Time Gentlemen Please

The Lost Pubs of Liverpool . This project documents a quiet but profound shift in the social fabric of Merseyside.

After returning to Liverpool in 2010, the contrast was immediate. The city centre had been reshaped by investment following its European Capital of Culture year. New developments signalled confidence and renewal. Beyond that core, a different story persisted. Longstanding communities showed little sign of the same attention or care.

The work began as a response to that imbalance. Triggered by the Liverpool Echo’s “Stop the Rot” campaign, the focus turned to the disappearing pubs of Liverpool. These buildings once anchored working-class life. They served dockers, sailors, and families across a dense network of neighbourhoods. Now many stand derelict, boarded, or already demolished. What remains are fragments of a system that once defined the city’s social and economic rhythm.

The photographs capture these structures at the point of disappearance. They are not romanticised. They show erosion, absence, and the physical residue of economic change. Policy, pricing, and shifting habits have all played a role. Smoking bans, supermarket alcohol, and the rise of private leisure have displaced the communal function of the pub. What was once shared has become individual.

Running alongside this is a second body of work: The Working Pubs of Wirral. Here, the contrast is deliberate. Many pubs continue to operate, some dating back centuries. In more stable or affluent areas, the “local” has adapted rather than vanished. It has been reframed through food, tourism, and boutique hospitality.

Together, the two series present a simple comparison. Preservation is not evenly distributed. What survives and what disappears is shaped by economics, not sentiment.

This project is a record of that divide.