The historic lodge built on the corner of Grange Lane is thought to be one or the original lodges to the gate across Grange Lane/Childwall Lane, with other gates along the way (including by Childwall Church on Score Lane). The road would have originally been a long continuation from Childwall all the way to Halewood.
In 2013, Former pub landlady Lisa Cullen, 37, of Gateacre, was on her way home from a night out when she is thought to have tumbled over the low wall to the right of the lodge, which concealed a 6ft drop. The level of the pavement had slowly been raised with highway development over the course of the century.
Her body was found hours later, lying face down in the front garden of Gateacre Lodge in Grange Lane. An inquest yesterday ruled her death was an accident. But after hearing the wall was only 52cm (20 inches) high and how the pavement camber sloped towards it, assistant deputy coroner Anita Bhardwaj called on Liverpool council to investigate. The inquest heard she was making her way home from the Falstaff pub up Gateacre Park Drive in the early hours of April 20 when she fell over the wall. Detective Inspector Paul Roche, of Merseyside police, told the coroner there was a “marked slope” towards the low wall. He said Ms Cullen, who was three-and-a-half times over the legal drink drive limit, was believed to be wearing high heels and using her mobile phone at the time.
The coroner heard the way Ms Cullen had landed had restricted her ability to breathe and ruled the cause of her death was “positional asphyxia”. She also suffered a head injury.
