History of Liverpool
Encyclopedia
The history of Liverpool
can be traced back to 1190 when the place was known as 'Liuerpul', possibly meaning a pool or creek with muddy water. Other origins of the name have been suggested, including 'elverpool', a reference to the large number of eel
s in the Mersey
, but the definitive origin is open to debate and is probably lost to history. A likely derivation is connected with the Welsh word "Llif" meaning a flood, often used as the proper name for the Atlantic Ocean, whilst "pool" is in general in place names in England derived from the late British or Welsh "Pwll" meaning variously, a pool, an inlet or a pit.
, the origins of the city of Liverpool are usually dated from 28 August 1207, when letters patent
were issued by King John
advertising the establishment of a new borough, "Livpul", and inviting settlers to come and take up holdings there. It is thought that the King wanted a port in the district that was free from the control of the Earl of Chester
. Initially it served as a dispatch point for troops sent to Ireland, soon after the building around 1235 of Liverpool Castle
, which was removed in 1726. St Nicholas Church
was built by 1257, originally as a chapel within the parish of Walton-on-the-Hill
.
With the formation of a market on the site of the later Town Hall, Liverpool became established as a small fishing and farming community, administered by burgesses and, slightly later, a mayor. There was probably some coastal trade around the Irish Sea
, and there were occasional ferries across the Mersey. However, for several centuries it remained a small and relatively unimportant settlement, with a population of no more than 1,000 in the mid 14th century. By the early fifteenth century a period of economic decline set in, and the county gentry increased their power over the town, the Stanley
family fortifying their house on Water Street. In the middle of the 16th century the population of Liverpool had fallen to around 600, and the port was regarded as subordinate to Chester until the 1650s.
In 1571 the inhabitants of Liverpool sent a memorial to Queen Elizabeth
, praying relief from a subsidy which they thought themselves unable to bear, wherein they styled themselves "her majesty's poor decayed town of Liverpool." Some time towards the close of this reign, Henry Stanley, 4th Earl of Derby
, on his way to the Isle of Man
, stayed at his house, the Tower; at which the corporation erected a handsome hall or seat for him in the church, where he honoured them several times with his presence.
By the end of the sixteenth century, the town began to be able to take advantage of economic revival and the silting of the River Dee
to win trade, mainly from Chester, to Ireland, the Isle of Man and elsewhere. In 1626, King Charles I
gave the town a new and improved charter.
Few remarkable occurrences are recorded of the town in this period, except for the eighteen-day siege of it by Prince Rupert of the Rhine
, in the English Civil Wars in 1644. Some traces of this were discovered when the foundation of the Liverpool Infirmary
was sunk, particularly the marks of the trenches thrown up by the prince, and some cartouches, etc., left behind by the besiegers.
The first cargo from the Americas was recorded in 1648. The development of the town accelerated after the Restoration of 1660, with the growth of trade with America and the West Indies. From that time may be traced the rapid progress of population and commerce, until Liverpool had become the second metropolis of Great Britain. Initially, cloth, coal and salt from Lancashire and Cheshire were exchanged for sugar and tobacco; the town's first sugar refinery was established in 1670.
In 1699 Liverpool was made a parish
on its own by Act of Parliament
, separate from that of Walton-on-the-Hill, with two parish churches. At the same time it gained separate customs authority from Chester.
, named "Liverpool Merchant", set sail for Africa, arriving in Barbados with a 'cargo' of 220 Africans, returning to Liverpool on 18 September 1700. The following month a second recorded ship, "The Blessing", set sail for the Gold Coast.
The first wet dock
in Britain was built in Liverpool and completed in 1715. It was the first commercial enclosed wet dock in the world and was constructed for a capacity of 100 ships. By the close of the 18th century 40% of the world's, and 80% of Britain's Atlantic slave activity was accounted for by slave ships that voyaged from the docks at Liverpool. Liverpool's black community dates from the building of the first dock in 1715 and grew rapidly, reaching a population of 10,000 within five years. This growth led to the opening of the Consulate of the United States in Liverpool
in 1790, its first consulate anywhere in the world.
Vast profits from the slave trade
transformed Liverpool into one of Britain's foremost important cities. Liverpool became a financial centre, rivalled by Bristol, another slaving port, and beaten only by London. In the peak year of 1799, ships sailing from Liverpool carried over 45,000 slaves from Africa.
Many factors led to the demise of slavery including revolts, piracy, social unrest, and the repercussions of corruption such as slave insurance fraud, e.g. the Zong ship
case, 1781. Slavery in British colonies was finally abolished in 1833 and slave trading was made illegal in 1807 though some slavery apprenticeships ran until 1838. However, many merchants managed to ignore the laws and continued to deal in underground slave trafficking, also underhandedly engaging in financial investments for slaving activities in the Americas.
The international trade of the city grew, based, as well as on slaves, on a wide range of commodities - including, in particular, cotton
, for which the city became the leading world market, supplying the textile mills of Manchester and Lancashire.
During the eighteenth century the town's population grew from some 6,000 to 80,000, and its land and water communications with its hinterland and other northern cities steadily improved. Liverpool was first linked by canal to Manchester in 1721, the St. Helens
coalfield in 1755, and Leeds in 1816. In 1830, Liverpool became home to the World's first inter-urban rail link to another city, Manchester
, through the Liverpool and Manchester Railway
Liverpool's importance was such that it was home to a number of World firsts, including gaining the World's first fully electrically powered overhead railway, the Liverpool Overhead Railway
, which was opened in 1893 and so pre-dated those in both New York
and Chicago
.
The built-up area grew rapidly from the eighteenth century on. The Bluecoat Hospital
for poor children opened in 1718. With the demolition of the castle in 1726, only St Nicholas Church
and the historic street plan - with Castle Street as the spine of the original settlement, and Paradise Street following the line of the Pool - remained to reflect the town's mediaeval origins. The Town Hall, with a covered exchange for merchants designed by architect John Wood
, was built in 1754, and the first office buildings including the Corn Exchange were opened in about 1810.
Throughout the 19th century Liverpool's trade and its population continued to expanded rapidly. Growth in the cotton trade was accompanied by the development of strong trading links with India and the Far East following the ending of the East India Company's monopoly in 1813. Over 140 acre (0.5665604 km²) of new docks, with 10 miles (16.1 km) of quay space, were opened between 1824 and 1858.
During the 1840s, Irish
migrants began arriving by the thousands due to the Great Famine of 1845-1849. Almost 300,000 arrived in the year 1847 alone, and by 1851 approximately 25% of the city was Irish-born. The Irish influence is reflected in the unique place Liverpool occupies in UK and Irish political history, being the only place outside of Ireland to elect a member of parliament from the Irish Parliamentary Party
to the British parliament in Westminster
. T.P. O'Connor represented the constituency of Liverpool Scotland
from 1885 to 1929.
As the town become a leading port of the British Empire
, a number of major buildings were constructed, including St. George's Hall (1854), and Lime Street Station
. The Grand National
steeplechase was first run at Aintree in 1837.
Between 1851 and 1911, Liverpool attracted at least 20,000 people from Wales in each decade, peaking in the 1880s, and Welsh culture flourished. One of the first Welsh language journals, Yr Amserau, was founded in Liverpool by William Rees (Gwilym Hiraethog)
, and there were over 50 Welsh chapels in the city.
When the American Civil War
broke out Liverpool became a hotbed of intrigue. The last Confederate
ship, the CSS Alabama
, was built at Birkenhead
on the Mersey and the CSS Shenandoah
surrendered there (being the final surrender and end of the war).
Liverpool was granted city status
in 1880, and the following year its university was established. By 1901, the city's population had grown to over 700,000, and its boundaries had expanded to include Kirkdale, Everton, Walton
, West Derby
, Toxteth
and Garston
.
. In 1904, the building of the Anglican Cathedral
began, and by 1916 the three Pier Head
buildings, including the Liver Building, were complete. This period marked the pinnacle of Liverpool's economic success, when it regarded itself as the "second city" of the British Empire
. The formerly independent urban district
s of Allerton
, Childwall
, Little Woolton and Much Woolton
were added in 1913, and the parish of Speke
added in 1932.
Adolf Hitler
's half-brother Alois
and his Irish sister-in-law Bridget Dowling
are known to have lived in Upper Stanhope Street in the 1910s. Bridget's alleged memoirs, which surfaced in the 1970s, said that Adolf stayed with them in 1912-13, although this is much disputed as many believe the memoirs to be a forgery.
The maiden voyage of Titanic was originally planned to depart from Liverpool, as Liverpool was its port of registration
and the home of owners White Star Line
. However, it was changed to depart from Southampton
instead.
Aside from the large Irish
community in Liverpool, there were other pockets of cultural diversity. The area of Gerard, Hunter, Lionel and Whale streets, off Scotland Road
, was referred to as Little Italy. Inspired by an old Venetian
custom, Liverpool was 'married to the sea' in September 1928. Liverpool was also home to a large Welsh
population, and was sometimes referred to as the Capital of North Wales. In 1884, 1900 and 1929, Eisteddfods were held in Liverpool. The population of the city peaked at over 850,000 in the 1930s.
Economic changes began in the first part of the 20th century, as falls in world demand for the North West's traditional export commodities contributed to stagnation and decline in the city. Unemployment was well above the national average as early as the 1920s, and the city became known nationally for its occasionally violent religious sectarianism
.
, with an especially concentrated series of raids in May 1941 which interrupted operations at the docks for almost a week. Although 'only' 2,500 people were killed, almost half the homes in the metropolitan area sustained some damage and 11,000 were totally destroyed. Over 70,000 people were made homeless. John Lennon
, one of the founding members of The Beatles
, was born in Liverpool during an air-raid on 9 October 1940.
Significant rebuilding followed the war, including massive housing estates and the Seaforth Dock
, the largest dock project in Britain. However, the city has been suffering since the 1950s with the loss of numerous employers. By 1985 the population had fallen to 460,000. Declines in manufacturing and dock activity struck the city particularly hard.
In 1955, the Labour Party
, led locally by Jack and Bessie Braddock
, came to power in the City Council for the first time.
In 1956, a private bill
sponsored by Liverpool City Council
was brought before Parliament
to develop a water reservoir from the Tryweryn Valley
. The development would include the flooding of Capel Celyn
. By obtaining authority via an Act of Parliament, Liverpool City Council would not require planning consent from the relevant Welsh Local Authorities. This, together with the fact that the village was one of the last Welsh-only speaking communities, ensured that the proposals became deeply controversial. Thirty five out of thirty six Welsh Members of Parliament
(MPs) opposed the bill (the other did not vote), but in 1957 it was passed. The members of the community waged an eight-year effort, ultimately unsuccessful, to prevent the destruction of their homes, which finally occurred in 1965. The incident led to a massive rise in Welsh nationalism
, and a year later, Gwynfor Evans
of Plaid Cymru
won the party's first seat in the Carmathen by-election
.
In the 1960s Liverpool became a centre of youth culture. The city produced the distinctive Merseybeat
sound, and, most famously, The Beatles
.
From the 1970s onwards Liverpool's docks and traditional manufacturing industries went into further sharp decline. The advent of containerisation meant that Liverpool's docks ceased to be a major local employer. In 1974, Liverpool became a metropolitan district within the newly created metropolitan county
of Merseyside
.
rates in Liverpool were amongst the highest in the UK, an average of 12,000 people each year were leaving the city, and some 15% of its land was vacant or derelict. In 1981 the infamous Toxteth Riots took place, during which, for the first time in the UK outside Northern Ireland
, tear gas was used by police against civilians. In the same year, the Tate and Lyle sugar works, previously a mainstay of the city's manufacturing economy, closed down.
Liverpool City Council
was dominated by the far-left wing Militant
group during the 1980s, under the de facto leadership of Derek Hatton
(although Hatton was formally only Deputy Leader). The city council sank heavily into debt, as the City Council fought a campaign to prevent central government from reducing funding for local services. Ultimately this led to 49 of the City's Councillors being removed from office by the District Auditor for refusing to cut the budget, refusing to make good the deficit and forcing the City Council into virtual bankruptcy.
In 1989, 96 Liverpool fans died and many more were severely injured in the Hillsborough disaster
at a football game in Sheffield
. This had a traumatic effect on people in both cities, and resulted in legally imposed changes in the way in which football fans have since been accommodated. In particular this led to strong feeling in Liverpool because it was widely reported in the media that the Liverpool fans were at fault (especially in the tabloid newspaper The Sun
which led to a boycott of the paper in Liverpool that continues to this day). It has since become clear that South Yorkshire Police
made a range of mistakes at the game, though the senior officer in charge of the event retired soon after.
was killed by two ten year-old boys, Jon Venables and Robert Thompson.
In recent years, the city has emphasised its cultural attractions. Tourism has become a significant factor in Liverpool's economy, capitalising on the popularity of The Beatles and other groups of the Merseybeat era. In June 2003, Liverpool won the right to be named European Capital of Culture
for 2008, beating other British cities such as Newcastle
and Birmingham
to the coveted title. The riverfront of the city was also designated as a World Heritage Site
in 2004.
In October 2005, Liverpool City Council passed a public apology for the flooding Capel Celyn
in Wales.
The full statement reads -
In October 2007, Liverpool and London continued with wildcat strikes after the end of the official CWU strikes
that had been ongoing since June in a dispute with the Royal Mail
over pay, pensions, and hours.
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
can be traced back to 1190 when the place was known as 'Liuerpul', possibly meaning a pool or creek with muddy water. Other origins of the name have been suggested, including 'elverpool', a reference to the large number of eel
Eel
Eels are an order of fish, which consists of four suborders, 20 families, 111 genera and approximately 800 species. Most eels are predators...
s in the Mersey
River Mersey
The River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....
, but the definitive origin is open to debate and is probably lost to history. A likely derivation is connected with the Welsh word "Llif" meaning a flood, often used as the proper name for the Atlantic Ocean, whilst "pool" is in general in place names in England derived from the late British or Welsh "Pwll" meaning variously, a pool, an inlet or a pit.
Origins
Although a small motte and bailey castle had earlier been built by the Normans at West DerbyWest Derby
West Derby is a suburb in the north of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is also a Liverpool City Council ward. At the 2001 Census, the population of the ward was 14,801 .-History:...
, the origins of the city of Liverpool are usually dated from 28 August 1207, when letters patent
Letters patent
Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...
were issued by King John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
advertising the establishment of a new borough, "Livpul", and inviting settlers to come and take up holdings there. It is thought that the King wanted a port in the district that was free from the control of the Earl of Chester
Earl of Chester
The Earldom of Chester was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs-apparent to the English throne, and from the late 14th century it has been given only in conjunction with that of Prince of Wales.- Honour of Chester :The...
. Initially it served as a dispatch point for troops sent to Ireland, soon after the building around 1235 of Liverpool Castle
Liverpool Castle
Liverpool Castle was a castle which was situated in Liverpool, England . It stood from the early 13th century to the early 18th century.-Construction:...
, which was removed in 1726. St Nicholas Church
Church of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas, Liverpool
The Church of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas is the Anglican parish church of Liverpool. The site is said to have been a place of worship since at least 1257. The church is situated close to the River Mersey near the Pier Head...
was built by 1257, originally as a chapel within the parish of Walton-on-the-Hill
Walton, Merseyside
Walton, originally known as Walton-on-the-Hill, in Liverpool, Merseyside, England, is an area situated to the north of Anfield and the east of Bootle and Orrell Park. It is largely residential, with a diverse population.-History:...
.
With the formation of a market on the site of the later Town Hall, Liverpool became established as a small fishing and farming community, administered by burgesses and, slightly later, a mayor. There was probably some coastal trade around the Irish Sea
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
, and there were occasional ferries across the Mersey. However, for several centuries it remained a small and relatively unimportant settlement, with a population of no more than 1,000 in the mid 14th century. By the early fifteenth century a period of economic decline set in, and the county gentry increased their power over the town, the Stanley
John I Stanley of the Isle of Man
Sir John I Stanley, KG was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and titular King of Mann, the first of that name. The Stanley family later became the Earls of Derby and remained prominent in English history into modern times.-Early years:...
family fortifying their house on Water Street. In the middle of the 16th century the population of Liverpool had fallen to around 600, and the port was regarded as subordinate to Chester until the 1650s.
Elizabethan era and the Civil War
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
, praying relief from a subsidy which they thought themselves unable to bear, wherein they styled themselves "her majesty's poor decayed town of Liverpool." Some time towards the close of this reign, Henry Stanley, 4th Earl of Derby
Henry Stanley, 4th Earl of Derby
Henry Stanley, 4th Earl of Derby KG was a prominent English nobleman who served as Lord High Steward during the trial of Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel....
, on his way to the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
, stayed at his house, the Tower; at which the corporation erected a handsome hall or seat for him in the church, where he honoured them several times with his presence.
By the end of the sixteenth century, the town began to be able to take advantage of economic revival and the silting of the River Dee
River Dee, Wales
The River Dee is a long river in the United Kingdom. It travels through Wales and England and also forms part of the border between the two countries....
to win trade, mainly from Chester, to Ireland, the Isle of Man and elsewhere. In 1626, King Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
gave the town a new and improved charter.
Prince Rupert of the Rhine
Rupert, Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Bavaria, 1st Duke of Cumberland, 1st Earl of Holderness , commonly called Prince Rupert of the Rhine, KG, FRS was a noted soldier, admiral, scientist, sportsman, colonial governor and amateur artist during the 17th century...
, in the English Civil Wars in 1644. Some traces of this were discovered when the foundation of the Liverpool Infirmary
Liverpool Infirmary
Liverpool Infirmary was founded in 1743, took 6 years to build, and was opened by the Earl of Derby on March 25, 1749. The first Infirmary stood on the site of the present day St George's Hall, and cost £2,600 to build. It was expanded in 1771....
was sunk, particularly the marks of the trenches thrown up by the prince, and some cartouches, etc., left behind by the besiegers.
The first cargo from the Americas was recorded in 1648. The development of the town accelerated after the Restoration of 1660, with the growth of trade with America and the West Indies. From that time may be traced the rapid progress of population and commerce, until Liverpool had become the second metropolis of Great Britain. Initially, cloth, coal and salt from Lancashire and Cheshire were exchanged for sugar and tobacco; the town's first sugar refinery was established in 1670.
In 1699 Liverpool was made a parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
on its own by Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
, separate from that of Walton-on-the-Hill, with two parish churches. At the same time it gained separate customs authority from Chester.
Slavery and Trade
On 3 October 1699, the very same year that Liverpool had been granted status as an independent parish, Liverpool's first 'recorded' slave shipSlave ship
Slave ships were large cargo ships specially converted for the purpose of transporting slaves, especially newly purchased African slaves to Americas....
, named "Liverpool Merchant", set sail for Africa, arriving in Barbados with a 'cargo' of 220 Africans, returning to Liverpool on 18 September 1700. The following month a second recorded ship, "The Blessing", set sail for the Gold Coast.
The first wet dock
Wet dock
A wet dock is a dock where the level of water in the dock is maintained despite the raising and lowering of the tide. This makes transfer of cargo easier. It works like a lock which controls the water level and allows passage of ships.-External links:...
in Britain was built in Liverpool and completed in 1715. It was the first commercial enclosed wet dock in the world and was constructed for a capacity of 100 ships. By the close of the 18th century 40% of the world's, and 80% of Britain's Atlantic slave activity was accounted for by slave ships that voyaged from the docks at Liverpool. Liverpool's black community dates from the building of the first dock in 1715 and grew rapidly, reaching a population of 10,000 within five years. This growth led to the opening of the Consulate of the United States in Liverpool
Consulate of the United States in Liverpool
The United States Consulate in Liverpool, England was established in 1790, and was the first overseas consulate founded by the then fledgling United States of America. Liverpool was at the time an important center for transatlantic commerce and a vital trading partner for the former Thirteen...
in 1790, its first consulate anywhere in the world.
Vast profits from the slave trade
Atlantic slave trade
The Atlantic slave trade, also known as the trans-atlantic slave trade, refers to the trade in slaves that took place across the Atlantic ocean from the sixteenth through to the nineteenth centuries...
transformed Liverpool into one of Britain's foremost important cities. Liverpool became a financial centre, rivalled by Bristol, another slaving port, and beaten only by London. In the peak year of 1799, ships sailing from Liverpool carried over 45,000 slaves from Africa.
Many factors led to the demise of slavery including revolts, piracy, social unrest, and the repercussions of corruption such as slave insurance fraud, e.g. the Zong ship
Zong Massacre
The Zong Massacre was a mass-killing of African slaves that took place on November 29th, 1781, on the Zong, a British slave ship owned by James Gregson and colleagues in a Liverpool slave-trading firm....
case, 1781. Slavery in British colonies was finally abolished in 1833 and slave trading was made illegal in 1807 though some slavery apprenticeships ran until 1838. However, many merchants managed to ignore the laws and continued to deal in underground slave trafficking, also underhandedly engaging in financial investments for slaving activities in the Americas.
Industrial revolution and commercial expansion
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
, for which the city became the leading world market, supplying the textile mills of Manchester and Lancashire.
During the eighteenth century the town's population grew from some 6,000 to 80,000, and its land and water communications with its hinterland and other northern cities steadily improved. Liverpool was first linked by canal to Manchester in 1721, the St. Helens
St Helens, Merseyside
St Helens is a large town in Merseyside, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens with a population of just over 100,000, part of an urban area with a total population of 176,843 at the time of the 2001 Census...
coalfield in 1755, and Leeds in 1816. In 1830, Liverpool became home to the World's first inter-urban rail link to another city, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, through the Liverpool and Manchester Railway
Liverpool and Manchester Railway
The Liverpool and Manchester Railway was the world's first inter-city passenger railway in which all the trains were timetabled and were hauled for most of the distance solely by steam locomotives. The line opened on 15 September 1830 and ran between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester in North...
Liverpool's importance was such that it was home to a number of World firsts, including gaining the World's first fully electrically powered overhead railway, the Liverpool Overhead Railway
Liverpool Overhead Railway
The Liverpool Overhead Railway was the world's first electrically operated overhead railway. The railway was carried mainly on iron viaducts, with a corrugated iron decking, onto which the tracks were laid. It ran close to the River Mersey in Liverpool, England, following the line of Liverpool Docks...
, which was opened in 1893 and so pre-dated those in both New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
.
The built-up area grew rapidly from the eighteenth century on. The Bluecoat Hospital
Liverpool Blue Coat School
The Liverpool Blue Coat School is a voluntary aided secondary school located in Wavertree, Liverpool and is Liverpool's only Grammar School. The school was for many years a boys' school but as of September 2002 it has reverted to its original coeducational remit.The Blue Coat School holds a...
for poor children opened in 1718. With the demolition of the castle in 1726, only St Nicholas Church
Church of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas, Liverpool
The Church of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas is the Anglican parish church of Liverpool. The site is said to have been a place of worship since at least 1257. The church is situated close to the River Mersey near the Pier Head...
and the historic street plan - with Castle Street as the spine of the original settlement, and Paradise Street following the line of the Pool - remained to reflect the town's mediaeval origins. The Town Hall, with a covered exchange for merchants designed by architect John Wood
John Wood, the Elder
John Wood, the Elder, , was an English architect. Born in Twerton England, a village near Bath, now a suburb, he went to school in Bath. He came back to Bath after working in Yorkshire, and it is believed, in London, in his early 20s...
, was built in 1754, and the first office buildings including the Corn Exchange were opened in about 1810.
Throughout the 19th century Liverpool's trade and its population continued to expanded rapidly. Growth in the cotton trade was accompanied by the development of strong trading links with India and the Far East following the ending of the East India Company's monopoly in 1813. Over 140 acre (0.5665604 km²) of new docks, with 10 miles (16.1 km) of quay space, were opened between 1824 and 1858.
Irish diaspora
thumb|Night Train with Reaper by London Irish artist [[Brian Whelan]] from the book Myth of Return, 2007The Irish diaspora consists of Irish emigrants and their descendants in countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, Mexico, South Africa,...
migrants began arriving by the thousands due to the Great Famine of 1845-1849. Almost 300,000 arrived in the year 1847 alone, and by 1851 approximately 25% of the city was Irish-born. The Irish influence is reflected in the unique place Liverpool occupies in UK and Irish political history, being the only place outside of Ireland to elect a member of parliament from the Irish Parliamentary Party
Irish Parliamentary Party
The Irish Parliamentary Party was formed in 1882 by Charles Stewart Parnell, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish nationalist Members of Parliament elected to the House of Commons at...
to the British parliament in Westminster
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
. T.P. O'Connor represented the constituency of Liverpool Scotland
Liverpool Scotland (UK Parliament constituency)
Liverpool Scotland was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
from 1885 to 1929.
As the town become a leading port of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
, a number of major buildings were constructed, including St. George's Hall (1854), and Lime Street Station
Liverpool Lime Street railway station
Liverpool Lime Street is a railway station serving the city centre of Liverpool, England. The station lies on a branch of the West Coast Main Line from London Euston, and on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network...
. The Grand National
Grand National
The Grand National is a world-famous National Hunt horse race which is held annually at Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, England. It is a handicap chase run over a distance of four miles and 856 yards , with horses jumping thirty fences over two circuits of Aintree's National Course...
steeplechase was first run at Aintree in 1837.
Between 1851 and 1911, Liverpool attracted at least 20,000 people from Wales in each decade, peaking in the 1880s, and Welsh culture flourished. One of the first Welsh language journals, Yr Amserau, was founded in Liverpool by William Rees (Gwilym Hiraethog)
William Rees (Gwilym Hiraethog)
The Rev. William Rees , usually known in Wales by his bardic name of Gwilym Hiraethog, was a Welsh poet and author, one of the major figures of Welsh literature during the 19th century....
, and there were over 50 Welsh chapels in the city.
When the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
broke out Liverpool became a hotbed of intrigue. The last Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
ship, the CSS Alabama
CSS Alabama
CSS Alabama was a screw sloop-of-war built for the Confederate States Navy at Birkenhead, United Kingdom, in 1862 by John Laird Sons and Company. Alabama served as a commerce raider, attacking Union merchant and naval ships over the course of her two-year career, during which she never anchored in...
, was built at Birkenhead
Birkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
on the Mersey and the CSS Shenandoah
CSS Shenandoah
CSS Shenandoah, formerly Sea King, was an iron-framed, teak-planked, full rigged ship, with auxiliary steam power, captained by Commander James Waddell, Confederate States Navy, a North Carolinian with twenty years' service in the United States Navy.During 12½ months of 1864–1865 the ship...
surrendered there (being the final surrender and end of the war).
Liverpool was granted city status
City status in the United Kingdom
City status in the United Kingdom is granted by the British monarch to a select group of communities. The holding of city status gives a settlement no special rights other than that of calling itself a "city". Nonetheless, this appellation carries its own prestige and, consequently, competitions...
in 1880, and the following year its university was established. By 1901, the city's population had grown to over 700,000, and its boundaries had expanded to include Kirkdale, Everton, Walton
Walton, Merseyside
Walton, originally known as Walton-on-the-Hill, in Liverpool, Merseyside, England, is an area situated to the north of Anfield and the east of Bootle and Orrell Park. It is largely residential, with a diverse population.-History:...
, West Derby
West Derby
West Derby is a suburb in the north of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is also a Liverpool City Council ward. At the 2001 Census, the population of the ward was 14,801 .-History:...
, Toxteth
Toxteth
Toxteth is an inner city area of Liverpool, England. Located to the south of the city, Toxteth is bordered by Liverpool City Centre, Dingle, Edge Hill, Wavertree and Aigburth.-Description:...
and Garston
Garston, Merseyside
Garston is a district of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is bordered by Aigburth, Allerton, and Speke.-History:Gaerstun, meaning 'grazing settlement' or 'grazing farm' in Old English, is one possible root of the name....
.
1900-1938
During the first part of the 20th century Liverpool continued to expand, pulling in immigrants from Europe. In 1903 an International Exhibition took place in Edge LaneEdge Lane
-Overview:Edge Lane is a main road running from the periphery of Liverpool city centre at Hall Lane, West towards the M62 motorway's 'Rocket Junction'. Edge Lane technically comprises two roads, that of 'Edge Lane' and that of 'Edge Lane Drive' and passes through the districts of Old Swan,...
. In 1904, the building of the Anglican Cathedral
Liverpool Cathedral
Liverpool Cathedral is the Church of England cathedral of the Diocese of Liverpool, built on St James's Mount in Liverpool and is the seat of the Bishop of Liverpool. Its official name is the Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool but it is dedicated to Christ and the Blessed Virgin...
began, and by 1916 the three Pier Head
Pier Head
The Pier Head is a riverside location in the city centre of Liverpool, England. It is part of the Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City UNESCO World Heritage Site, which was inscribed in 2004....
buildings, including the Liver Building, were complete. This period marked the pinnacle of Liverpool's economic success, when it regarded itself as the "second city" of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
. The formerly independent urban district
Urban district
In the England, Wales and Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected Urban District Council , which shared local government responsibilities with a county council....
s of Allerton
Allerton, Merseyside
Allerton is a suburb of Liverpool, in Merseyside, England. It is located southeast of Liverpool city centre, bordered by Mossley Hill, Woolton, Hunts Cross and Garston....
, Childwall
Childwall
Childwall is a suburb of Liverpool, Merseyside, England and a Liverpool City Council Ward. It is located to the south of the city, bordered by Gateacre, Wavertree, Belle Vale, Broadgreen, Bowring Park and Mossley Hill...
, Little Woolton and Much Woolton
Woolton
Woolton is a suburb of Liverpool, Merseyside, England and a Liverpool City Council Ward. It is located at the south of the city, bordered by Gateacre, Hunts Cross, Allerton and Halewood. At the 2001 Census the population was recorded as 14,836.-History:...
were added in 1913, and the parish of Speke
Speke
Speke is an area of Liverpool, Merseyside, England, close to the boundaries of the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley. It is south east of the city centre and to the west of the town of Widnes....
added in 1932.
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
's half-brother Alois
Alois Hitler, Jr.
Alois Hitler, Jr., born Alois Matzelsberger , was the son of Alois Hitler and Franziska Matzelsberger, and was the half-brother of Adolf Hitler.-Early life:...
and his Irish sister-in-law Bridget Dowling
Bridget Dowling
Bridget Elizabeth Hitler, née Dowling was Adolf Hitler's sister-in-law via her marriage to Alois Hitler, Jr. She was the mother of Alois Hitler's son William Patrick Hitler...
are known to have lived in Upper Stanhope Street in the 1910s. Bridget's alleged memoirs, which surfaced in the 1970s, said that Adolf stayed with them in 1912-13, although this is much disputed as many believe the memoirs to be a forgery.
The maiden voyage of Titanic was originally planned to depart from Liverpool, as Liverpool was its port of registration
Home port
A vessel's home port is the port at which it is based, which may not be the same as its port of registry shown on its registration documents and lettered on the stern of the ship's hull...
and the home of owners White Star Line
White Star Line
The Oceanic Steam Navigation Company or White Star Line of Boston Packets, more commonly known as the White Star Line, was a prominent British shipping company, today most famous for its ill-fated vessel, the RMS Titanic, and the World War I loss of Titanics sister ship Britannic...
. However, it was changed to depart from Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
instead.
Aside from the large Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
community in Liverpool, there were other pockets of cultural diversity. The area of Gerard, Hunter, Lionel and Whale streets, off Scotland Road
Scotland Road
Scotland Road or "Scottie Road" is the A59 and is situated near the docks in the Vauxhall area of north Liverpool, England.-History:Scotland Road was created in the 1770s as a turnpike road to Preston via Walton and Burscough. It became part of a stagecoach route to Scotland, hence its name...
, was referred to as Little Italy. Inspired by an old Venetian
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
custom, Liverpool was 'married to the sea' in September 1928. Liverpool was also home to a large Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
population, and was sometimes referred to as the Capital of North Wales. In 1884, 1900 and 1929, Eisteddfods were held in Liverpool. The population of the city peaked at over 850,000 in the 1930s.
Economic changes began in the first part of the 20th century, as falls in world demand for the North West's traditional export commodities contributed to stagnation and decline in the city. Unemployment was well above the national average as early as the 1920s, and the city became known nationally for its occasionally violent religious sectarianism
Sectarianism
Sectarianism, according to one definition, is bigotry, discrimination or hatred arising from attaching importance to perceived differences between subdivisions within a group, such as between different denominations of a religion, class, regional or factions of a political movement.The ideological...
.
1939-1945: World War II
During World War II, Liverpool was the control centre for the Battle of the Atlantic. There were eighty air-raids on MerseysideLiverpool Blitz
The Liverpool Blitz was the heavy and sustained bombing of the British city of Liverpool and its surrounding area, at the time mostly within the counties of Lancashire and Cheshire but commonly known as Merseyside, during the Second World War by the German Luftwaffe.Liverpool, Bootle, and the...
, with an especially concentrated series of raids in May 1941 which interrupted operations at the docks for almost a week. Although 'only' 2,500 people were killed, almost half the homes in the metropolitan area sustained some damage and 11,000 were totally destroyed. Over 70,000 people were made homeless. John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
, one of the founding members of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, was born in Liverpool during an air-raid on 9 October 1940.
1946-1979
Seaforth Dock
Seaforth Dock is a purpose-built dock and container terminal, on the River Mersey, England, at Seaforth, to the north of Liverpool. As part of the Port of Liverpool and Liverpool Freeport, it is operated by the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company...
, the largest dock project in Britain. However, the city has been suffering since the 1950s with the loss of numerous employers. By 1985 the population had fallen to 460,000. Declines in manufacturing and dock activity struck the city particularly hard.
In 1955, the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
, led locally by Jack and Bessie Braddock
Bessie Braddock
Elizabeth Margaret Braddock JP , better known as Bessie Braddock, was a British Labour politician...
, came to power in the City Council for the first time.
In 1956, a private bill
Private bill
A private bill is a proposal for a law that would apply to a particular individual or group of individuals, or corporate entity. If enacted, it becomes a private Act . This is unlike public bills which apply to everyone within their jurisdiction...
sponsored by Liverpool City Council
Liverpool City Council
Liverpool City Council is the governing body for the city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. It consists of 90 councillors, three for each of the city's 30 wards. The council is currently controlled by the Labour Party and is led by Joe Anderson.-Domain:...
was brought before Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
to develop a water reservoir from the Tryweryn Valley
Afon Tryweryn
For the flooding of the Tryweryn Valley, see Llyn Celyn.The Tryweryn is a river in north Wales which starts at Llyn Tryweryn in the Snowdonia National Park and after joins the river Dee at Bala. It is one of the main tributaries of the Dee and has been dammed to form Llyn Celyn...
. The development would include the flooding of Capel Celyn
Capel Celyn
Capel Celyn was a rural community to the north west of Bala in Gwynedd, north Wales, in the Afon Tryweryn valley. The village and other parts of the valley were flooded to create a reservoir, Llyn Celyn, in order to supply Liverpool and The Wirral with water for industry...
. By obtaining authority via an Act of Parliament, Liverpool City Council would not require planning consent from the relevant Welsh Local Authorities. This, together with the fact that the village was one of the last Welsh-only speaking communities, ensured that the proposals became deeply controversial. Thirty five out of thirty six Welsh Members of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MPs) opposed the bill (the other did not vote), but in 1957 it was passed. The members of the community waged an eight-year effort, ultimately unsuccessful, to prevent the destruction of their homes, which finally occurred in 1965. The incident led to a massive rise in Welsh nationalism
Welsh nationalism
Welsh nationalism emphasises the distinctiveness of Welsh language, culture, and history, and calls for more self-determination for Wales, which may include more Devolved powers for the Welsh Assembly or full independence from the United Kingdom.-Conquest:...
, and a year later, Gwynfor Evans
Gwynfor Evans
Dr Richard Gwynfor Evans , was a Welsh politician, lawyer and author. President of Plaid Cymru for thirty six years, he was the first Member of Parliament to represent Plaid Cymru at Westminster ....
of Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru
' is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union. was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...
won the party's first seat in the Carmathen by-election
Carmarthen by-election, 1966
The Carmarthen by-election, was held in Carmarthen, Wales on 14 July 1966. The contest was significant in that it resulted in the election of Gwynfor Evans, the first ever Plaid Cymru Member of Parliament...
.
In the 1960s Liverpool became a centre of youth culture. The city produced the distinctive Merseybeat
Beat music
Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a pop and rock music genre that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1960s. Beat music is a fusion of rock and roll, doo wop, skiffle, R&B and soul...
sound, and, most famously, The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
.
From the 1970s onwards Liverpool's docks and traditional manufacturing industries went into further sharp decline. The advent of containerisation meant that Liverpool's docks ceased to be a major local employer. In 1974, Liverpool became a metropolitan district within the newly created metropolitan county
Metropolitan county
The metropolitan counties are a type of county-level administrative division of England. There are six metropolitan counties, which each cover large urban areas, typically with populations of 1.2 to 2.8 million...
of Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
.
1980s
The 1980s saw Liverpool's fortunes sink to their lowest point. In the early 1980s unemploymentUnemployment
Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...
rates in Liverpool were amongst the highest in the UK, an average of 12,000 people each year were leaving the city, and some 15% of its land was vacant or derelict. In 1981 the infamous Toxteth Riots took place, during which, for the first time in the UK outside Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, tear gas was used by police against civilians. In the same year, the Tate and Lyle sugar works, previously a mainstay of the city's manufacturing economy, closed down.
Liverpool City Council
Liverpool City Council
Liverpool City Council is the governing body for the city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. It consists of 90 councillors, three for each of the city's 30 wards. The council is currently controlled by the Labour Party and is led by Joe Anderson.-Domain:...
was dominated by the far-left wing Militant
Militant Tendency
The Militant tendency was an entrist group within the British Labour Party based around the Militant newspaper that was first published in 1964...
group during the 1980s, under the de facto leadership of Derek Hatton
Derek Hatton
Derek 'Degsy' Hatton is a broadcaster, businessman and after-dinner speaker. He won celebrity status as a local politician in Liverpool during the 1980s, where he was deputy leader of the city council, and a supporter of the Trotskyist Militant Tendency.-Early life:He attended Liverpool Institute...
(although Hatton was formally only Deputy Leader). The city council sank heavily into debt, as the City Council fought a campaign to prevent central government from reducing funding for local services. Ultimately this led to 49 of the City's Councillors being removed from office by the District Auditor for refusing to cut the budget, refusing to make good the deficit and forcing the City Council into virtual bankruptcy.
In 1989, 96 Liverpool fans died and many more were severely injured in the Hillsborough disaster
Hillsborough disaster
The Hillsborough disaster was a human crush that occurred on 15 April 1989 at Hillsborough, a football stadium, the home of Sheffield Wednesday F.C. in Sheffield, England, resulting in the deaths of 96 people, and 766 being injured, all fans of Liverpool F.C....
at a football game in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
. This had a traumatic effect on people in both cities, and resulted in legally imposed changes in the way in which football fans have since been accommodated. In particular this led to strong feeling in Liverpool because it was widely reported in the media that the Liverpool fans were at fault (especially in the tabloid newspaper The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
which led to a boycott of the paper in Liverpool that continues to this day). It has since become clear that South Yorkshire Police
South Yorkshire Police
South Yorkshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing South Yorkshire in England.The police force covers an area of approximately 1,554 square kilometres which is made up of the county's three boroughs , along with the City of Sheffield. The resident population is 1.2...
made a range of mistakes at the game, though the senior officer in charge of the event retired soon after.
1990s
A similar outpouring of grief and shock occurred in 1993 when two year-old James BulgerMurder of James Bulger
James Patrick Bulger was a boy from Kirkby, England, who was murdered on 12 February 1993, when aged two. He was abducted, tortured and murdered by two ten-year-old boys, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables .Bulger disappeared from the New Strand Shopping Centre in Bootle, near Liverpool, while...
was killed by two ten year-old boys, Jon Venables and Robert Thompson.
Recent history
A general economic and civic revival has been underway since the mid-nineties. Liverpool's economy has grown faster than the national average and its crime levels have remained lower than most other metropolitan areas in England and Wales, with recorded crime per head in Merseyside comparable to the national average — unusually low for an urban area.In recent years, the city has emphasised its cultural attractions. Tourism has become a significant factor in Liverpool's economy, capitalising on the popularity of The Beatles and other groups of the Merseybeat era. In June 2003, Liverpool won the right to be named European Capital of Culture
European Capital of Culture
The European Capital of Culture is a city designated by theEuropean Union for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong European dimension....
for 2008, beating other British cities such as Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
and Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
to the coveted title. The riverfront of the city was also designated as a World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
in 2004.
In October 2005, Liverpool City Council passed a public apology for the flooding Capel Celyn
Capel Celyn
Capel Celyn was a rural community to the north west of Bala in Gwynedd, north Wales, in the Afon Tryweryn valley. The village and other parts of the valley were flooded to create a reservoir, Llyn Celyn, in order to supply Liverpool and The Wirral with water for industry...
in Wales.
The full statement reads -
In October 2007, Liverpool and London continued with wildcat strikes after the end of the official CWU strikes
2007 Royal Mail industrial disputes
The 2007 Royal Mail industrial disputes were a series of industrial disputes between Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union in the United Kingdom.-Background:...
that had been ongoing since June in a dispute with the Royal Mail
Royal Mail
Royal Mail is the government-owned postal service in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide...
over pay, pensions, and hours.
External links
- Liverpool Slavery Remembrance Initiative
- British History Online
- Mersey Gateway
- Liverpool John Moores University
- BBC Local History
- Local Histories
- Liverpool and the American Civil War
- "Liverpool and the Slave Trade", lecture by Anthony Tibbles at Gresham CollegeGresham CollegeGresham College is an institution of higher learning located at Barnard's Inn Hall off Holborn in central London, England. It was founded in 1597 under the will of Sir Thomas Gresham and today it hosts over 140 free public lectures every year within the City of London.-History:Sir Thomas Gresham,...
, 19 March 2007 (available for download as video or audio files) - Liverpool The Gateway To America
- Recollections of Old Liverpool, by A Nonagenarian, published 1836, from Project GutenbergProject GutenbergProject Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks". Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books...
- Ward Lock Guide to Liverpool, excerpts, published 1949