One of the main shopping streets in the city centre, Church Street is lined with major retailers, peppered with street performers and is a thoroughfare for revellers enjoying a night out on the town.
We’ve all seen some crazy things on the street, which also links Bold Street to Lord Street.
The street has seen some major changes since its inception back in the 1700s. The very church it was named after was demolished in 1922, it’s been bombed, rebuilt, pedestrianised and usurped by the Liverpool One shopping complex - but it’s still going strong after 300 years.
Below are some then and now comparison pictures that reveal just how much the district has changed over the past two centuries.
1. St Peter’s Church
Church Street is named after St Peter’s Church, which was erected in 1700 and consecrated in 1704 - it is pictured here circa 1800. It was demolished in 1922 and its location is now marked by a bronze Maltese cross in the pavement outside the Keys Court entrance to Liverpool One. Photo: Henry S Young, Harold E Young, Ramsey Muir/Bygone Liverpool/Wikimedia and Google Street View
2. Compton House
The iconic Compton House building that stands on Church Street was rebuilt in 1867 after the original was destroyed by fire two years earlier. Now a Grade II-listed building, it was one of the first purpose built department stores in Europe. After being converted into a hotel in 1871, Compton House reverted back to a department store in 1927, when Marks & Spencer moved in. The retailer remained in the building for almost 100 years, becoming a Church Street landmark, before moving to a new location in Liverpool One in 2023. Photo: Compton House on Church Street, Liverpool, in 1865 and 2020.
3. Bon Marche department store
Founded in 1878, Bon Marché was modelled on its famous namesake in Paris and featured French fashions, perfumes and accessories. Pictured on the left in 1895, it was acquired by John Lewis in 1961. In 2009, the old Bon Marché building became a TK Maxx. Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images and Google Street View
4. T.R. Russell and Primark
With its cafes and canopies, Church Street could be mistaken for Paris circa 1890. Renowned watchmakers T.R. Russell, ‘Maker to the Queen’, in the Sandon Buildings dominates the street. Primark now stands on the same spot, but there is a Sandon Studios Society in the Bluecoat just down Church Alley. Image: London Stereoscopic Company/Hulton Archive/Getty Images and Google Street View