Charlie Wright, the Wirral man who refused to allow his home to be demolished while the estate around him vanished, has died aged 74. Mr Wright, born in the Birkenhead house he later staunchly defended, passed away earlier this year.
His Ilchester Road home, which he vowed never to leave, has been put on the market, with a sign outside stating a sale has been agreed.
Last house standing
Once a terraced house surrounded by 600 council properties in the River Streets estate, the property now stands as a fully detached house in an all-new estate. Mr Wright's story drew local and national media attention when he refused to let his home be demolished, making it the last one standing in what became a largely derelict wasteland near Birkenhead North Merseyrail station.
The house stood alone for over a decade. Explaining his decision to stay while neighbours' homes were torn down, Mr Wright told the Liverpool ECHO in 2017: "I was born in this house. All our family lived here, there were nine of us. Once they got married, they moved and I was the last one - me and me mam."
New neighbours and a new chapter
Mr Wright's house stood alone as a sign of defiance for over a decade until an entirely new housing estate was built around him. As plans for 178 new homes in the area emerged in 2019, Mr Wright told the Liverpool ECHO: "It’s going to be different having neighbours again."
He added: "It’s going to be good to see it happening. My mates say ‘You’re going to be living on a building site for the next three years', but I don’t mind. I can’t wait for them to start."
Now surrounded by new homes, the house is on the market. It still stands out, being the only property on the street with a chimney and garden gate.
Surviving a chip-pan fire
While the house stood alone, it was almost lost to a chip-pan fire. In February 2014, Mr Wright, then aged 63, saw his house fill with smoke after forgetting about a pan of chips he was cooking.
After the fire, which led to three fire engines being sent, Mr Wright told the Liverpool ECHO: "I’ll never cook a pan of chips in that house ever again. It is the last house and it could have gone. But I’ll need a new kitchen and my carpets have to go."
Mr Wright passed away on February 2.
