A Liverpool street which was so steep that residents needed a handrail to reach the top has since been consigned to history.
Havelock Street in Everton will be remembered by many for its steep ascent and the fun this often presented for local children.
The joke went that you needed an oxygen mask to make the climb up the street, according to Ken Rodgers, author of the 2010 book ‘Lost Tribe of Everton & Scottie Road’.
READ MORE: Driver 'can't explain' how £125,000 got into the boot of Range Rover
The locals nicknamed it ‘Mount Everton’ and reaching the top was considered a daily achievement, a task only complicated during the winter months.
The Everton ‘Mountain’ was such a vertical challenge it needed a free-standing handrail to give local residents a chance of reaching the top.
Ken Rogers, author/journalist and former 1950s ECHO paperboy with a local delivery round through Havelock, shared his memories of the famous street.
He said: “I can vouch for how testing the ascent was. It was so steep even a mountain goat would have baulked.
“It needed a handrail up one side to give senior citizens even half a chance of reaching the summit, especially during icy weather. The rail, running from bottom to top was a cast iron reminder that this was the steepest street in Liverpool."
He added: “On a bitterly cold winter’s day, with two or three feet of snow underfoot, it would always be a challenge to respect. It was tempting to strap an emergency tent to your back, just in case you were forced to bivouac halfway up.”
Ken recalled the "daredevil spirit" as you "took your life in your hands" when attempting to race down on a steering cart, but many kids tried and lived to tell the tail.
Jimmy Fearns, a former local resident, said: “I have to say that any mention of Havelock Street sends a chill down my spine.
“A few of the lads made a bet that no one could possibly ride a bike from the top of the street to the bottom.
"I did and my brake blocks went on fire, there was smoke everywhere. We had to do it in the night to make sure there were no cars coming when I got to the bottom. I was 12 or 13 at the time. The bet was for three bob.”
He added: “Another one was to walk up, yes walk up, the metal handrail that ran from the top to the bottom of the street. You were only allowed to fall off three times.”
In the 1960s, the bulldozers took to the street and local residents who occupied the terraced houses in the neighbourhood were scattered far and wide to random destinations across the city.
Ken, who was a youngster at the time remembers the stresses his parents went through over the proposed move. He said: “This was an exodus of biblical proportions involving thousands of people, some willing, many unwilling.
“I remember my mum and dad getting really worried about where we might end up. We had no affinity with any of those sprawling housing estates in the suburbs, but the consensus in the Town Hall was that we should be grateful.
“After all, we were from these so-called slum properties. They wanted us out and they wanted the bulldozers in and you got three rolls of the dice. If you didn’t accept any of the areas or houses you were offered, you lost your place on the housing waiting list.
“Now don’t get me wrong, many people not only survived the upheaval, but prospered, made new friends and built new lives in other parts of the city. Others were able to stay in Everton with a huge number caught up in the new High Rise revolution.
“Everton itself became something of a park with grass and trees where previously there had been thousands of terrace streets, buzzing with activity."
Before its demolition and park transformation, Havelock Street appeared in a 1970s British film, The Reckoning, starring Nicol Williamson and Ann Bell. The film was shot in various locations across the UK including London and Liverpool.
Further memories of Havelock Street, were previously posted on StreetsOfLiverpool.co.uk to tell the tale and lives of former residents.
Norman Morrissey recalled: “In 1954 I was a young policeman working from Everton Terrace Station. As few local people had a telephone, urgent hospital messages were delivered by the local Bobby.
“I had one such trip on a bitterly cold and snowy night at 2am. The house was halfway down Havelock Street and I managed to get there okay. The message was delivered and I tried to get back up to the terrace but it was so steep and slippy I had to slither down, with the help of the handrail, all the way to Netherfield Road to get back to the station. Happy memories.”
These days the terraced houses that flanked Havelock Street have gone, along with all the others that swept down from Northumberland and Everton Terrace. A steep path with wide steps replaces the old Havelock Street, rising up through the trees of Everton Park.
It does, however, still require a handrail to help anyone attempting the mountainous climb.
The Everton district of the city has overcome many difficulties since the mid-20th century transformation and Ken has nothing but happy memories and positive words to say about the area.
He added: “The good news is that Everton is emerging again with a defiance and determination that I recognize and admire. Its communities might be stretched out across The Hill, but there are some excellent pockets of housing and many uplifting things happening.”
The Lost Tribe of Everton & Scottie Road by Ken Rogers is published by Reach PLC. Copies are available online and via book retailers.
ECHO readers have since joked about the once steep hill.
One user said: "Bet the milkman and postman were shattered."
Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here
