Liverpool is one of England’s core cities (a group of 8 large regional cities) with a population of just over1 million, and is located approximately 330 kilometres by road, north-west of London. It is a city-port and one of the most famous cities in the world, having been home to the Beatles, a major soccer centre being home to two of the top English Soccer Clubs (Liverpool and Everton), a ferry departure point for Ireland and an important international shipping port. The port facility is a registered UNESCO World Heritage Site, which shows some indication as to the importance the complex has had over the world’s trading system and dock technology!! At the beginning of the 19th century the wharves of Liverpool were moving 40% of the world’s trade, and the wealth this created is reflected in the mass of major buildings that still remain in the city!! As can be imagined, the docks have played a major role in the history of the city.
Liverpool lies on the banks of and close to the mouth of the River Mersey. There has been a settlement here since the 1st century AD. By 1200 it had become a fishing village, and by the Middle Ages had grown into a port for crossing to Ireland. There was another huge expansion in the 17th century when it began trading with the New World and by the 18th, as a result of slave trafficking, it had outpaced Bristol as Britain’s major west-coast port. With the coming of steamships in the 1840’s, and a booming economy, the city was largely rebuilt in the 19th century to become what you see today. It has two cathedrals, both built in the 20th century, but in completely different designs. The Anglican Liverpool Cathedral, started in 1904, is built in Gothic style in the grandest medieval manner of red sandstone. It was damaged by bombs in the Second World War and not completed until 1978. The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral, consecrated in 1967, is entirely contemporary. It has a round nave, topped by a spiked glass lantern symbolizing the crown of thorns. Inside, the entrance hall leads to a massive circle with 13 chapels radiating from it. The altar, which is made of white marble, stands in the centre, and is bathed in shimmering light from the glass lantern above. There are a number of museums in the city including the Maritime Museum at the Albert Dock, this dock complex is the largest collection of Grade I listed buildings in Britain!! There are a number of floating exhibits in the basin of the dock, including a Liverpool pilot cutter and the schooner ‘De Wadden’, but the main part of the museum is in the Albert Warehouse and includes marine paintings, the history of the port since the 13th century and lifelike dioramas telling the story of the migrants who have passed through Liverpool. The best views of the 7 miles of waterfront are from the passenger ferries which travel between Liverpool, Birkenhead and Seacombe. Dominating the scene is the Royal Liver Building, the two towers of which are topped by the mythical ‘Liver’ birds, from which the city is said to take its name. No information on Liverpool would be complete without a mention of the ‘Beatles’. Mathew Street is home to the ‘Cavern Club’ where John, Paul, George and Ringo began their career. It has been rebuilt in its original location, underneath a shopping arcade, and contains statues of the ‘Fab Four’ as does the Abbey Road pub. There is a Beatle Shop selling Beatles momentos and opposite Flanagan’s Apple pub, well known for its rock concerts. In Stanley Street is a sculpture of Eleanor Rigby from the Beatles’ song of the same name. The childhood homes of both John Lennon and Sir Paul McCartney are now in the care of the National Trust and open to the public.
Other sites, in the city, worthy of mention:
The Walker Art Gallery has an enviable collection of Italian masters, French impressionists and contemporary paintings and sculptures.
The Museum of Labour History, gives the story of working class life on Merseyside with all its grim reality. It even includes a re-creation of a slum hovel!
St George’s Plateau, a group of buildings including the Graeco-Roman style St George’s Hall, built to show the world that Liverpool had arrived at the time of Victorian Imperialism.
Liverpool Museum, with more than a million specimens, has a huge diversity of displays including Egyptians mummies, clocks, rare plants and old railway engines!
Other places of interest within 30 kilometres:
Rufford Old Hall, in the care of the National Trust and one of Lancashire’s finest 16th century buildings.
Formby Sands, sand hills left by the receding sea and a haven for plants and birdlife, extend 12 kilometres to Southport.
Speke Hall, another National Trust property, is a half-timbered Tudor house with a restored garden.
Did you know that – the sculpture of ‘Eleanor Rigby’ in Stanley Street was made by Tommy Steele who charged ‘Half a sixpence’ for his work?
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