In 1800 the Liverpool Corporation Surveyor, John Foster, Sr., prepared a gridiron plan for a large area of peat bog known as Mosslake Fields, which was to the east of Rodney Street. The area was built for and populated by the extremely wealthy of Liverpool. With the city's decline in the 20th century, the area grew unfashionable, and much of it became derelict. Areas along Upper Parliament St and Grove St and Myrtle St were demolished. The tide began to turn noticeably in the 1990s and the area is now much sought after. Nevertheless, the Office for National Statistics finds that it is one of the most deprived districts in the UK
Falkner street and Falkner Square are named after Edward Falkner, soldier and Sheriff of Lancashire, who mustered 1000 men in a single hour for the defence of Liverpool in 1797 when a French invasion threatened. He wanted it called Wellington Square. It dates from 1835 and was one of the city's first open public spaces. However, at the time it was unpopular, regarded too far out of town (it was nicknamed Falkner's Folly), especially as regards the long uphill hike for horse-drawn vehicles.