Merchant Villas of Hispanic Liverpool
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From the middle of the nineteenth century, the wealthy Liverpool suburb of Sefton Park was home to many of the city's mercantile and shipowning families. Often, these families had overseas origins or connections, and so Sefton Park became a very cosmopolitan neighbourhood. Although the grand houses are now often demolished, altered, or divided into flats, we can still find traces of the people who once owned them, and the networks they moved in. One of the most popular trends was to name homes after a place or person that was meaningful to the family, and unsurprisingly, merchant families often chose names that flagged up their overseas connections. This map shows the locations of South Liverpool villas named for their owners' Luso-Hispanic connections. Click on a yellow pin for information about the home to be found at that location. The table below provides a summary, while a clickable name takes you to more information about that house: |
Name | Meaning | Address | Villa Name First Recorded | Notes |
Belem Tower | Landmark in Lisbon, Portugal | 1 Aigburth Drive | 1881 Census | Demolished 1950s. Sandstone gatepost still visible |
Bilbao Villa | City in Vizcaya, Northern Spain | 181 Lodge Lane | 1884, Liverpool Mercury | Still stands; no name visible. Sometimes recorded as 'Bilboa Villa' (Bilboa is a common English variant for Bilbao) |
Boa Vista | 'Fine view' (Portuguese) | 9 Livingston Drive North | 1885, Liverpool Mercury | Still stands; no name visible |
Buena Ventura | 'Good fortune' (Spanish) | Greenbank Road | 1900, Gore's Directory | Still stands; no name visible |
Douro Lodge | River in Northern Portugal | 28 Ullet Road | 1874, Gore's Directory | Still stands; no name visible |
La Franca | Village in Asturias, Spain | Victoria Park, Wavertree | 1888 obituary | Still stands (now 4, South Drive); no name visible |
Olinda | City in North-East Brazil | 14 Aigburth Drive | 1891 Census | Still stands; name visible on gatepost |
Quinta | 'Country house' (Portuguese) | 21 Greenheys Road | 1870, Liverpool Daily Post | Still stands; no name visible |
Teneriffe | Canary Island | Crompton Lane | 1938 Kelly's Directory | |
Terceira House | Island in the Azores | 28 Aigburth Drive | 1888, Liverpool Mercury | Still stands; no name visible |
Valencia House | City in South-East Spain | [201-213 Mill Lane] | 1908, Ordnance Survey | Demolished 1950s |
Valparaiso House | City in Chile | 23 Aigburth Drive | 1890, Liverpool Mercury | Still stands; no name visible |
Vigo House | City in Galicia, northern Spain | 115 Hartington Road | 1882, Morning Post | |
Villa Maria | Woman's name | 23 Alexandra Drive | 1911 Census | Still stands; name visible on gatepost |