The houses are over 160-years-old
Homes along the street are Grade II-listed(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Hidden behind a large hedge and row of trees lies one of the Liverpool’s finest row of houses. Separated from the main stretch of Belvidere Road in Toxteth, the row of Victorian houses run parallel to the nearby Princes Park.
Sat just across the road from Belvedere Academy, built in the 1860s, numbers 44 to 74 are believed to have been originally built for Liverpool’s affluent merchant class. Boasting impressive bay windows and slate roofs, in 1975 they were given Grade II-listed status by Historic England.
The road’s exterior has remained largely the same through the decades. However, today the properties have been divided into three floors of flats. One of those living there today is Houmaan Rostami, who moved to the road 10 years ago.
While there is little in common when it comes to his former home of Shiraz in Iran to Liverpool, he said that there is one link which he noticed instantly.
They were built in the 1860s(Image: Liverpool Echo)
He told the ECHO: “One thing I can compare is the people of Liverpool. They’re so similar because, if you walk around the town, if you say hi to someone, if you ask someone for an address, they will take you to the address, they will help you, and they’re so happy. That’s one of the main things I love Liverpool.”
As he winds down for the day, he said that he’ll rarely settle in front of the TV, instead he takes the opportunity to appreciate his surroundings.
The 35-year-old said: “At night, I’m just bored, don’t want to watch telly, the thing that kept me here is Princes Park. It’s amazing. My window literally faces the park.”
Keir Wilkinson has lived on the road since the 1980s(Image: Liverpool ECHO/Danny Gutmann)
Just down the road from Houmaan is Keir Wilkinson, who first moved to the street in the 1980s, and said he could never consider living anywhere else in the city.
The 45-year-old said: “[It’s] quiet, friendly, I grew up in the 80s when Toxteth had a bad rep and nowadays it’s so nice, people think that it was never like that back then, but people were always nice. It was just a bit of snarl, if that makes any sense.
“I’m born and raised in this area, before this, we lived up on Upper Parliament Street at the top of Princes Avenue. I couldn’t live anywhere else.”
Living in one of the last privately owned homes along the street is, Nick, 68, who is currently in the process of selling the property in order to downsize. The house carries a lot of personal history, after his mum moved into the property in the 80s before he took it over in 2006.
While he believes that a lot needs to change about the area, he thinks the street can still have a bright future.
The street overlooks Princes Park(Image: Liverpool Echo)
He said: “It’s got a lot of potential, a hell of a lot of potential to be the next Georgian Quarter of Liverpool. You’ve got Huskisson Street [around the corner] and this has got the potential to do the same.”
However, he said that there is still a lot that needs to be done to see it gain that sort of status.
He said: “We’ve got fireworks in the park unfortunately, but we’ve got a beautiful park opposite in Princes Park which I think is better than Sefton Park.
“But unfortunately, it’s prone to unruly behaviour by the kids. People letting fireworks off all through the year at night. Letting the dogs off the lead attacking the wildlife.”