Lost estate where 'doors were always open' disappeared without a trace

A Victorian estate with a strong sense of community was lost for good a decade ago after being demolished to make way for new homes. The Klondyke estate in Bootle, which sat east of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, between Hawthorne Road and Orrell Road, has a fascinating history.

As the ECHO reported last week, it was built by a Welshman named William Jones, who was given the name 'Klondkye' after the 19th century gold rush. The estate, which Jones started building in 1890, was mainly comprised of two-up, two-down terraced homes with no bathrooms. They had their own electricity supply, but no pubs were allowed to be built there, because Jones, a strict Presbyterian, forbade it.

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After last week's article on the Klondyke estate was published, several former Klondyke residents got in touch to tell us about their experiences of living there. All have fond memories of their time in the area, and every one of them remembers a tight-knit community with a unique identity.

Frank Caren, 68, lived on the Klondyke estate in the 1950s and 60s. He describes a lost world of traditional local shops and delivery vans selling food and drink. Talking to the ECHO, Frank said: "There was Baines Dairy in Humphrey Street, the milk deliveries for the Klondyke estate all came from there. It had a small shop attached - a little general store where you could buy sweets and crisps. There was a small bakers van too, Mr Millar I think drove it. He would drive around the streets in the area selling delights such as blackcurrant slices and apple tarts from the back of the van."

He continued: "I must mention Scotts, which was a little general store on Springwell Road at the top of Elizabeth Road. It was an amazing place. As you entered the shop the living quarters were to the left and the shop to the right. The staircase in front of you was decked with stock: mops, buckets brushes, candles. That shop sold everything from hardware to cooked meats, cakes to cigarettes, and never seemed to be closed. It was most capably managed by Mrs Scott (us kids never knew her first name) her husband Billy Scott, Mrs Plumb and young Avril."

According to Frank, "all the front doors used to be open" and "friends and neighbours would pass freely from house to house". Frank's account is similar to John Cook's memories of life on the Klondyke during the same era.

John, 79, lived on Arvon Street in the heart of the estate. He told the ECHO: "It was a one-off experience living there. I don't think young people now will ever experience the kind of community spirit we had. We used to open the door, and go and play outside. We were carefree, there was no traffic to worry about. Mum would say, 'come in for bed', and we'd run in."

However, the homes weren't perfect by any means. John and his family were moved from the Klondyke estate to Netherton in 1955 because their home was, he says, "deemed uninhabitable". He added: "It was a two-up, two-down, with one bed at the front and one at the back. I was sharing a bed with my sister and there was an outside toilet. A new estate was built in Netherton we lived in a totally different kind of house with three bedrooms, an indoor bathroom and a garden."

John's family were fortunate in that they were able to move to Netherton with a number of other Klondyke families. This meant community ties and friendships weren't broken, though he admits the atmosphere there wasn't quite the same.

John now lives in Derbyshire. In 2014, he drove up to Bootle to look around the estate before it was due to be demolished. He said: "I read about the planning application to demolish it, so I drove up. I saw all the houses boarded up. It was very sad to see our old home looking like that. I though the houses could have been used and refurbished."

Jim Browne, 67, is in total agreement with John. He and his wife Susan moved to Eleanor Road in the Klondyke estate in 1990, and stayed right up until its demolition, bringing up their three children there. Ten years on from the demolition, Jim and Susan still miss the Klondyke.

Jim said: "My wife says she'd go back there tomorrow if she could. We meet our old neighbours, and every one of them says 'we wish we could go back'. With it being a terraced street, everyone was close and knew eachother. Everyone was friendly and there was never any trouble - no stabbings or shootings. If there was a problem on the street, everyone would come out and support you. You were never in danger."

The thing Jim misses the most is the fun he had living there. He said: "There were no pubs, but we didn't need it. In the summer, everyone would be sitting out until late at night having a can. Every year on Eleanor Road, new year's eve was a really big thing. Everyone's door would be open. You'd have buffets, drinks and dancing in the street at midnight. It was amazing, I loved it."

Like John and Frank in the 1950s, Jim's kids used to run in and out of the neighbours' homes. He said: "Kids used to run into eachother's houses all the time. One time, we were looking for my daughter, and the girl across the road said, 'it's okay, she's in the bath with my daughter!'. That sums it up - everyone looked after each other."

According to Jim, there was also an incredible array of tradesmen in the area, meaning "you never had to pay to get anything fixed". He said: "We had every tradesman you need in one road. Mechanics, plumbers, joiners, you name it. They were always there to help."

Jim and his family stayed on Eleanor Road until the very end. He said: "We lived there while the demolition was going on. It was dusty, and each day you'd see people going out, leaving their homes. The road just got quieter and quieter."

The decision to demolish the estate still rankles him. He said: "The houses were in fine condition. The people who owned their homes spent thousands on them." Robbie Crosbie, who lived on Elizabeth Road in the 2000s, agrees. He said: "I live in a new build house now. Personally I think the houses on the Klondyke were built better. They had their own character and felt solid. Where I live now, there's no community spirit like there was on the Klondyke."

Jim and his family still live in Bootle, but life now is very different to what it was on the old estate. "Now we could be lying dead in the house and no one would know," he said. "You don't see anyone here. Every year on new year's eve, we go to the front of the house, but we've never seen anyone else outside. It's a shame what we lost."