I set up a Facebook group back in 2021 and researched the building and the past involvements with its previous and present owners. Eddesbury was commissioned by the Latham Family as their private villa and James Francis Doyle took on the contract to complete this building between 1884 and 1885. They moved in straight away into their grand Villa and enjoyed the building, a stone throw from their previous address. However, their residence in Eddesbury was to be short lived. From 1885, they lived at the address till the death of his wife Caroline in October 1890. Faced with life without her, he moved back to the family address of Heatherlea, Haymans Green and died only a couple of months later on the 16th December 1890. James Latham was buried Walton on the Hill. The family census for the son Gerald shows him living back at the Haymans Green address and thus Eddesbury was abandoned by the family at this point. 

After Eddesbury was abandoned by the Latham family, it appeared to stand empty for a few years until the Cunningham family moved in. The earliest reference to the Cunningham family living there is the 1894 census.

The Margaret Beaven Special School was used from 1930 up to 2004 when the school closed. There have been alterations to additional buildings in the grounds, and the grounds themselves, but we do not concern ourselves with the later editions to the property and are focusing on the original 1884 footprint. The school was closed in August 2004 as part of the wider changes to special schools from the City Council’s think tank. They stated that the changes were part of the city council’s Special Education Needs (SEN) strategy for inclusion. It believes these schools may be better off amalgamated with the mainstream system, but insists the inclusion agenda has been set nationally and is advocated by the Government and schools inspectorate Ofsted.

In 2016, the City Council confirmed that they had sold Eddesbury to a private party. It was not stated whether this building was put out for tender on the market or whether this was a private deal. The sale price was £710,000 and was sold on the 6th July 2016. 

Since then the building has deteriorated further and urban explorers (and youths) and now entering the property. This is not just some abandoned house in the middle of nowhere, this is a Grade 2 listed building in the heart of West Derby built by one of the most famous architects of the day, James Francis Doyle (Designer of St Barnabas Church, White Star Line HQ and the former Royal Insurance Building to name but a few).

I then wrote a website detailing the building's history which can be found in the link below. 

UPDATE

A few months ago, I was contacted by a private developer who advised that they were looking to take on this property subject to successful planning application. I was greatly encouraged by this developer. They had been in to the property and 3D scanned each room, took extensive photographs and measurements and believed that the building could be restored to its former glory, alongside new builds inside the boundary wall of the school as part of a regeneration process. 

After waiting for a few months, I am now delighted that a planning application has gone in to Liverpool City Council and is waiting for approval. This would be a massive new chapter for the building if the planning application is successful and this would be a rare example where a building can be remove from the at risk registers because of it's forthcoming restoration. We are right behind the developer on this and have provided the link to the planning application below.