Gateacre only really began to grow as a village in the nineteenth century. Employment opportunities in the area began to expand beyond agriculture, with the opening of the Gateacre Brewery in the mid-nineteenth century and a local telephone exchange in 1889. Gateacre railway station also opened in 1879, on the Cheshire Lines Committee's North Liverpool Extension Line, providing the area with a direct link to Liverpool Central station. It was during this period that there was also a significant shift in architectural styling, with black and white 'mock-Tudor' becoming highly popular.