![Stanley Street](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Stanley_Street.jpg)
Stanley Street, in
the centre of Liverpool, England, runs south between
Dale Street
Dale Street is a thoroughfare in Liverpool, England, in the Commercial Centre conservation area. The street together with Castle Street, Old Hall Street, Victoria Street and Water Street are the main commercial streets and occupy an area of ...
and Whitechapel. As well as being home to numerous businesses ranging from
estate agents
An estate agent is a person or business that arranges the selling, renting, or management of properties and other buildings. An agent that specialises in renting is often called a letting or management agent. Estate agents are mainly engaged i ...
,
solicitors
A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...
,
bars and
restaurants
A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...
, there are also
apartments
An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are man ...
in upper floors of some of the buildings. As part of the
Big Dig
The Central Artery/Tunnel Project (CA/T Project), commonly known as the Big Dig, was a megaproject in Boston that rerouted the Central Artery of Interstate 93 (I-93), the chief highway through the heart of the city, into the 1.5-mile (2.4&n ...
, the southern half of the street between Whitechapel and Victoria Street was repaved in 2007, and is used as a
taxi-rank serving Liverpool's
central shopping district and
Mathew Street.
Stanley Street is also the symbolic heart of Liverpool's
Pride Quarter.
History
In the early 18th Century, Stanley Street went by the name 'New' or 'News Street'. It was known as a place where
second-hand, or ready-made, furniture was sold and nearly every building there was devoted to this trade. New Street became a local byword to mean 'everything that was rickety and sham' in the way of household goods.
New Street originally ran between
Dale Street
Dale Street is a thoroughfare in Liverpool, England, in the Commercial Centre conservation area. The street together with Castle Street, Old Hall Street, Victoria Street and Water Street are the main commercial streets and occupy an area of ...
and Frog Lane, which was later renamed to Whitechapel.
![Edward, 11th Earl of Derby by Henry Pickering](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Edward%2C_11th_Earl_of_Derby_by_Henry_Pickering.jpg)
During this time, a large portion of the land in the Dale Street area belonged to the Moores family of Bank Hall, Liverpool. When their estates were sold around 1712, the Dale Street property passed into the hands of a local aristocrat:
Edward Stanley, 11th Earl of Derby
Edward Stanley, 11th Earl of Derby (27 September 1689 – 22 February 1776), known as Sir Edward Stanley, 5th Baronet, from 1714 to 1736, was a British nobleman, peer, and politician.
Derby was the son of Sir Thomas Stanley, 4th Baronet, and ...
, the Plumbes and others.
In 1744, records held by the
National Archives/Lancashire Archives show the transfer in ownership of the street between
The Corporation of Liverpool and the Earl of Derby.
Stanley Street was then laid out around the same time and took the name from Edward Stanley and his
aristocratic family
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characterist ...
.
Victoria Street did not exist as a parallel street to Dale Street until around 1867 to 1868.
When New Street was originally built, it was not linear as is seen on the present day Stanley Street. The land at the lower end did not originally belong to the Earl and, therefore, did not continue all the way to Frog Lane (later Whitechapel) in a straight line. It took on a zigzag course as a result.
When Stanley Street was leased by the Earl, the upper end became known as 'Upper Stanley Street', while the lower end was known as 'Lower Stanley Street', or 'Derby Street', for a significant period after.
After Victoria Street was built in 1867 to 1868, this was altered and Stanley Street then formed a straight line leading from Dale Street to Whitechapel, as it is seen today.
There are several Grade II
listed buildings
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
on Stanley Street (see
Listed buildings in Liverpool), due to their local historical importance. A number of blocks survive from the
1860s to the 1880s, which were originally built to accommodate offices and
warehouses
A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities, town ...
. During this period, some of the buildings were used to store cheese, bacon, butter and fresh and dried fruit. Granite Buildings of circa 1882, by G E Grayson, is an example of a building designed for offices to be accessed on Stanley Street itself, while the rear elevation on Progress Place was used to raise and lower merchandise throughout the block.
Stanley Street was also the location for Liverpool's first
synagogue, in existence in the 1750s. The synagogue no longer stands, but a special commemorative plaque was unveiled in 2008 in Whitechapel, close to the original spot of the synagogue.
The Beatles
![Eleanor Rigby 2018-1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Eleanor_Rigby_2018-1.jpg)
Stanley Street also gains considerable interest from
Beatles fans, due to its close proximity to
Mathew Street and the Cavern Quarter (home of
The Cavern Club
The Cavern Club is a nightclub on Mathew Street, Liverpool, England.
The Cavern Club opened in 1957 as a jazz club, later becoming a centre of the rock and roll scene in Liverpool in the late 50s and early 1960s. The club became closely assoc ...
). It is the location of the
statue of Eleanor Rigby, designed by London musician and artist
Tommy Steele
Sir Thomas Hicks (born 17 December 1936), known professionally as Tommy Steele, is an English entertainer, regarded as Britain's first teen idol and rock and roll star.
After being discovered at the 2i's Coffee Bar in Soho, London, Steele reco ...
. The statue is dedicated to "All the lonely people", and was donated to the City of Liverpool in 1982 as a tribute to The Beatles. A hotel called 'The Eleanor Rigby Hotel' is also located here.
At the time when The Beatles were performing in Liverpool, Stanley Street was the site of Hessy's Music store, one of the city's biggest music retailers. It was here that
Mimi Smith
Mary Elizabeth "Mimi" Smith (''née'' Stanley; 24 April 1906 – 6 December 1991) was a maternal aunt and the parental guardian of the English musician John Lennon. Mimi Stanley was born in Toxteth, Liverpool, England, the oldest of five da ...
(
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
's aunt), bought Lennon his first guitar in 1957. The street has also been home to an independent radio station,
Radio City.
LGBT Community
Stanley Street is also very much a focal point for
Liverpool's LGBT community and is home to a cluster of
gay bars and clubs between Dale St and Victoria Street. Stanley Street is the most recognised and referenced street in
Liverpool's Pride Quarter.
In response to campaigns from members of Liverpool's LGBT community, including Councillor
Steve Radford
The Liberal Party is a liberal political party in the United Kingdom that was founded in 1989 as a continuation of the original Liberal Party (founded in 1859) by former members who opposed its merger with the Social Democratic Party (SDP) to ...
, of Liverpool-based
Liberal Party (UK, 1989)
The Liberal Party is a liberal political party in the United Kingdom that was founded in 1989 as a continuation of the original Liberal Party (founded in 1859) by former members who opposed its merger with the Social Democratic Party (SDP) to ...
,
Liverpool City Council, approved the partial pedestrianisation of Stanley Street in 2009, between Victoria Street and Dale Street. With the use of rising
automatic hydraulic bollards from 10pm-6am every night, the intention was to enhance the night time leisure experience of the area and to promote it as part of the gay quarter. Liverpool's LGBT community has roots in the area since the 1970s, although more recently there have been campaigns for it to be a more popular tourist destination for the LGBT Community. A report for Liverpool City Council in 2011 suggested the possibility of earlier closure of Stanley Street, from 6pm onwards each day.
The longest established gay venue on the corner of Stanley Street/Victoria Street is 'The Lisbon', housed in The Lisbon Buildings, just below street level. Its unique ceiling is arguably its most admirable feature, and is often the first thing people notice when inside. The other bars on Stanley Street tend to be newer additions to the gay scene.
References
External links
Visit Liverpool LGBT+ Liverpool Guide
{{LGBT topics in the United Kingdom
Streets in Liverpool
LGBT culture in Liverpool