Nos 38-42 High Street is the terrace of stuccoed 19th century houses between Abbeygate Apartments and Grove Terrace. Mr B E Rafferty of Sunderland has fond memories of No.40 which was his late wife's former home (she was originally a Faulkner). We sent him some information from the Census about former occupants, and will publish this in a future Newsletter. However, we would like to find out more, so if you have any memories, archive material or old photographs please contact our Local History Secretary, Mike Chitty.

The One-Stop Shop and Library in Picton Road stand on the site of Davies's Nursery which was a thriving horticultural business in Victorian Wavertree. It was founded in the early 19th century by John Davies who was born John Debes (pronounced Debess). It is said that he changed his name to Davies after escaping from the Royal Navy, having been 'enlisted' by the Press Gang circa 1805 (possibly while sitting in the Lamb, Wavertree). Once again we shall be featuring this story in a future Newsletter, but meanwhile we (and John Davies's descendants) would like to get hold of further material - in particular any corroboration of the Press Gang story. Please contact Mike Chitty if you are able to help.