Development was largely speculative. Prospective residents were offered large, elegantly proportioned homes with plenty of room for the servants, all a cab ride away from the warehouse, office, docks and exchange. For a time the area bloomed, but by the last quarter of the nineteenth century Canning had become obsolete. The railways arrived, and consistently fast transport meant that people could live further from their place of business. Over the years, the gentry moved away, and the character of the area changed.

Today the houses are mostly split into flats. Because of this, the population of the area tends to be young. Canning is close to the city centre, and a lot of the properties are owned by housing associations, so the rents are pretty cheap - often around half of the 'free market' rent charged by more profit oriented private landlords. There's a rich mix of people living here. Lifelong residents. Students from all over the world. People who came to Liverpool for any number of reasons, and never managed to leave. We're close neighbours to both major universities - John Moores University and Liverpool University. In recent years the former Liverpool Institute (Paul McCartney and George Harrison's old school) has been transformed into LIPA - the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.

Things could be better - we have a dense population living in buildings mostly around 150 years old. Most are converted into apartments, not always to the highest quality. But over the last twenty years there have been some wonderful improvements. Houses have been renovated and restored, street lighting improved, pavements repaired. There are still things which need fixing (just like my site!), but I'm proud of the Canning area.