The Welsh Streets Preventing Demolition
The Welsh Streets in Toxteth Park, Liverpool contained Victorian homes built by Welsh workers for their families; the streets were named after villages and valleys in Wales. Liverpool City Council planned a large scale demolition of the Welsh Streets and Save Britain's Heritage led challenges to the demolition which culminated in a public inquiry, at which Dr Gareth Carr, Senior Lecturer in the Built Environment team and architectural historian, provided expert witness representation.
Dr Carr's research identified that the houses, built by the Welsh architect Richard Owens, were substantially older than originally thought and that they formed part of a larger estate. Part of Dr Carr's representation was that both the Welsh Streets and the Richard Owens played an important part in understanding the national/ international development of terraced housing.
The challenge was successful and Dr Carr played a pivotal part in the Secretary of State's decision to prevent the demolition of 440 terraced houses.
Victorian Workers' Housing: The Development of the Bye-Law Terraced House
As part of the Glyndwr Talks Research public lecture series, Dr Gareth Carr presented on Victorian workers’ terraced housing. Providing an overview of Victorian courts that were built to house the poorest of the population, well-known architects and house builders and the introduction of bye-laws to improve housing for renters.
