Where the streets are paved with...

Southport paviors come in different colours and some have manufacturers’ stamps.

Southport Townscape Heritage Project has produced a booklet celebrating the town’s historic Victorian paving that can still be found in areas of Southport, Churchtown and Birkdale. You can download it at the bottom of this page, but first we’ve asked Senior Conservation Officer, Agustina Solassi, for her take on ‘Southport paviors’.

So, let’s get to the heart of the matter – paver, pavior or paviour? Which did you choose, and why?

Oh what a dilemma!? Of course they are all correct, but we as a team decided to go with ‘pavior’ for consistency. We have a couple of conservation area appraisals that mention the paviors. As well, we discovered the Worshipful Company of Paviors (a London-based livery company established in 1276). They made an award to Southport in 2009 for excellence in paving.

How do I spot a Southport pavior?

Southport paviors are really easy to spot. They are square and have a natural colour of deep indigo blues with touches of cinder red, gold, and buff. Some of the tiles are stamped with the manufacturer’s mark. You can find them in different locations, but there is a big concentration of them around Southport. They can be seen in public places, such as on Market Street or around Hesketh Park , or even in private properties. You may even have some in your backyard!

Why are they special to Southport?

In the mid- to late-19th century, Southport was developing into a highly popular and desirable seaside resort for fashionable Victorians to visit. The beautiful, wide boulevards and affluent neighbourhoods of the new town needed high-status paving to match, and a search was made for a suitable product to use. Many factories in North Wales were producing exceptionally hard paviors, which were ideal for use in Southport. And so the town became one of their best customers.

From the stamps on the paviors still in existence, we can identify some of the factories where they were made. Since those times, they have been part of Southport’s local heritage, a historic feature that adds to its distinctiveness and character.

C Davison & Co were one of the main manufacturers of paviors. This page from their 1900 catalogue shows a ‘Southport tile’ and how to lay them. Flintshire Record Office

Why do some paviors have patterns or words on them?

Some of the tiles are stamped with manufacturers’ marks. You’ll find examples of ‘Adamantine’, ‘Catherall’, and ‘C. Davison & Co.’, or the letters ‘E’ and ‘G’ around Southport. But there are similar tiles with other stamps or patterns. Have you ever come across a different one? We’d love to hear about it!

What are the Southport paviors made of, and why are they different colours?

They are a unique type of clay paving. In some areas of Southport, the majority of the paviors appear in a deep indigo colour, and in other areas, there are more paviors that show off the cinder red tones. This variation is part of their unique character and charm. Over time, some areas of the paving have developed a little bit of unevenness, which is natural due to their age and adds to their character, sense of history, and ‘lived in’ appearance.

What is being done to look after Southport’s paviors?

Many areas of the original paving have been removed or reduced in size over the years and replaced with a variety of modern materials, some of which are unsuitable and detract from the character of the areas they are located in. Many of the paviors that still survive today are in good condition, although there may be some areas that have suffered from vehicles parking on pavements, and some places where the lime mortar has degraded. Southport paviors are no longer manufactured except for special orders, and they are a dwindling resource in Southport. It is important to preserve and maintain the remaining paviors, as they are an important part of our local heritage. By spreading awareness of their importance, we can help preserve and care for them.

Which is your favourite run of paviors?

So hard to pick! I find the ones around St. Cuthbert’s Church in Churchtown really appealing. As well, there is a short pedestrian path in Southport that connects Castle Walk with Lord Street West, which I love. The paviors are in good condition, and it seems like a little oasis in the middle of Southport.