The early 19th century was a time of rapid growth for Liverpool. The newly developed steam engine was powering an industrial revolution across northern England, and in 1830 the world's first passenger railway was opened between Liverpool and Manchester. New and bigger docks were under construction. Trade boomed between Britain and all corners of the world, and the population tripled between 1831 and 1891.

While many of Liverpool's new citizens lived in overcrowded, sometimes squalid conditions, the nouveau riche could afford more luxurious surroundings. In 1800, the Corporation Surveyor John Foster Senior had drawn up plans for an area known as Mosslake Fields. Situated on top of St James's Mount away from the grime of the city centre, the area offered an opportunity to live in spacious comfort. Over the next 100 years a succession of developers built a large number of imposing and elegant town houses, mostly in the Georgian style.

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