Like all port cities, 19th-century Liverpool had a booming trade in boarding houses. These establishments often emerged out of existing social or cultural networks and so were targeted at particular regional, national or linguistic groups. When sailors, merchants and migrants stepped off a boat at the docks, many knew exactly where they were heading. If they didn't already have the name of a boarding house, there would be plenty of multilingual touts at the quayside waiting to attract their custom.

Liverpool had many Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking boarding houses, most of which catered for a particular group, such as Basques, Galicians, or Filipinos. For many migrants, the boarding house was an important first stage in adjusting to Liverpool life. Church records show us that boarding house owners were at the heart of Liverpool's Hispanic social networks, regularly witnessing weddings and sponsoring christenings for their residents.

As you can see from the map on the left, the boarding houses were clustered around the central waterfront, close to the Salthouse and Wapping docks. Click each pin to find out more, or look at the list below.

KEY:

The colour and size of the pin indicates how long the boarding houses lasted: Red = 11+ years / Yellow = 2-10 years / Blue = 1-2 years