Initially accessible only to leaseholders, Falkner Square has long been open to the public. The Pavilion is plainer than that of Abercromby Square (which is credited to John Foster senior) but was probably also a disguised shed for keeping garden tools. Falkner Square was built approximately ten years after Abercromby Square and is harder to attribute. There is an elevation drawing of houses credited to E. Culshaw but nothing to confirm him as architect. Edward Falkner was a military man, originally from the Kensington area of Liverpool. He later became High Sheriff of Lancashire. In the early 19th century Falkner and his family decided to invest in land and property. Land was purchased outside the city centre and in 1835 Falkner Square was completed. You may read that the square was briefly known as Falkner's Folly because the houses were hard to sell, but David Lewis attributes this nick name to Falkner Terrace, a terrace of Georgian housing in Upper Parliament Street which originally stood isolated and further out from the developing city. In any case, Falkner Square became in time the most attractive area for the newly rich of the mid 19th century.

Sources:
Pevsner Architectural Guides: Liverpool by Joseph Sharples
Walks Through History: Liverpool by David Lewis
Discover Liverpool by Ken Pye
Wikipedia

Alan Maycock © 2008