Liverpool - CASE STUDY

Natural Characteristics

• Occupies undulating land rising up from the banks of the River Mersey

• A stream flows from the northeast - divides into two before discharging into the river

• The Mersey - fast flowing past Toxteth and its channel narrows before passing into Liverpool Bay - little foreshore at Toxteth

Past Characteristics

• Saxons established settlement in Toxteth - Domesday survey of 1086 records it as one of a handful of coastal villages along the banks of the Mersey

• Given to a knight (Roger of Pictou) after the Norman Conquest

• King John took the area into his control in the early 13th Century - became part of a large royal hunting forest

• Remained as a fenced-off forest for around 300 years

• Towards end of 16th Century - area’s status changed + it began to be opened up for farming

• Small-scale industry was a growing characteristic during the 17th Century - made use of water power from the dammed stream

• Industrial Revolution - Liverpool began to emerge as a major port with many associated industries

• Toxteth took more of an urban + industrial nature with activities such as several forges, a copper works established in 1772 + later a ceramics factory

• Industries such as flour milling + brewing developed to serve the rapidly growing population

• The river bank became lined with docks, ship-building yards + associated industries such as rope walks

• This section of docks tended to specialise in the landing of timber - much of which was imported from Scandinavia

• Residential developments occurred hand in hand with industrial growth

• Part of Toxteth was given over to an ambitious housing scheme with wide streets lined by large + substantial villas

• It was an attractive greenfield site for property developers who built for the growing middle class who wanted to escape the congestion + declining environmental quality of the innermost suburbs to the north

• Commuters journeyed daily into the city centre to work in the developing service sector as well as in managerial jobs in manufacturing

• Demands for space from industry + housing brought further change to Toxteth throughout 19th Century

• The areas behind the large villas had been used for very cheap + poorly constructed housing - much of it back-to-back + court dwellings

• Epidemics such as typhoid + cholera frequently erupted in the unhygienic + insanitary surroundings

• Terraced housing spread over much of the area to house the families of those employed in the docks + industries

• There was an exodus of middle-class residents - their disposable income increased + urban transport improved (trams + suburban railways) lead to them relocating to greenfield sites on the edge of the bult areas

• Over 150 years Toxteth changed from a small rural community to an inner city suburb in a large metropolitan area

• Original rural features such as fields + hedgerows were replaced by the built environment with just the rise + fall of the ground evident in the streets

• Toxteth’s growth had much to do with increasing connections both nationally + internationally as goods passing through the docks were traded all over the country + beyond the UK

Demographic

• Toxteth has few elderly residents

• Majority of residents aged between 16-64

• Large industrial cities (like Liverpool) have always attracted migrants - large influxes of Irish during the 19th Century

• Following Second World War - employment + housing opportunities for migrants in inner cities such as Toxteth led to significant changes in place profiles

• Toxteth became a destination for migrants from parts of Asia such as Hong Kong, West Africa + the Caribbean

• Liverpool’s port function had created links with many countries, especially in the tropics

Cultural Face

• Cultural change is seen in Toxteth around the time of major Muslim region festival such as Eid + Ramadan

• The importance of Friday prayers in the Muslim community is different from the Christian tradition of Sunday services

• Many from the Black African Caribbean community had distinctive forms of Christian worship which are culturally different from traditional English styles

• Toxteth’s cultural diversity stretches back into the 19th Century when a Greek Orthodox church was built there + a synagogue is evidence of Jewish culture

Political Characteristics

• Toxteth is part of Riverside Ward - one of 30 wards making up the Liverpool City Council - each ward returns three councillors

• The city council had powers + duties similar to the county council for Lympstone - such as education + children’s services, + regeneration, housing + sustainability

• Toxteth is part of the Liverpool Riverside parliamentary constituency with an electorate of about 73,000

Built Environment

• Adapted by migrant communities

• Mosques + ethnic retailers are visual indicators of a changing place

• Many buildings have changed their use + new ones have been constructed

Shifting Flows of Resources + Ideas

• Toxteth has direct experience of the loss of employment in the docks as well as manufacturing jobs - affected the whole of Merseyside

• Many in Toxteth worked either in the docks or in industries linked with the processing of goods imported through the docks - such as sugar refining + flour milling

• Containerisation + the migration of docks further to the north + the mouth of the river at the Seaforth led to substantial unemployment

• The consequent poverty was a significant factor contributing to the Toxteth riots in 1981

• This was a period of serious civil disturbance in the area and probably represents the low point in Toxteth’s history as a changing place

• Since early 1980s - successive initiatives have attempted to remake Toxteth as a thriving place

• The Merseyside Development Corporation of the 1980s set abut trying to regenerate some of the former dock areas

• 1988 - major art gallery (Tate Liverpool) opened + in 2008 Liverpool was the European Capital of Culture - both of which aimed to boosted tertiary employment through cultural tourism

• Some of the waterfront has now been recognised as having international importance with its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site - offered more employment opportunities

• The Liverpool Science Park was started in 2003 to support the growth + development of the knowledge economy in Liverpool

• EU funding via its Structural + Investment Funds Strategy has been attempting to help regenerate Liverpool’s profile

  • The city’s Low Carbon sector has been expanding with employment created in offshore wind technology

• Europe’s largest offshore wind farm is in Liverpool Bay

• 2015 - survey of local business in Liverpool highlighted that their main issue was in recruitment as many applicants lack the necessary technical or job-specific skills

• Many of Toxteth’s residents do not yet possess the skills + qualifications which would allow them to access the service + knowledge economy of Liverpool

• Multiplier effect - some of the residents of Toxteth will be hoping to gain from the substantial inward flow of investment

• It will take substantial local + regional efforts to bring about socio-economic change to Toxteth’s place profile