This is the English version of my feature, ‘The Welsh Influence in Liverpool’,
which I wrote in 2015. It’s one of the most popular articles on my aidan.co.uk site,
so I decided to redo it as a visual podcast.
The Welsh influence in Liverpool is a story of migration from a country
that’s not so far away but with a language very different to English.
The Welsh Streets were built in the 19th century by Welsh migrants, but in the early 21st century
they were threatened with destruction. Luckily they have been saved.
This story shows how the interaction between languages
and cultures through migration has helped to shape the city and country we see today.
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There are many connections between Liverpool and Wales. It’s said that
Liverpool is regarded by many people in North Wales as their capital, not Cardiff.
The Welsh accent has influenced the Liverpool accent
and the border with Wales is just twelve and a half miles down the road from Birkenhead.
You can see the Clwydian hills from many parts of the city, including Toxteth in the south.
The view over the Liverpool region from the A55 in Flintshire, North Wales, is magnificent.
Welsh people started to migrate to Liverpool in the 18th century.
In 1813 around 8000 people or 10% of the residents of Liverpool were Welsh.
They created communities around the city and Welsh was the dominant language in those places.
As in other British cities there are streets named after places in Wales, such as Denbigh
Road in Walton und Barmouth Way in Vauxhall. But the most important symbol of the Welsh
influence in Liverpool is the area called the Welsh streets in Toxteth,
next to Princes Park, about a 10 minute bus ride south of the city centre.
The street names, and I’ll try and say them Welsh-style, include
Wynnstay Street, Voelas Street, Rhiwlas Street, Powis Street, Madryn Street,
Kinmel Street, Gwydir Street, Pengwern Steet, Treborth Street,
Dovey Street, Teilo Street and Elwy Street. These streets were built by Welsh building
workers during the 19th century. The houses were designed by Welsh architect Richard Owens,
who also designed many terraced houses in Liverpool as well as churches in North Wales.
Over the years the area became became run down. In the 2000s, there was plans to demolish the
Welsh Streets, including the house where Ringo Starr was born – 9 Madryn Street.
Local residents were generally in favour of refurbishbment rather than demolition,
but the houses were vacated and prepared for being pulled down.
Beatles tours continued to the area and fans wrote messages on the front of the boarded up house.
The organisations SAVE Britain’s Heritage and the National Trust campaigned for the
area to be renovated, especially because of its significance in the story of the Beatles.
A new plan was drawn up by Placefirst, a company based in Manchester that designs,
builds and refurbishes homes for rent. Around three quarters of the houses in the
Welsh Streets have been retained and renovated. Today, Ringo Starr’s old house looks almost new.
In October 2019 the Transformation of Welsh Streets by Placefirst was named
UK’s Best Residential Project in the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors awards.
The Welsh influence in Liverpool declined during the 20th century. According to the 2001 census,
around 1.17% of the population were born in Wales,
but there are plenty more people in the city who have Welsh ancestors.
For me the clearest evidence of the Welsh influence in Liverpool is the accent.
The up-and-down intonation of the Scouse accent is similar to the Welsh accent in English
or the Welsh language itself. In the Scouse accent, we can literally hear the influence
of all those people who migrated from Wales to Liverpool in past centuries.
There’s also an Irish influence on the Liverpool accent but that’s another story.
The patron saint of Wales is Saint David, or Dewi Sant in Welsh. Saint David’s Day
is celebrated every year in Liverpool, in Wales and around the world, on 1 March.
The German musician Zinney Sonnenberg used to live in the Welsh Streets and later in
Aigburth, in south Liverpool. Now he lives in Germany. Watch my interview to find out more.
Thanks very much, vielen Dank, diolch am fawr.