Issue 110 – October 2015
BEHIND CLOSED GATES
INSIDE THIS MONTH
By Stephen Guy, West Derby Society WEST Derby once boasted many mansions and large villas, some – like Blackmoor – set in small estates with well-tended gardens and woodlands. Sandfield Park was created about 1850 when many of these large houses were being built as retreats away from the noisy, crowded centre of Liverpool. Originally there were toll gates at the Moss Lane (now Queens Drive) and Alder Road entrances – the lodges survive. There were about 20 big detached houses in and around the park. Survivors include the Old Hall (one of Liverpool’s oldest houses), Basil Grange, St Ives and Bishop’s Court. Others such as Bradstones, Oakville, Woodbourne and Whinmoor were demolished long ago. Broomfield (pictured) was built in 1851, one of the first houses in the speculative new development. It was the home of the Meade-Kings for more than 80 years. Oil merchant Henry Warren Meade-King, a well-known Liberal leader, built the house. The ivy-covered red brick
residence boasted a combined library and billiard room measuring 41ft by 25 ft. The upper rooms had clear views of the Welsh hills including Moel Fammau. Henry was a champion of local footpaths and other family members were keen to preserve local heritage. Magistrate R R Meade-King lived at Broomfield until 1934, followed by Miss D Kent-
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Green who was there until the end of the Second World War. Mrs C Macmaster opened the Broomfield Nursing Home in 1949 and ran it for 10 years before the old house was pulled down. A new house was built on the site but the old gates remain. I remember the park’s red post box built into the wall, removed about 40 years ago. The West Derby Society has a scrap book compiled by R R Meade-King. He wrote his name and address inside the front cover. Pasted inside are 22 pages from an unknown publication, perhaps a parish magazine. They feature in-depth
local history articles compiled 1917 -18 by 73year-old R D Radcliffe, a prominent member of another well-known West Derby family. I have many memories of Sandfield Park over the years including the toll gate notices, street gas lamps and cinder-covered pavements. We would go to Bradstones to see cricket matches. I watched steam trains passing under Central Drive, the air filled with acrid smoke. Join the West Derby Society at its next meeting 7.30 pm on Wednesday 21 October at Lowlands, 13 Haymans Green, Liverpool L12 7JG.
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