By Tom Doubtfire
I met with Polly Moseley at her home in Everton in late Summer 2024 as part of an interview for my article ‘UNESCO Who? Scousers are on the job!’, (read here: https://issuu.com/homebakedclt/docs/people_power_vol._3_cosy_homes_club_special) focused on the demolitions and ongoing civic neglect visible in buildings and places such as Everton Library and Anfield Cemetery. I wanted to reframe this through the lens of never-ending war and division, but making it clear there is no lack of people and communities bringing these spaces back into public use in one form or another. This was my first introduction to Polly and the work she and many others have been doing to present viable, long-term options for Everton Library to its current owners, Liverpool City Council. I agreed to type up a list of previous supporters and that was that, or so I thought …
In my spare time I do a bit of gardening around Liverpool, activating underused bits of land and making them into community gardens, building planters and structures with waste material to create spaces people can hang out, spend time and learn a bit about growing their own food. One such space, now closed off again by the owners or council, is a lovely wild patch of land next to a series of beautiful houses now burnt down that used to house businesses, karate clubs and literacy projects before becoming derelict, just along the road from the library. This ‘garden’ became a haven for kids from a local school, who frequently ran in and out of the fallen boards to climb about empty buildings and have a laugh, all be it a dangerous one. Obviously, it begs the question why, along a busy road with schools and family houses all around as well as a huge park, have these buildings been left to decay for so long?
There are currently no libraries open in Everton or Anfield, and whilst you can see why an abandoned bit of land may be more appealing to young people, people of all ages deserve to have a library near them which they can learn about their own family history, pick up new hobbies and crafts, gain meaningful employment and even just enjoy a bit of quiet from the busy world. I had the privilege of going to Belfast and Armagh for the Heritage Network Conference recently. The two libraries I visited in Belfast, one on the Falls Road next to the Bobby Sands mural and another in the centre of town, both had a real focus on heritage and family history. They hosted workshops and provided resources for people interested in learning about their family archives and learning how to navigate family records online. We have inherited the Lost Tribe of Everton website (www.losttribeofeverton.com) from local writer Ken Rogers. This is an amazing living archive of people’s history and life in the old streets of Everton and Scottie Road, with new stories uploaded every day.
I am excited and intrigued to see where all of this leads, with the council investing some money into the library and people seeming to be excited about the potential of it reopening (again). As Everton Library Trust, we are a Community Benefit Society, and we hope our work does just that, provides a real long-term benefit to the community of Everton, allowing people to get back in touch with their heritage and play a part in bringing buildings such as Everton Library back into full public use.
