A selection of Liverpool history questions submitted to the Liverpool History Society.
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Thursday, 17 December 2009
Calderstones Park
Hello Rob,
I have often wondered what the four statues outside Calderstones Park are called or what there original purpose was. Can you help?
The park was part of the Manor of Allerton until Hardman Earle acquired the estate and built a mansion Allerton Tower based on a design by Harvey Lonsdale Elmes, architect of St George’s Hall. The house was of classic Italianate design with an attractive tower providing views across the surrounding countryside and was completed in 1849, two years after Elmes death. Allerton Tower was also developed with other notable architectural features including an orangery, stables and a neoclassical lodge. Allerton Tower Lodge the neoclassical lodge is one of the few remaining fragments of Allerton Tower. It marks the entrance on Woolton Road, according to Pevsner, 'one of the most beautiful dual-carriageways in the country. Calderstones Park is one of the jewels in the crown of Liverpool's green spaces. The park was laid out on the site of a country estate,which was owned by Charles MacIver, co-founder of the Cunard Line.
The estate was acquired by Liverpool Corporation in 1924, and the landscaped gardens were opened to the public as Allerton Tower Park in 1927. By 1937 the Tower had become seriously affected by dry rot and was demolished.
This imposing entrance to Calderstones Park was originally the entrance to iron and copper merchant John Bibby's mansion Harthill, demolished in 1937. The gateposts are supported by giant atlantes (male caryatids or Atlas figures) and the scene is completed by allegorical figures of Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter so known as the Four Seasons. The statues were originally located on the roof of Brown's Buildings, an office block designed (grandly, one assumes) by Picton in 1861-3. This used to stand next to the Town Hall but was demolished in 1926, when the statues were relocated here.
Regards
Rob Ainsworth
Programme Secretary & Web Administrator Liverpool History Society
Hi, Just to note that Allerton Tower was not in Calderstones Park, but in Allerton Tower Park (near to Allerton Golf Course). The house in Calderstones Park is simply known as the Mansion House.
Excellent summary of the Four Seasons. There's more info on the Allerton Oak site: http://www.allertonoak.com/merseySights/SouthLiverpoolAL.html
For a comprehensive history of Calderstones, Allerton Tower, Allerton Golf Course and Liverpool 7 see " The Light of Other Days" by John Hussey. Available from www.countyvise.co.uk or all bookshops
Hello Debra,
ReplyDeleteThe park was part of the Manor of Allerton until Hardman Earle acquired the estate and built a mansion Allerton Tower based on a design by Harvey Lonsdale Elmes, architect of St George’s Hall. The house was of classic Italianate design with an attractive tower providing views across the surrounding countryside and was completed in 1849, two years after Elmes death. Allerton Tower was also developed with other notable architectural features including an orangery, stables and a neoclassical lodge. Allerton Tower Lodge
the neoclassical lodge is one of the few remaining fragments of Allerton Tower. It marks the entrance on Woolton Road, according to Pevsner, 'one of the most beautiful dual-carriageways in the country. Calderstones Park is one of the jewels in the crown of Liverpool's green spaces. The park was laid out on the site of a country estate,which was owned by Charles MacIver, co-founder of the Cunard Line.
The estate was acquired by Liverpool Corporation in 1924, and the landscaped gardens were opened to the public as Allerton Tower Park in 1927. By 1937 the Tower had become seriously affected by dry rot and was demolished.
This imposing entrance to Calderstones Park was originally the entrance to iron and copper merchant John Bibby's mansion Harthill, demolished in 1937. The gateposts are supported by giant atlantes (male caryatids or Atlas figures) and the scene is completed by allegorical figures of Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter so known as the Four Seasons. The statues were originally located on the roof of Brown's Buildings, an office block designed (grandly, one assumes) by Picton in 1861-3. This used to stand next to the Town Hall but was demolished in 1926, when the statues were relocated here.
Regards
Rob Ainsworth
Programme Secretary & Web Administrator
Liverpool History Society
Hi,
ReplyDeleteJust to note that Allerton Tower was not in Calderstones Park, but in Allerton Tower Park (near to Allerton Golf Course). The house in Calderstones Park is simply known as the Mansion House.
Excellent summary of the Four Seasons. There's more info on the Allerton Oak site: http://www.allertonoak.com/merseySights/SouthLiverpoolAL.html
For a comprehensive history of Calderstones, Allerton Tower, Allerton Golf Course and Liverpool 7 see " The Light of Other Days" by John Hussey. Available from www.countyvise.co.uk or all bookshops
ReplyDelete