Toxteth Fire Station, Ivanhoe Road, Toxteth, Liverpool

The following data have been very kindly been sent to me by Simon Ryan, the Historian for Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service. " I attach some notes on Toxteth Fire Brigade which are rather sparse but I hope they are of use. We presume that before Ivanhoe Road the Township kept the fire engine in the yard at Lark Lane, never found any records re. this."
Liverpool Records Office and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service have been able to supply three photographs. If you have further information please get in touch as it will be of great interest to all concerned.

1881 'Sefton Park Volunteer Fire Brigade' is listed in Kelly at 'Aigburth Road', John Robinson is superintendent. New information has come to light and Simon Ryan has found a reference that before Liverpool took over Toxteth in 1895, there was a Toxteth Park Fire Brigade in existance. Its Chief Officer was Captain John Price, a chartered engineer.

I have traced a likely person in the 1891 census living at 32 Sydenham Avenue within Toxteth. John Price (b. 1855 in Manchester) was a Civil Engineer and Surveyor as well as an Engineer for Toxteth Park Local Board. I gather that as a Local Board employee he would have undertaken his fire brigade duties as very much a secondary task.

1894 - Construction began of a fire station for Toxteth Park at a cost of Ł1,050, situated between Parkfield Road & Back Parkfield Road; its construction was part of the agreement with the City for the areas incorporation. Previously the engine was presumably kept in the Board’s yard. There was also a house, 37a for the Sgt Engineer.

1895 9th November - Station completed by the appointed day & transferred to LIverpool Fire Brigade. When opened it housed: Steamer - Shand Mason, 'Toxteth’ later ‘Duncan’, Reel Cart, set of extension ladders and a Police ambulance.

1896 - The ambulance and steamer shared 2 horses, a fire occurred in Boswell Street while the ambulance was out. The resulting delay caused the Council to make arrangements to hire horses from an adjoining livery stable at a cost of 30shillings per week, for the brigade’s sole use. This was due to the station having no capacity for additional horses without capital expenditure for an extension being authorised.

1897-1904 Housed: Steamer - Merryweather ‘Livingston’ (shown left in 1897) and Chemical 1st turn engine (shown right in 1897), Hose carriage, Set of extension ladders.

1904 - Closed, replaced by Mill Street, 37b was now used by the Police Mounted Section and as a Police Ambulance Station, 37a stayed a police house.

1939 - The adjoining former Toxteth Board Mortuary was taken over; the site was now a store for Home Office emergency pumps etc. supplied to equip the AFS. An AFS Sector post was also established here, with the men sleeping in the hay loft. The AFS was set up in 1938 and was the Auxiliary Fire Service. In Liverpool alone it grew to a strength of over 5,200 having full and part time members. It was absorbed into the National Fire Service when all UK brigades were nationalised in August 1941.

i941 August - Passed to the National Fire Service, 37b became FF26’s vehicle paintshop.

1948 April - 37a & 37b passed back to the City Fire Service: 37a was accommodation for Stn O Cunliffe, 37b was the Brigade Paintshop. Parkfield Garages lease was also taken over, being used to house AFS & LFB appliances & equipment.

1981 The Ivanhoe Road Fire Station and yard had become a builders yard.

From Trisha Heaps :- "I lived at number 39 Ivanhoe Rd from 1987 to 1992 and when I first moved in the Fire Station was a derelict. By the time I moved out it had been turned into luxury flats. I was told by some that it had been a fire station and by others, an ambulance station, It turns out it was both!"

There have also been Fire Stations in Upper Essex Street, then later in Belvidere Road.
The Essex Road Station is shown here after closure but before demolition.

The current location of the Fire Station is in High Park Street (facing Toxteth Town Hall).