Streets of Liverpool

John Alexander Brodie (1858-1934) deserves a chapter to himself in the story of Liverpool’s growth as a city. The City Engineer, he had a creative mind – responsible for ‘inventing’ goal nets to stop the disputes that broke out when there were just goalposts and a crossbar – he was also the man who created a modern road network in Liverpool that is the envy of cities across the country. A visionary, he foresaw the need to accommodate the motorcar at a time when car ownership was restricted to a few wealthy enthusiasts (Brodie included). Through a cunning strategy of buying up outlying plots of greenfield land, he was able to steer through the construction of Queen’s Drive and the radial roads into the city centre. The magnificent dual carriageways, many now tree-lined, are part of his legacy, along with such initiatives as creating a photographic record of his department’s work (now in the Liverpool Records Office) and the use of pre-cast concrete as a building material.

Historically, he should be better recognised, He realised that the need to provide low-cost housing to replace the appalling slums of Liverpool required a fresh approach – and came up with the concept of casting panels of concrete which could be quickly erected in situ. His first experimental houses were in Eldon Street in 1903. The photographs above of the front and rear elevations were taken in 1964 just prior to demolition. (There is one surviving example – Walton stables – on the corner of Rice Lane and Queens Drive – although modified, the block is very much intact). Sadly for Brodie (and Liverpool), the system of using factory-produced panels failed because of trade union opposition. Other countries were less resistant to change – and in the 1960s Liverpool was importing panels from France made under the Camus system to construct the Shiel Park flats.

Looking at the photographs, the result is interesting but not convincing. They personify the worst aspects of concrete as a building material – somewhat crude with a tendency to discolour and stain in an unattractive way. Whether they were pleasant places to live is another matter – but the photographs are a final record of an innovation which Liverpool could have developed and pioneered.

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