Our Law buildings

1882 - 1945

Law Association Rooms, 10 Cook Street

Premises at 10 Cook Street, central Liverpool, were the first home of the Faculty of Law. The “Law Association Rooms” were shared with the Liverpool Law Society. This location reflected the very close association of the Faculty of Law with the legal profession in the city. As Hudson has noted, “the fact that it [the Faculty of Law] occupied rooms adjacent to the Law Library in the centre of Liverpool, and distant from the University precinct in Brownlow Hill” (Hudson) demonstrated the early links between teaching and professional practice.

Unfortunately, these premises were destroyed by fire during a World War Two air raid in May 1941. At the time, the fire watch consisted of His Honour Judge Paterson and Mr Crossley Vaines, both graduates of the Faculty of Law. A short-term move followed with premises at 81 Dale Street, where students and staff used a suite of offices and a small, reconstituted law library.

Sir Arnold McNair, then Vice-Chancellor of the University, insisted that the Faculty be moved to the University Precinct. Fortunately, 90 Chatham Street had been presented to the University by the residuary legatees of the late W.R. Melly. A move to the University was afoot.

1945 - 1966

Melly House, 90 Chatham Street and 14 Abercromby Square

In 1945, the Law Faculty moved to the University precinct. After a brief spell in the Victoria Buildings and in no.16 Abercromby Square, our second permanent home was at the freshly refurbished Melly House, 90 Chatham Street, with a spill over into the adjoining 14 Abercromby Square.

At this time, Professor Sir James Mountford was Vice-Chancellor and Professor Walter Lyon Blease was the Queen Victoria Chair in Law. Professor Dr. Seaborne Davies (1904-1984) was appointed Professor of Common Law the following year. He held this post from 1946 to 1971, including a number of other posts (Dean of the Faculty of Law, A Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University, Warden of Derby Hall of Residence, Public Orator of the University).

Eventually, with expansion, overcrowding became an issue. It was even reported that a fireplace was removed from one packed classroom to enable the lecturer to reach the dais. The building now houses the Garstang Museum. 

1966 - 2010

Law Faculty Building, 140 Chatham Street

Our third home was the purpose-built Law Building (now the South Campus Teaching Hub). A substantial amount of planning went into this building. Our archive contains details of a “Law Building Sub-Committee” which worked between the 3rd December 1962 and the 18th February 1966. The building of the new Law Building was commenced in 1964 and completed in 1965. An alternative story about how the building came about was recounted by then Dean of the Law Faculty, Professor Seaborne Davies. A request was made to the Vice-Chancellor, Sir James Mountford, for finance for new curtains for Melly House. This instead led to the financing of the new Law Building.

Lord Justice Sellers  (who was a Liverpool LL.B. graduate) opened the Law Building in 1966. Along with the guests, he was welcomed by the Dean Professor Seaborne Davies, who noted that the move to the new building was a welcome change from “long habitation in mean, dingy, and restrictive surroundings.” Kelly also recounts: “To mark the opening Downing College, Cambridge presented a beautiful bound manuscript of Maitland’s Lectures on Jurisprudence and the Dean himself presented a number of valuable English legal works of the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.” (Kelly, p.374).

A booklet was also produced to mark the occasion. View the Faculty of Law Liverpool Building Opening Booklet 1966 (pdf).

The move to the purpose-built Law Building provided extra teaching accommodation, library provision, and a Moot room. This permitted an expansion in student numbers, teaching staff, and the range of courses taught.

Subsequent growth of the Faculty of Law necessitated the use of other University accommodation beyond the Law Building premises. Members of the Law School found themselves lodged in various buildings around the University, including the Eleanor Rathbone Building, the Rendall Building, Mulberry Court, and houses on Bedford Street. A new venue was required to bring all the staff together under one roof.

2020 - present

The School of Law and Social Justice Building, Chatham Street

In 2019, the School of Law and Social Justice moved into its new £25 million home. The new building is a state-of-the-art facility containing the latest teaching equipment and technology located over five floors of airy and spacious accommodation. Key features include the large open atrium, cafe, 120+ academic offices, events space for 100+ guests, PC suites, collaboration spaces and postgraduate research suites. Our award-winning Law Clinic occupies the entire first floor and is tailor-made to optimise the student and client experience.

The School of Law and Social Justice Building is an ideal home in which to welcome the next 130 years.

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