West Derby, Lancashire Poor Law Union

History
The first historical reference to a parish workhouse in 1731 refers to a workhouse in West Derby, Low Hill.

In 1777 West derby is omitted from the Parliamentary report, but workhouses are included at: Allerton capacity 50 Childwall 60 Wavertree 50

The West Derby Poor Law Union formally came into being on 31st January 1837. Due to the size of the Toxteth Park population and the huge population growth in this and neighbouring Liverpool Union which was organized by a parish Vestry system, the Toxteth Park parishes left the West Derby Union to operate as a Poor Paw Parish, Toxteth Park Poor Law Union.

In 1922 the Liverpool Poor Law Union and Toxteth Park Poor Law Union were wound up as Parish Vestry and Parish Unions and all of their establishments were united within the West Derby Poor Law Union.


 * Mill Road Workhouse and Hospital

Initially the Union continued use of West Derby Low Hill site but planned and built a new workhouse 1838-1840 which came into use in 1841. (Low Hill continued to be used to house Liverpool Poor law Union paupers )

The Mill Road workhouse proved inadequate and was damaged by fire on 21 March 1843. It had no provision for an infirmary and the building had no means of isolating infectious diseases.

In 1891-1893 the site was rebuilt as an Infirmary The infirmary's architect was Charles H Lancaster who also designed the Union's buildings at Fazakerley and Alder Hey. The building had provision for both mental and general nursing and medical care.

The Infirmary was to become Mill Road Maternity Hospital. The buildings were closed demolished and site redeveloped to form residential housing.


 * Walton-on-the-Hill

Rice Lane Walton was built as a new workhouse 1864-1869. It was designed by William Culshaw who was also the architect of the nearby Toxteth Park workhouse. The Walton workhouse initially accommodated 1,200 inmates and its construction cost £65,000. It gradually expanded and by 1930 could hold up to 2,500.

Later it became Walton Institution and from 1948 Walton Hospital. The site was redeveloped to form residential housing within the original structure when Walton Hospital closed in the 1990’s.


 * Belmont Road Workhouse

In 1889-1890 a workhouse to house vagrants was built at Belmont Road. It provided 35 beds for women, and 44 for men, with venereal wards.

This workhouse became Newsham General Hospital. Virtually all the buildings have now been demolished.


 * Fazakerley Cottage Homes

Cottage homes for the accommodation of pauper children were erected at Fazakerley in 1888-9 to designs by CH Lancaster. They homes could accommodate a total of 650 children. In 1965, the site became a home for children with learning difficulties. It is used by social services to provide day centre and training facilities.


 * Alder Hey Hospital

On 3rd March 1911, Mr JS Davy laid the foundation stone for a large new hospital at the west side of Eaton Road at Alder Hey. Completed in 1915, it provided accommodation for 1,000 chronic and bed-ridden patients. During the First World War, Alder Hey was used as a military hospital. After the war, its role changed into that of a dedicated children's hospital. The site continues to house one of England’s leading specialist Children’s Hospitals, a regional resource for Northern England.


 * Seafield House

In 1914 West Derby Union converted and extended a former convent on Waterloo Road at Seaforth to provide accommodation for 'mental defectives'. The inmates of the institution, known as Seafield House, were mainly children. At the outbreak of World War 2 in 1939, all the children were evacuated to Greaves Hall Hospital, Southport. Deysbrook House Deysbrook House, on Deysbrook Lane in West Derby, was a convalescent home for children. Shaw Street Homes In 1914, the union took over Working Boys' Homes 101 and 103 Shaw Street (formerly known as the Wesleyan Mission Boys' Homes). In 1914 it was taken over by the West Derby Union. It became known simply as the 'Boys' Home' in 1948. The union also administered a Domestic Training Home for Girls at 57 Shaw Street.

Constituent Parishes
The Union included the following;

Aigburth, Lancashire, Bootle St Mary, Lancashire, Childwall, Lancashire, Croxteth Park, Lancashire, Everton St George, Lancashire, Everton Christ Church, Lancashire, Garston, Lancashire, Great Crosby, Lancashire, Kirkby, Lancashire, Kirkdale St Mary, Lancashire Knotty Ash St John the Evangelist, Lancashire, Litherland Christ Church, Lancashire, Seaforth, Lancashire, Sefton, Lancashire, Thornton, Lancashire, Toxteth Park, Lancashire, Toxteth Park St Clement, Lancashire, Toxteth Park St James, Lancashire, Toxteth Park St John the Baptist, Lancashire, Toxteth Park St Thomas, Lancashire Walton on the Hill St Mary, Lancashire, Wavertree Holy Trinity, Lancashire, West Derby St Mary, Lancashire

Aintree, Allerton, Bootle-cum-Linacre,, Little Crosby, Fazakerley,  Ince Blundell, Kirkby,  Lunt, Netherton, Orrell and Ford. Later Additions (from 1894): Seaforth, Waterloo.

Records

 * Liverpool Record Office and Local History Service, Central Library, William Brown Street, Liverpool L3 8EW. Holdings include: Guardians' minutes (1848-1930).
 * Mill Road — limited holdings include: Creed Register (1870-1939).
 * Walton workhouse — only a few miscellaneous records survive (1866-1935).
 * Belmont Road (Newsham Hospital) — holdings include: Admission and discharge registers (1924-1970); Birth and death registers (1909-1988).
 * Fazakerley Homes.
 * Alder Hey — no early records survive.
 * Seafield House (Greaves Hall Hospital) — various records (1914-75).
 * Shaw Street Boys' Home — Admission and Discharges (1934-51)

Websites
http://www.workhouses.org.uk/index.html?WestDerby/WestDerby.shtml Peter Higginbotham’s website contains maps and images of the Union.