A chocolate box village that people travel for miles to visit is older than the city itself.
West Derby Village is steeped in history which dates back as far as 1086 when it was first mentioned in the Domesday Book. However, it was during the Victorian period that the village underwent a real transformation and was largely rebuilt by the 4th Earl of Sefton, William Philip Molyneux, whose family lived in Croxteth Hall for generations.
If you take a walk around the village today much of this charm and character remains, from the Yeoman's House to Manor Court House and the redbrick cottages surrounding the entrance to Croxteth Country Park. In recent years, the area has become something of a night time destination, thanks to a wealth of independent bars and restaurants attracting visitors from across Merseyside and beyond.
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To find out more about the changing face of one of Liverpool's oldest suburbs, the ECHO visited the village this week to speak to people who live and work there.
"It's got a sense of history and a sense of place"
Stephen Guy, 74, is the chairman of the West Derby Community Association and was born and bred in the area. The charity and community centre is based at Lowlands, a Grade II listed building on Hayman's Green, which was once home to the basement Pillar Club.
A range of 'Mersey Sound' bands played at the Pillar Club during their early days in the 1960s, from the Beatles, or the Quarrymen as they were then known, to Gerry and the Pacemakers and the Hollies.
It's this vibrant musical history that helps to attract tourists to village to visit Lowlands and the Casbah Club across the road, where the Beatles later became the resident band. To many people who live in the area, Stephen said Lowlands is like their second home and plays host to 20 different clubs as well as private functions.
Stephen told the ECHO: "It's an important part of the Mersey Beat scene. My mum and grandmother used to come here and to many people it is an escape because you can come here to the clubs.
"It's particularly older people, we have a few younger people as well, but it's mostly older people who think of this as their second home."
West Derby has "a sense of history and a sense of place", which Stephen says, helps to attract visitors to the area, but it has also changed in many ways over the years.
What was once the West Derby Plaza Cinema on Almond's Green, where Stephen watched several films as a child, later became a showroom for Bell & Nicholson following the cinema's closure in the 60s, before changing hands to several different supermarkets.
Today the building is home to a nursery which is currently undergoing a transformation in a bid to replicate the historic façade of the 1920s cinema. The influx of independent bars and restaurants in the village, which Stephen said started after the relaxing of Sunday licencing laws in the 90s, has accelerated in recent years.
One such independent is The Book, a bar and eatery that opened on Mill Lane back in 2018 and later expanded into the old butchers next door. Duty manager of The Book, Chris Grice, 30, told the ECHO: "I think it's a bit different to everywhere else around here. A lot of people say it's a little bit of a hidden gem.
"It's a nice little area. I think it's already pretty established the village now, people are coming out of their way to come here."
Leanne Graham, 51, is a co-owner of Almonds Green Village Flowers in West Derby Village which she has run with her family including sister Melanie, mum June, and dad Billy, for the last 25 years. Leanne grew up in the area but recently decided to move away to Roby due to how the village has changed.
Leanne said: "The village has changed and I don't necessarily think it's for the better. It's sad because a lot of businesses have gone."
The businesses that have closed their doors in the area over the years include the village tea rooms, the green grocer's, the butchers and two banks. Leanne said there is also no longer a big supermarket in the village except for the local Tesco express, adding "it's sad, particularly for older people who have to go further afield to do their shop."
She said: "It's hard in business, we've been here for 20 odd years and you have good days and bad days. We've got a lot of good customers, long-standing customers - even when we moved from Stockbridge Village they moved with us."
Despite the changing face of the high street, Leanne said the village has always been home to a "good community" and "people look out for each other." She said: "It's a good community, we've been brought up here and there's a lot of nice people in the village.
"You get to know people, it's sad as well - people you know are passing away now. You see the little ones grow up, going to school, to having their own children because we've been here that long."
Another business owner who has witnessed the changes of West Derby Village over the course of his career, is the owner of Mill Lane Garage, Les Clare. The 69-year-old, from St Helens, has worked at the garage for the last 52 years, having completed his apprenticeship there as a teenager.
Les is set to retire at the end of this month and plans are in the pipeline to turn the premises, which have already been sold to a new owner, into a restaurant. Les told the ECHO: "It's changed a lot since I first came here. Everywhere you look it's either a betting shop or a bar now. I've got no objection to it, it's just the way it is."
Les said he's built up a base of loyal customers at the garage over the years, with around 90 per cent of customers returning to him on a regular basis. As he gets set to retire, he would like to thank all of his customers for their "custom and good relationships."
Surachit Sattapanya, originally from Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand, is the owner and head chef of Phi Thai on Almond's Green. The restaurant has gone from strength to strength in recent years, with Surachit recently submitting a planning application in a bid to expand the restaurant into the former opticians next door.
The 54-year-old said the range of different bars and restaurants on Almond's Green and the surrounding streets help him to attract new customers, with each having a knock on effect on the other.
Surachit said: "I think it's good for Thai food around here. People sometimes come from Scotland, Manchester and Wales to eat here [after reading] Google five star reviews.
"On Friday and Saturday, customers - we don't have table for them because every time it's full."
From speaking to local business owners like Surachit, it's clear that the rise in independents in West Derby Village has been driven by changes in social habits over the years.
And with a number of bars and restaurants set to open or expand in the coming months, it's certainly an area to watch.
