Lost streets that used to house close-knit Liverpool communities were unique for the vertical challenge they presented to those who lived there.
These days the steep slopes of Everton, where once terraced homes stood, are dominated by the greenery of Everton Park. However, before the park this area of the city was home to streets that were exceptional for their steepness.
The former inner-city concrete jungle, loved by many of its former residents, was all but destroyed during the controversial 1960s slum clearances. But while the houses and buildings have now been swept away the memories still remain.
READ MORE: Liverpool's lost streets, why they vanished and what replaced them
One of the most perilous was Havelock Street, dubbed the Everton 'mountain'. Havelock was an imposing ascent in the heart of Everton that was so steep it had a free-standing handrail to give residents a chance of reaching the top.
Now confined to history, it used to be considered Liverpool’s steepest street. Speaking to the ECHO in 2021, Ken Rogers, author/journalist and former 1950s ECHO paperboy with a local delivery round through Havelock, shared his memories of the famous street.
Ken said: "I can vouch for how testing the ascent was. It was so steep even a mountain goat would have baulked.
"It needed a handrail up one side to give senior citizens even half a chance of reaching the summit, especially during icy weather. The rail, running from bottom to top was a cast iron reminder that this was the steepest street in Liverpool."
Ken also recalled the ‘daredevil spirit’ from local kids at the time. He said: "Back in the 1950s, that early century daredevil spirit was still the order of the day, although now it was local kids taking their life in their hands, practising circus-style balancing skills down the steep metal handrail.
"The ultimate test of nerve was to consider careering down the slope on a homemade steering cart or pair of roller skates. You took your life in your hands if you attempted to race down on a steering cart, but many kids tried and lived to tell the tale."
One of the favourite pastimes for children growing up in the early to mid part of the last century was making a 'steery'. A steery was a homemade steering cart, much like a basic soapbox car, made out of wood with wheels that could be steered using a rope.
This week, the ECHO ran a story on some of Liverpool's lost streets, featuring a number of lost streets, including Havelock Street. Another perilously steep Everton street, Fairy Street, was included in the list.
After the story featuring a photo of Fairy Street was posted on Facebook groups, a number of people who remembered it, and other lost Everton streets, posted their memories. What seems clear is that Everton's steep streets were fun for kids but maybe not so for adults who had to use them.
Remembering his childhood on Fairy Street, one man posted: "Me and my cousin went down that one on a 'steery' or soap box before those flats were there. Well we started to go down but a malfunction with the steering mechanism (the rope came undone) we ended up upside down part way down the street."
Another man said: "Try going down Everton brow on a steery and stopping. That's a front door with four wheels."
And while a handmade steery may have gone like a rocket down Everton's streets, others wondered how it would have been for those who had to deliver there. One man commented: "Postman and delivery people must have dreaded the hill streets."
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Another agreed, saying: "Being the postman or the milkman around there must have kept you fit." While another commenter said: "My brother worked for Reece's delivering milk in the battery powered float, I used to help him. Even though it was battery powered it didn't-half shift down those streets."
Do these awaken any memories for you? Let us know in the comments section below.
But some ex-residents remember the streets fondly as it was a place where their families lived. One woman said: "My mum lived in Netherfield Brow. I loved walking up the steep roads when visiting Granddad."
Another commenter said: "Fairy Street going down, great, going up? Not so."
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