Vincent, 80, admitted he was taken aback when he first stepped inside 10 Percy Street in 1974. The previous owner lived in one room and rented out the others. "When I bought this house, the main living room on the first floor had 12 rolled-up palliasses for Norwegian seamen to sleep on. She used to charge seven shillings and sixpence a night for them to doss down in what's now our main living room. The house had been neglected for about 40 years, there was no useful money spent on it at all," he told the ECHO.
A street preserved
Percy Street sits slightly apart from busier Georgian Quarter streets such as Hope Street and Upper Duke Street. Most of its properties were built in the 1830s and, thanks to being given Grade II* listed status in 1952, the street's exterior has remained almost entirely the same since then.
A slow restoration
Over the next 20 years, Vincent and later his wife, Susan, underwent a slow but rewarding process of bringing 10 Percy Street back to its former glory. "There were a lot of original features to be restored, including the ceiling moldings, which had been largely made difficult to see because of the amount of distemper paint that was slapped on and built up over the years, disguising the fineness of the moldings. So when I cleaned that lot off, some beautiful moldings emerged," he said.
"We've still got little handles either side of the fireplace in the main living room. One went to the attic to ring a bell for probably some sort of night service, and the other one went down to the kitchen, which was in the basement."
Taking a chance
"People told me I was mad buying in the centre of the city, but then 10 years later, they were saying, 'you touched lucky there, didn't you?' So I took my chances, and I believe it really worked. I just started this long, slow process of renovating it to the highest standard I could. And I think, well, people who see it today say it's beautiful. It's absolutely gorgeous," Vincent said.
Views over the city
Vincent has grown used to the home's grandeur and ornate features, but says he will never take them for granted. "If we go in the front of the house, the terrace on the opposite side is absolutely beautiful. It's got columned door entrances and large, usable balconies. Our master bedroom looks directly up at the Anglican Cathedral's tower. You can see it from the kitchen and from the spare bedroom on the second floor as well."
A changing neighbourhood
Down the years, Vincent has witnessed how much the street around him has changed, never more so than when the Toxteth uprisings unfolded in July 1981. "I remember thinking of what W.B. Yeats said 'A terrible beauty is born.' It was black and white people together saying, 'We've had enough. We're not taking any more of this.' And the area has been really at ease and relaxed ever since," he said.
No plans to leave
Now more than five decades after he first moved in, Vincent says he has no plans to move away from the area. "We've brought up our daughters, Orla and Erin here, and they absolutely loved living here, and they love coming back as well with our grandchildren. The general outlook for the area is more and more positive, there's people who appreciate the beauty they are around, and that can only be good for the future of the conservation area."
