Wavertree Lockup

Wavertree Lockup

Wavertree's octagonal Lock-up was built of local yellow sandstone in 1796, at the expense of the villagers.

Drunkenness was quite a problem even 200 years ago, and it was the village Constable's job to round up offenders and accommodate them overnight until they were sober enough to be released or taken before the local magistrate.

The post of Constable was an unpaid one - the villagers took it in turns, a year at a time - but expenses could be claimed including 2 shillings for looking after a prisoner in the Constable's own house. In 1796 the villagers decided it would be cheaper for them, in the long run, to pay for a purpose-built lock-up!

Objections were raised by Mr John Myers, the wealthy resident of Lake House (where Monkswell Drive is today) who claimed the proposal 'showed a desire to annoy him' and would spoil his view. However, he was overruled and a Mr Hind was engaged to prepare plans and get the work in hand.

Originally the Lock-up had a flattish roof, and it was not unknown for friends of the prisoners to hide behind the parapet while knocking a hole in the roof! A small stove was installed to keep the prisoners warm, and they were supplied with food and water, but otherwise there were few home comforts.

It is said that cholera victims were dumped there to isolate them from the rest of the village; and in the 1840s the Lock-up served as temporary accommodation for destitute Irish families trekking out from Liverpool into the surrounding countryside.

By this time the Lock-up was no longer needed for its original purpose, as a proper Police Station had opened in the High Street (on the site of the present Wavertree Gardens flats). The building gradually fell into decay, until in 1868 its owners the Wavertree Local Board of Health contemplated demolition.

Fortunately for us, the Chairman of the Board was the architect and local historian James Picton, who came to the rescue and drew up plans for its repair and 'beautification', including the addition of a new pointed roof and weather vane. These plans were implemented the following year.

	In 1952 the Lock-up became a Listed Building and in 1979 Wavertree Village was designated as a Conservation Area The triangular village green on which the Lock-up stands has recently been confirmed as the only piece of Common Land within the City of Liverpool. For many years the building was used by the City Council's parks and gardens department for the storage of tools and grass-cutting equipment, but it currently stands empty and disused ... except as a picturesque reminder of the Wavertree of two centuries ago. Once a year, during Heritage Open Weekend in September, the Wavertree Society arranges for the Lock-up to be on view to the public. Local residents and visitors are able to see inside the building, and speculate on what an overnight stay must have felt like in those far-off days.

Text and pictures by Mike Chitty (Local History Secretary, The Wavertree Society) http://www.liverpool.ndo.co.uk/wavsoc/