The street takes you to another time and shows how others used to live

Walking down Burlington Street, North Liverpool, there are barely legible posters adorning the dusty red brick walls. A rusty fire hydrant stands between you and a fragile home that has chosen poorly colored sheer curtains.

Despite the attempt at privacy, the dirty walls still shine through. Liverpool’s cobbled street takes you back in time with its cheap housing and with it comes its dark history.

It’s 2024 but I’m exploring what is an authentic recreation of 26 Court in 1870 thanks to a National Museum Liverpool exhibition. Titled The People’s Republic Gallery, it lets you experience living in the city in a time before any of us were born.

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The display highlights what it means to be a Liverpudlian, how people left their mark on the city and the impact and problems caused by dramatic social changes over the past 200 years. As you navigate through the diverse and unique stories, inspired by everyday but extraordinary people, you get a real sense of the city’s tumultuous history.

The life-size reconstruction is complemented by low and eerie lighting, which makes sense given that the first light bulb was only invented by Thomas Edison at the same time. On each side of you is a house typical of what was then one of the most overcrowded and neglected parts of 19th century Liverpool. Brown doors that look like they couldn’t handle slamming and smudged windows in desperate need of a wipe.

Dangling above you on a clothesline are four, suspiciously white, objects – each labeled with a problem that families of the time often encountered. Damp, overcrowded and squalid living conditions “constantly hung over their heads”.

One family that felt this pressure was the McVeighs. The exhibit states that Thomas and Mary McVeigh lived at number 15 with their three children, William, Elizabeth and John. But eight people in total crammed into the small three-room Victorian Liverpool grinding poverty coexisted alongside great wealth.

Many poor children were subjected to shocking neglect and abuse with thousands living in public institutions such as workhouses and broken or industrial schools. Although the gallery is minimalistic to give you an idea of ​​how little people had back then, there are several interactive games, signposts and a video to enjoy.

Even if you couldn’t spend more than 15 minutes taking in the shocking truth, it’s well worth a visit if you’ve already ventured Pier head attraction.

The Gallery of the People’s Republic is available to view inside the Museum of Liverpool between 10.00 and 17.00 daily.