The Hardmans' House

About the museum

Number 59 Rodney Street was completed in 1793 as one of a group of houses built by the merchant brothers Thomas and William Charles Lake in Liverpool's Georgian Quarter. After the brothers went bankrupt it was bought by the miniature painter Thomas Hazlehurst, who used it as a portrait studio, and later it was home mainly to a series of surgeons and their families.

In 1949 the house became the home and business premises of the photographers Edward Chambré Hardman and his wife and partner Margaret. Chambré, born in Ireland, became Liverpool's foremost studio portrait photographer, and the couple also made widely praised landscape and street photographs. They closed the studio in 1965 but stayed on in the house, and Chambré lived there until his death in 1988. A trust set up to look after the house and its contents handed the collection to the National Trust in 2003.

The house survives remarkably intact, with the studio, darkrooms, mounting room, waiting room, equipment, props, business papers and personal belongings still in place. The Hardmans lived in a few small, cluttered rooms at the back of the first floor, where the kitchen cupboards still hold post-war rations. The photographic archive of more than 140,000 prints and negatives is kept elsewhere and is being conserved and digitised. Visitors see the house on a guided tour.

Highlights

• Portrait studio where Liverpool sitters were photographed
• Cramped 1950s living quarters, including the preserved kitchen
• Private darkroom on the top floor
• Photographs and equipment from Edward Chambré Hardman's career
• Visits by guided tour only

Permanent exhibition

• The Hardmans’ studio, darkrooms and living quarters – The house is shown as it was in the 1950s, with the portrait studio, darkrooms, waiting room and the couple's small living rooms, plus some of their photographs and equipment.

Operated by

National Trust

Admission & discounts

Ticket prices were not shown on the property page while the house is closed for the season. National Trust members normally enter free. Tickets are booked online.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: not available
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The visitor entrance in Pilgrim Street, at the back of the house, is level. Only the ground floor can be used by wheelchair users; the four floors are joined by a single staircase with a handrail. The only visitor toilet, an accessible one, is at reception. Seats are provided in some rooms on request. The property lists an induction loop, large print and a braille guide among its access facilities. Only assistance dogs are allowed. Mobility parking is on Pilgrim Street and at the nearby Anglican Cathedral, and visitors can be dropped off outside reception.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The visitor entrance is in Pilgrim Street, behind Rodney Street.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Hardman prints and gifts are sold at reception. There is no café.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit