The ECHO has taken a look down a little known road in a leafy suburb which is harbouring a rich history, including two blue plaque properties commemorating famous past residents.
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed to observe a link between the location and a famous person, historic event or even a former building on the site. Liverpool has the largest number of them outside of London.
Some are to mark the homes of famous people - John Lennon's house on Menlove Avenue, or the former home of William and Eleanor Rathbone on Greenbank Lane for example - but to the north of the city centre lies a small road with two plaques within a stone's throw of each other.
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Station Road in Maghull is peppered with Victorian villas and is also home to Maghull train station and the Mogul pub.
Leader of Maghull Town Council Patrick McKinley told the ECHO: "For many hundreds of years Maghull remained a rural settlement. This began to change with the railway age, which brought rich merchants out of the city of Liverpool to settle in rural tranquillity.
"We see this around the Maghull station area where large mansion houses were built."
Station Road's most famed historic house is that of Frank Hornby, the toy maker, inventor and politician, who lived and eventually died in the area aged 73 in 1936. Hornby initially owned 'The Hollies' on Station Road, which now has a permanent blue plaque for its former occupier.
The man behind Meccano also later lived in Quarry Brook House, which now forms part of Maricourt High School, and his legacy in Maghull lives on through a pub on Eastway. He is buried on the grounds of St Andrew's Church.
On the junction of Station Road and Hall Lane is another blue plaque, but with perhaps a lesser known than Frank Hornby. The property was once home to author and playwright Rafael Sabatini.
He was born in Italy to an English mother and Italian father in 1875 and 20 years later married Ruth Goad Dixon, the daughter of a Liverpool merchant.
During his career, Sabatini produced 34 novels, eight short story collections, six non-fiction books, numerous uncollected short stories and several plays. Some of his works were also made into films.
Patrick said his authority works hard to preserve the history of the area. He added: "When any planning application is submitted the application will be assessed against the characteristics of the local area to ensure it is in keeping with the locale. The idea is to preserve the best of the past and ensure development enhances the character rather than diminish it."
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