10, Hockenhall Alley

This is a modest two-story and attic house, originally part of a row, dating from the late 18th or early 19th century. It is constructed of brick in an irregular bond, with a slate roof. The building is one bay wide and is flanked by two tall late 19th-century warehouses.

The exterior has a doorway with a later metal door on the ground floor to the left, and a boarded-over window to the right. Windows to the center of each floor above are also boarded over, although the lower sash of the second-floor window retains some original multipaned glass, and the ground floor window has later plain glazing. A first-floor window is boarded over internally. Segmental brick arches feature above the door and windows, with brick sills to the windows. A projecting stringcourse runs between the ground and first floors. The rear elevation is plain, with an off-center doorway on the ground floor (the door has been removed) and a later inserted square vent to the first floor. A small rear yard is enclosed by walls of the surrounding buildings.

Inside, the house is exceptionally modest, containing a small room on each floor. The ceilings are of lath and plaster. A timber winder stair rises to a rear right corner, with a rope handrail attached to a slender central post; an under-stair cupboard is located on the ground floor, featuring a plank and batten door. A later door is located off the stair on the first floor. A timber partition wall to the far right of the first-floor room creates a separate narrow space containing a sink.

Hockenhall Alley, originally known as Molyneaux Weint, lies off Dale Street, an ancient route into the city from London and Manchester and the economic hub of the port during the 18th and 19th centuries. No. 10 Hockenhall Alley is believed to have originally formed part of a short row of houses towards the southeast end of the alley. The name ‘Hockenhall’ derives from an old Cheshire family. The alley and buildings were not depicted on a map from 1729, showing the area to be enclosed fields. By 1765, the southeastern section of the alley was built up, though individual properties were not marked. The other houses in the row were probably demolished when the late 19th-century warehouses were built. A further row of similar dwellings was demolished approximately 40 years ago. The building is designated at Grade II for its rarity as a survival of a modest working-class dwelling illustrating the living conditions of the poorest members of late 18th and early 19th century society, and for its retention of original features such as the narrow winder stair, a plank and batten door, and lath and plaster ceilings.