Liverpool landmark, Galkoff’s Jewish butcher shop frontage, is to be preserved and protected with a £291,300 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).
P. Galkoff kosher butcher shop is an iconic building fronted with highly decorative green tiles. Originally a house, the P. Galkoff business opened around 1908, and the amazing tiles were added in 1933. It is located just a few doors away from the last remaining area of Liverpool court housing (back-to-back houses standing around courtyards). This type of house was a prevalent type of working class home in mid 19th century Liverpool.
Thanks to the support of HLF, work by Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) and the Museum of Liverpool can now go ahead to preserve this iconic legacy of Liverpool’s Jewish history. The project aims to:
- carefully remove and conserve the historic tiles from the façade of Galkoff’s.
- use information obtained from the geophysical surveys done in and around the vicinity, conduct an archaeological dig to uncover more remnants of the court housing and understand more about people’s lives there.
- research the lives, business and homes of Pembroke Place and surrounding area; building up a better picture of what made this such a vibrant community from the 18th century onwards. From roller skating Victorians to grizzly murders and the site of a former zoo, preliminary research indicates this area is rich in stories.
The culmination of this work will be the recreation of the frontage of Galkoff’s, returned to its original finery, at the Museum of Liverpool, as part of an exhibition which will reveal the Secret Life of Pembroke Place, due to open in October 2018.
Professor Janet Hemingway, CBE, and LSTM’s Director, said: “We are delighted to have HLF backing for this fascinating historical project. LSTM itself is part of Liverpool’s diverse heritage, born as we were from the city’s international success as a port. This project will allow us to help preserve that heritage and contribute to Liverpool’s continued success.”
Janet Dugdale, Director of the Museum of Liverpool said: “We are thrilled to receive this endorsement by Heritage Lottery Fund. For the Museum of Liverpool to acquire the tiled façade of P. Galkoff butcher shop, a much-loved Liverpool landmark, and preserve it for the long term, is a wonderful lasting legacy.
“We look forward this project enabling us to explore the history of Liverpool’s Jewish community, as well as the wider story of Pembroke Place, in more detail.”
Nathan Lee, Head of HLF North West said: “We are delighted to be able to award National Lottery funding to conserve Galkoff’s Jewish butcher shop in Liverpool and we look forward to finding out more about the stories of the people who lived in and around Pembroke Place as they are brought to life as part of this fascinating project.”