Dating from 1783 onwards the
development of Rodney Street saw the flight of the moneyed classes up away from
the noise, smoke and bustle of the rapidly growing port. Along its length there
are plaques to birthplace, residence and workplace of politician, writer doctor
and diplomat.
Number 4, there is a plaque to the first American
consul to Liverpool, James Maury (1746 -1840).
Number 9, was the birthplace of sister & brother
Anne & Arthur Clough. Anne (1820-1892) was an early feminist and promoter of
higher education for women. She was the first principal of Newnham College,
Cambridge. Arthur (1819-1861), was a poet & early socialist writer who also
devoted much unpaid work to his wife's cousin, Florence Nightingale.
Number 11, was the home of Nicholas Montsarrat
(1910-1979) a writer and pacifist who nevertheless served with distinction
during The Second World War, rising to the rank of Commander. After the war he
wrote his most famous and lasting novel, The Cruel Sea.
Number 34, was the home of Henry Booth (1788-1869),
promoter of The Liverpool &Manchester Railway.
Number 43, there is a plaque to C. Thurston Holland
(a pioneer in the field of radiology). This building is the honorary Hungarian
consulate.
Number 54, there is a plaque to (Doctor) William
Duncan (1805-1863) Liverpool's (and Britain's) first Medical Officer of Health.
Number 59, this was the studio of Edward Chambre
Hardman (1898-1988) and is now a National Trust property. His immense
photographic archive is a social history in its own right. One personal
favourite of mine is The Birth Of The Ark Royal, the famous photograph in which
the huge aircraft carrier, under construction in Birkenhead, appears to float
magisterially above the town.
Number 62, this was the Liverpool home of William
Ewart Gladstone (1809-1898), four times prime minister, presiding over much
early liberal reform and promoter of home rule for Ireland.
Number 80, Lytton Strachey (1880-1932) lived here.
He was a biographer and satirist belonging to the Bloomsbury Group.
There is also a plaque at number 35 which was the first house to be built in
Rodney Street.
Sources:
The Oxford English Reference Dictionary &
Wikipedia.
