SJ3688 : Wynnstay Street, Toxteth
taken 13 years ago, near to Liverpool, England
The Welsh Streets were built in the 1880s to house the ever expanding population of Liverpool. 'Walesonline' reported in 2005 that the streets were built by Welsh workers, which may well be true, however, other reports, including the BBC, that they housed Welsh dockers or workers does not stand up to scrutiny. Examination of the 1891 census for Madryn Street shows that that it was home to people with a wide variety of occupations, and from a wide variety of places of birth. Very few were Welsh, many were born in Liverpool, and many more came from all over England - Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Berkshire, Warwickshire, Gloucestershire, London etc.
In 2011 some of the streets have already been cleared, and others will be demolished from March 2011 as part of the Princes Park regeneration zone project.
Update:
On the 14th June 2012 Housing Minister Grant Shapps announced that 32 houses in the Welsh Streets area had been saved from demolition. 16 of the houses are in Madryn Street, which includes #9, Madryn Street, Ringo Starr's birthplace. The Minister said that the houses will be modernised and then put on the market.
It should be recorded that there are many different opinions on whether the whole area should be saved, refurbished, or cleared for redevelopment.