The earliest large-scale map of Wavertree - Leather's Plan of 1836 - indicates the owners of Almond Terrace as W Pearson (1 & 2, No.2 being the surviving house, 199 Picton Road) and R Ellison (3 & 4, both now demolished). William Pearson, who lived at No.2, was a Wavertree joiner and builder, while Richard Ellison seems to have been a timber merchant who lived elsewhere (in Upper Stanhope Street, Toxteth Park, at the time of the 1841 Census).

By 1871, No.4 Almond Terrace (also known as 1 Sandown Lane) was owned by John Sheard, a 'car proprietor'. (A car, in those days, was a type of horse-drawn carriage). The Minute Book of the Wavertree Local Board of Health indicates that Mr Sheard was not regarded as a good neighbour. In April 1866 "The Clerk was directed to write to Mr Sheard to cease obstructing Sandown Lane with his Cars", and in August "The Clerk was directed to write to Mr Sheard ... pointing out a Nuisance he creates in emptying the horse Midden frequently, and to require him to Empty it all at one time and also to do away with keeping his pigs on the Midden".

As the population of the village increased, there was pressure to convert High Street dwellings to shops, and to extend some of them over what had once been front gardens. One of the Board's main topics of discussion in the 1860s was how to regulate this commercial expansion, so as to ensure that the High Street and Wavertree Road remained wide enough to cope with future traffic. In December 1868 it was "Resolved that the Works Committee be requested to  prepare for the consideration of the Board a plan of the High Street from Sandown Lane to the big Lamp, marked with lines on both sides of the street defining how far in future the Board may consider it advisable to permit new buildings, or alteration of old buildings, to come upon the street". This plan was produced, and then extended to cover Wavertree Road as well. In September 1869 it was "Resolved that the pencil lines as now settled by the Board be approved, and the plan completed by drawing the lines in red ink".

In 1871, John Sheard was one of the property owners who decided to make the most of his front garden area. Instead of extending his house forward, however, he proposed a separate building on the corner of Sandown Lane. It was this building that later became known as 203 Picton Road.
In May 1871 the Board resolved: "Mr Sheard's plan approved subject to building being set back from Sandown Lane 2ft 6in, and also set back on Wavertree Rd to the Board's building line". The new building was probably completed in 1872. Gore's Liverpool Directory for 1874 (which would have been compiled the year before) continues to list "Sheard John, car proprietor" at 1 Sandown Lane. It shows the other Almond Terrace houses as 77, 79 and 81 Wavertree Road; but the next property listed is 83 Wavertree Road: "Taylor Charles, miller and baker".

Interestingly, John Sheard had been recorded by the 1851 Census as a 'bread baker' at what is now 5 High Street. Perhaps this is what gave him the idea of creating a new bakery. Having built it in his front garden, he did not stay in Wavertree for very long. The 1881 Census records him as a 'retired car proprietor' back in the place of his birth, the Isle of Man.