Olive Mount is a Grade 2 listed building set behind Old Mill Lane in Wavertree. This grand building was constructed in the early 1790’s for Mr James Swan. Swan was a Grocer and tea dealer, and had business premises in Castle Street, Liverpool and up until Olive Mount was built, he was living in Redcross Street.
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Gore’s directory lists him living at Olive Mount in 1796. He would have been 47 at the time and therefore business must have been going well for him to purchase this plot of land and construct this fine building.
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It would be interesting to know whether he took the name of the building from the local area, it being one of the high points in Liverpool, or whether the local area then took the building’s name. The house is typically Georgian and built of local cream sandstone.
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James Swan died, aged 80, in 1829. The house was put up for sale and at the time of the 1841 census it was the residence of 50-year-old Luke Thomas Crossley, who was described as ‘Independent’ and born outside Lancashire. Living with him at Olive Mount were his wife, their six daughters (aged 5-14) and five servants. By 1861, he had moved away, and the house was occupied by Adam Stewart Gladstone, an east India merchant who seems to have been unrelated to the famous Liverpool-born Prime Minister.
By 1871 Francis Hollins, a cotton broker, had arrived. And by 1881, Olive Mount was the home of another Merchant: Thomas Dyson Hornby, the nephew of Hugh Hornby of Sandown Hall. Then in 1897, the estate was purchased by the Liverpool Select Vestry, for the building of Cottage Homes.
In 1897 the Olive Mount estate was purchased by the Liverpool Select Vestry, for the building of Cottage Homes.
The Liverpool Select Vestry was part of the Victorian Poor Law system. It administered the giant Liverpool Workhouse on Brownlow Hill (where the Roman Catholic Cathedral stands today). In 1889 the West Derby Union - which was the body responsible for Poor Law administration on the outskirts of Liverpool, including Wavertree - had opened Cottage Homes at Fazakerley, the first of their kind in Britain. These Homes aimed to give orphans and other destitute children the sense of belonging to a 'family' group, rather than a vast and impersonal institution. The experiment was obviously a success, for the Liverpool Select Vestry decided to copy the West Derby example and in 1901 established its own Cottage Homes here at Olive Mount.
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Eventually, in 1925, the two Poor Law bodies were amalgamated. The Wavertree Cottage Homes were then used only for children up to the age of seven, older children being accommodated at Fazakerley. When the Poor Law was abolished, the Olive Mount estate became a Children's Hospital. With the advent of 'care in the community' it closed down, and virtually all of the buildings were demolished in 1991. The original house - which had been used as the administrative centre of the hospital - was retained by the Health Authority as offices.
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The building was listed as a Grade II structure on the 14th March 1975 by English Heritage and the description of the building is as follows:
House. Late C18. Stone. 2 storeys and 5 bays. Band over ground floor and top cornice and blocking course. Windows are sashed with glazing bars. Central 1st floor tripartite window has fan motif over, other 1st floor windows have snags over. Enclosed porch has paired columns with entasis and Adam style capitals. Entrance has architraves and flanking round-headed lights and roundels above. Iron balcony to central 1st floor balcony. Right return of 8 bays. Today, the building stands empty. It is still owned by Liverpool City Council who I believe are trying to find a use for the property.
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What I find incredibly frustrating is that this has been targeted by vandals who have got in and done a fair amount of damage internally, though thankfully the original exclusive parts of the building’s interior remain, but serious water ingress has taken place, and the building is suffering from mould and rot. More frustratingly the glass dome has lost all its glass panels, and no temporary covering has been added to this fine structure, as such water is pouring in via this large dome. Can Liverpool City Council not have this covered over so the building does not deteriorate any further?​​
NAME AND LOCATION: Olive Mount, Wavertree
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BUILD DATE: Early 1790's
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LISTING & OWNERSHIP: Grade II - Liverpool City Council
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CONDITION: The Liverpool Property Asset Management listing can be found here: ​​
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SECTION 54 OR SECTION 48 SERVED: The building seems to have fallen off the radar. While I have known about this building for years, it is not on the at-risk register for Save Britain’s Heritage. Both Save Britain’s Heritage, Historic England and the Georgian Group are now aware of this fine property. We therefore are unaware of any Section 54 or Section 48 notices being served because Liverpool City Council own the property.
My thanks go to The Tourist Historian who has allowed me to reproduce his images of the interior of this property. Their Facebook link can be found by clicking HERE.
STOP THE ROT - LIVERPOOL'S HERITAGE
SAVE BRITAIN'S HERITAGE
SAVE has been campaigning for historic buildings since its formation in 1975 by a group of architectural historians, journalists and planners. SAVE is a strong, independent voice in conservation, free to respond rapidly to emergencies and to speak out loud for the historic environment.
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Click on the image to view their website.
HISTORIC ENGLAND
Historic England are the public body that helps people care for, enjoy and celebrate England's spectacular historic environment. "We protect, champion and save the places that define who we are and where we've come from as a nation.
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​Click on the image to view their website.
These buildings do not belong to us only....they have belonged to our forefathers and they will belong to our descendants unless we play them false. They are not our property, to do as we like with. We are only trustees for those that come after us.