At one time a 'key' garden, accessible only to leaseholders, Falkner Square has long been open to the public. The Pavilion is plainer than the pavilion in Abercromby Square which is credited to John Foster Senior. The Abercromby pavilion is an elaborate shed for keeping garden tools and it is likely that this was the practical purpose of this pavilion too. There is a small plaque here, to black merchant seamen killed in World War 2. This square was built approximately ten years after Abercromby and is harder to attribute. There is an elevation drawing credited to E. Culshaw but there is nothing specific about the pavilion and Culshaw may have been a draughtsman not an 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 a terrace of Georgian housing in Upper Parliament Street. 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, Wikipedia, Walks Through History: Liverpool by David Lewis, Discover Liverpool by Ken Pye

Alan Maycock © 2007