Liverpool's deep-rooted connection with Wales is evident in its architecture, culture, and population. Welsh master builders played a significant role in shaping the city, while the influx of Welsh immigrants contributed to the development of the distinctive Scouse accent. The Bethel Presbyterian Church in Allerton stands as a testament to the Welsh influence, serving as a gathering place for Welsh speakers and representing a former way of life centered around the church.
On a clear day, Wales can be seen from the city, and the proximity of the two has ensured Merseyside's long-standing links with the country. By 1813 almost 10 per cent of people living in Liverpool were Welsh.
One of the last remaining free churches in the city it is a haven for Welsh speakers. The congregation represents a former way of life, centered around the church. The original chapel was built in 1926 and once dominated the corner of Penny Lane. However, with declining numbers and high upkeep costs, it was demolished in 2011.
Official census figures put the Welsh-born population in the city at twenty-two thousand in 1851. Some estimates put the population at around fifty thousand in the 1870s, and others say it peaked at over seventy thousand. With Welsh chapels being constructed across the city. “There is a group of people here who are all over 70 years old and can communicate in their own language. They come into this church and communicate purely in Welsh it is comforting as well as nostalgic.”
The 81-year-old said: “I have been coming here a long time and it is just part of my life. It is a continuation of my childhood, not only is it faith based but it is social. We are more like a family. In his speech at the start of the 1900 Liverpool Eisteddfod, Mayor Louis Cohen, referred to the city as the ‘capital of Wales’. It is estimated that by the end of the 19th century, 70,000 Welsh people inhabited the city, with the site of the Pall Mall being nicknamed 'Little Wales'.
“They are quiet and kept to themselves to themselves, they had an enclosed world of their own chapels. The chapels were there to make sure the Welsh language kept going but also to teach those coming to Liverpool, English.” John said: “They were considered to be industrious, sober, and, steady so they are often contrasted with the arrivals from Ireland who were considered to be the reverse of those qualities. Arguably you can say the Welsh that built the houses, so many people from Liverpool still live in today.”
Many areas - including Vauxhall, Anfield, and, Dingle, - were noted for their high migrant populations, with terraced street names like Denbigh Road, Snowdon Lane, and Barmouth Way. 'The Welsh will never go away in Liverpool' In the Chadwick buildings on the University of Liverpool Campus, a chorus of songs can be heard from the Barkla lecture theatre.
Wena Evans, 69, is the Chair of the Liverpool Welsh Choral, a former nurse she has been a member of over 20 years. During the 19th century, choral singing grew in popularity across the British Isles, particularly in growing industrial towns, where it was seen as a suitably moral and healthy diversion for the working classes.
Liverpool Welsh Population Architecture Culture Scouse Accent Bethel Presbyterian Church Welsh Speakers
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