Established as a borough inLancashire in 1207, Liverpool became significant in the late 17th century when thePort of Liverpool was heavily involved in theAtlantic slave trade. The port also imported cotton for theLancashire textile mills, and became a major departure point for English and Irish emigrants to North America. Liverpool rose to global economic importance at the forefront of theIndustrial Revolution in the 19th century and was home to thefirst inter-city railway, the first non-combustible warehouse system (theRoyal Albert Dock), and a pioneeringelevated electrical railway; it was granted city status in 1880 and was moved from Lancashire to the newly created county of Merseyside in1974. It entered a period of decline in the mid-20th century, which was largely reversed after theEuropean Union selected it as theEuropean Capital of Culture for 2008,[a] reportedly generating over £800million for the local economy within a year.[6][7]
Residents of Liverpool are formally known as Liverpudlians but are more often called Scousers in reference toscouse, a local stew made popular by sailors. The city'sdistinct local accent is also primarily known as Scouse. Its cultural and ethnic diversity is the result of attracting immigrants from various areas, particularly Ireland, Scandinavia, and Wales; it is also home tothe UK's oldest black community andEurope's oldest Chinese community, as well as the firstmosque in England.[15]
Toponymy
The name comes from theOld Englishlifer, meaning thick or muddy water, andpōl, meaning a pool or creek, and is first recorded around 1190 asLiuerpul.[16][17] According to theCambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names, "The original reference was to a pool or tidal creek now filled up into which two streams drained".[18] Other origins of the name have been suggested, including "elverpool", a reference to the large number of eels in theMersey.[19] The adjective "Liverpudlian" was first recorded in 1833.[17]
The earliest-known image of Liverpool, in 1680A map of Liverpool's original seven streets (north to the left)Bluecoat Chambers, completed in 1725, the oldest surviving building inLiverpool city centre
Early history
In theMiddle Ages, Liverpool first existed as farmland within theWest Derby Hundred[20] before growing into a small town of farmers, fishermen and tradesmen and tactical army base forKing John of England. The town was planned with its owncastle, although due to outbreaks of disease and its subordinance to the nearbyRoman port of Chester, the town's growth and prosperity stagnated until the late 17th and early 18th centuries. There was substantial growth in the mid- to late 18th century, when the town became the European port most heavily involved in theAtlantic slave trade.[21]
King John'sletters patent of 1207 announced the foundation of the borough of Liverpool (then spelt asLiuerpul). There is no evidence that the place had previously been a centre of any trade. The borough was probably created because King John decided that it would be a convenient place to embark men and supplies for hisIrish campaigns: in particular hisIrish campaign of 1209.[22][23] The original street plan of Liverpool is said to have been designed by King John near the same time it was granted aroyal charter, making it a borough. The original seven streets were laid out in the shape of a double cross: Bank Street (nowWater Street),Castle Street,Chapel Street,Dale Street, Juggler Street (nowHigh Street), Moor Street (nowTithebarn Street) and Whiteacre Street (nowOld Hall Street).[23]Liverpool Castle was built before 1235, and survived until it was demolished in the 1720s.[24] By the middle of the 16th century, the population was still around 600, although this was likely to have fallen from an earlier peak of 1,000 people due to slow trade and the effects of theplague.[25][26][27]
In the 17th century, there was slow progress in trade and population growth. Battles for control of the town were waged during theEnglish Civil War, including a brief siege in 1644.[28] In 1699, the same year as its first recordedslave ship,Liverpool Merchant, set sail for Africa,[29] Liverpool was made a parish byAct of Parliament. But arguably, the legislation of 1695 that reformed the Liverpool council was of more significance to its subsequent development.[30] SinceRoman times nearbyChester on theRiver Dee had been the region's principal port on theIrish Sea. However, as the Dee began tosilt up, maritime trade from Chester became increasingly difficult and shifted towards Liverpool on the neighbouringRiver Mersey. The first of theLiverpool docks was constructed in 1715, and the system of docks gradually grew into a large interconnected system.[31]
As trade from theWest Indies, including sugar, surpassed that of Ireland and Europe, and as theRiver Dee continued to silt up, Liverpool began to grow even faster. The first commercialwet dock was built in Liverpool in 1715.[32][33] Substantial profits from theslave trade and tobacco helped the town to prosper and rapidly grow, although several prominent local men, includingWilliam Rathbone,William Roscoe andEdward Rushton, were at the forefront of thelocal abolitionist movement.[34]
The 19th century saw Liverpool rise to global economic importance. Pioneering arose, andworld-first technology and civic facilities launched in the city to serve the accelerating population, one that was fuelled by an influx of ethnic and religious communities from all around the world.
By the start of the 19th century, a large volume of trade was passing through Liverpool, and the construction of major buildings reflected this wealth. In 1830, Liverpool andManchester became the first cities to have an intercity rail link, through theLiverpool and Manchester Railway. The population continued to rise rapidly, especially during the 1840s whenIrish migrants began arriving by the hundreds of thousands as a result of theGreat Famine. While many Irish people settled in the city at that time, a large percentage also emigrated to the United States or moved to the industrial centres ofLancashire, Yorkshire, and theMidlands.[35]
EnglishWikisource has original text related to this article:
In her poetical illustration "Liverpool" (1832), which celebrates the city's worldwide commerce,Letitia Elizabeth Landon refers specifically to theMacgregor Laird expedition to the Niger River, at that time in progress.[36] This is accompanied by a painting bySamuel Austin,Liverpool, from the Mersey.[37]
Britain was a major market for cotton imported from theDeep South of the United States, which fed thetextile industry in the country. Given the crucial place cotton held in the city's economy, during theAmerican Civil War Liverpool was, in the words of historianSven Beckert, "the most pro-Confederate place in the world outside theConfederacy itself".[38] Liverpool merchants helped to bring out cotton from ports blockaded by theUnion Navy, built ships of war for theConfederacy, and suppliedtheSouth with military equipment and credit.[39]
During the war, theConfederate Navy ship, theCSSAlabama, was built atBirkenhead on the Mersey, and theCSSShenandoah surrendered there (being the final surrender at the end of the war). The city was also the centre of Confederate purchases of war materiel, including arms and ammunition, uniforms, and naval supplies to be smuggled byBritish blockade runners to the South.[40]
For periods during the 19th century, the wealth of Liverpool exceeded that of London,[41] and Liverpool'sCustom House was the single largest contributor to theBritish Exchequer.[42] Liverpool was the only British city ever to have its ownWhitehall office.[43] During this century, at least 40% of the world's entire trade passed through Liverpool.[44]
As early as 1851, the city was described as "the New York of Europe".[46] During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Liverpool was attracting immigrants from across Europe. This resulted in the construction of a diverse array of religious buildings in the city for the new ethnic and religious groups, many of which are still in use today. TheDeutsche Kirche,Greek Orthodox Church of St Nicholas,Gustav Adolf Church andPrinces Road Synagogue were all established in the 1800s to serve Liverpool's growing German, Greek, Nordic and Jewish communities, respectively. One of Liverpool's oldest surviving churches,St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church, served thePolish community in its final years as a place of worship.
20th century
Liverpool's Lime Street area pictured from above in 1946
The 20th century saw Liverpool's established rank as a global economic powerhouse challenged. Its strategic location as an international seaport made it particularly vulnerable in twoWorld wars.Economic depressions (both in the United Kingdom and across the world), changinghousing patterns andcontainerisation in the maritime industry contributed to a downtrend in the city's productivity and prosperity. Despite this, the city's influence on global popular culture excelled and by the end of the century, the continuing process ofurban renewal paved the way for the redefined modern city of the 21st century.
The period after theGreat War was marked by social unrest, as society grappled with the massive war losses of young men, as well as trying to re-integrate veterans into civilian life and the economy. Unemployment and poor living standards greeted many ex-servicemen.Union organising andstrikes took place in numerous locations, including apolice strike in Liverpool among theCity Police. Numerouscolonial soldiers and sailors from Africa and India, who had served with theBritish Armed Forces, settled in Liverpool and other port cities. In June 1919, they were subject to attack by whites in racial riots; residents in the port includedSwedish immigrants, and both groups had to compete with native people from Liverpool for jobs and housing. In this period, race riots also took place in other port cities.[47]
TheHousing Act 1919 resulted in mass council housing being built across Liverpool during the 1920s and 1930s. In the 1920s and 1930s, as much as 15% of the city's population (around 140,000 people) was relocated from the inner-city to new purpose built, lower density suburban housing estates, based on the belief that this would improve their standard of living, though the overall benefits have been contested.[48][49] Numerous private homes were also built during this era. During theGreat Depression of the early 1930s, unemployment peaked at around 30% in the city. Liverpool was the site of Britain's firstprovincial airport, operating from 1930.
During theSecond World War, the critical strategic importance of Liverpool was recognised by bothHitler andChurchill. The city was heavily bombed by the Germans, suffering ablitz second only to London's.[50] The pivotalBattle of the Atlantic was planned, fought and won from Liverpool.[51]
TheLuftwaffe made 80air raids on Merseyside, killing 2,500people and causing damage to almost half the homes in the metropolitan area. Significant rebuilding followed the war, including massive housing estates and theSeaforth Dock, the largest dock project in Britain. Since 1952, Liverpool has been twinned withCologne, Germany, a city that also suffered severe aerial bombing during the war. In the 1950s and 1960s, much of the immediate reconstruction that took place in the city centre proved to be deeply unpopular. The historic portions of the city that had survived German bombing suffered extensive destruction during urban renewal. It has been argued that the so-called "Shankland Plan" of the 1960s, named after the town plannerGraeme Shankland, led to compromised town planning and vast road-building schemes that devastated and divided inner city neighbourhoods. Concretebrutalist architecture, compromised visions, botched projects and grand designs that were never realised became the subject of condemnation. HistorianRaphael Samuel labelled Graeme Shankland "the butcher of Liverpool".[52][53][54][55]
AWest Indian black community has existed in the city since the first two decades of the 20th century. Like most British cities and industrialised towns, Liverpool became home toCommonwealth immigrants, beginning after World War I with colonial soldiers and sailors who had served in the area. More immigrants arrived after World War II, mostly settling in older inner-city areas such asToxteth, where housing was less expensive. The black population of Liverpool was recorded at 1.90% in 2011. In the2021 Census, 5.2% described themselves as black African, Caribbean, mixed white and black African, mixed white and Caribbean or 'other black'.[56][57]
In the 1960s, Liverpool was the centre of the "Merseybeat" sound whose best-known band isthe Beatles.Liverpool Airport was renamed after Beatle and LiverpudlianJohn Lennon in 2002, the first British airport to be named in honour of an individual.[58][59]
Previously part of Lancashire, and a county borough from 1889, Liverpool became ametropolitan borough within the newly created metropolitan county ofMerseyside, in 1974. From the mid-1970s onwards, Liverpool's docks and traditionalmanufacturing industries declined due to restructuring of shipping and heavy industry, causing massive losses of jobs. The advent ofcontainerisation meant that the city's docks became largely obsolete, and dock workers were made unemployed. By the early 1980s, unemployment rates in Liverpool were among the highest in the UK,[60] standing at 17% by January 1982 although, this was about half the level of unemployment that had affected the city during the Great Depression some 50 years previously.[61] During this period, Liverpool became a hub of fierce left-wing opposition to the central government in London.[62] Liverpool in the 1980s has been labelled as Britain's 'shock city'. Once the acclaimed second city of theBritish Empire which rivalled the capital city in global significance, Liverpool had collapsed in to its 'nadir' at the depths ofpost-colonial,post-industrial Britain.[63][64]In the late 20th century, Liverpool's economy began to recover. The late 1980s saw the opening of a regeneratedAlbert Dock which proved to be a catalyst for further regeneration.[65] In the mid-1990s, the city enjoyed growth rates higher than the national average. At the end of the 20th century, Liverpool was concentrating on regeneration, a process that continues today.
Ongoing regeneration combined with the hosting of internationally significant events has helped to re-purpose Liverpool as one of the most visited, tourist orientated, cities in the United Kingdom. City leaders are focussing on long-term strategies to grow the city's population and economy, while national government explores the continuous potential for devolution in the city.
In 2002, QueenElizabeth II andPrince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh visited Liverpool to mark theGolden Jubilee. On speaking to an audience atLiverpool Town Hall, the Queen recognised Liverpool as "one of the most distinctive and energetic parts of the United Kingdom", and paid tribute to the city's "major orchestras, world-class museums and galleries". She also acknowledged Liverpool's bid to become theEuropean Capital of Culture.[66][67] To celebrate theGolden Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 2002, the conservation charityPlantlife organised a competition to choosecounty flowers; thesea-holly was Liverpool's final choice. The initiative was designed to highlight growing threats to the UK's flower species and also ask the public about which flowers best represented their county.[68]
Capitalising on the popularity of 1960s rock groups, such asthe Beatles, as well as the city's world-class art galleries, museums and landmarks, tourism and culture have become a significant factor in Liverpool's economy.
Modern developments on the Liverpool Waterfront
In 2004, property developerGrosvenor started theParadise Project, a £920million development based onParadise Street. This produced one of the most significant changes to Liverpool's city centre since the post-war reconstruction. Renamed as 'Liverpool One,' the centre opened in May 2008.
In 2007, events and celebrations took place in honour of the 800th anniversary of the founding of the borough of Liverpool. Liverpool was designated as a jointEuropean Capital of Culture for 2008. The celebrations included the erection ofLa Princesse, a large mechanical spider 20 metres high and weighing 37 tonnes, which represented the "eight legs" of Liverpool: honour, history, music, the Mersey, the ports, governance, sunshine and culture.La Princesse roamed the streets of the city during the festivities, and concluded by entering theQueensway Tunnel.
Changes to Liverpool's governance took place in 2014. The local authority ofLiverpool City Council decided to pool its power and resources with surrounding boroughs through the formation of theLiverpool City Region Combined Authority in a form ofdevolution. With a devolved budget granted bycentral government, the authority now oversees and invests in foremost strategic affairs throughout theLiverpool City Region, including major regeneration projects. The authority, along with Liverpool City Council itself, has embarked on long-term plans to grow the population and economy of the city.[72][73][74][75]
By the 2020s, urban regeneration throughout the city continues.Liverpool Waters, a mixed-use development in the city's disused northern docklands, has been identified as one of the largest megaprojects in the UK's history.Everton's new stadium atBramley-Moore Dock was regarded as the largest single-site private sector development in the United Kingdom at the time of construction.[76][77]
Major events, business and political conferences regularly take place in the city and form an important part of the economy. In June 2014, Prime MinisterDavid Cameron launched the International Festival for Business in Liverpool, the world's largest business event in 2014,[78] and the largest in the UK since theFestival of Britain in 1951.[79] TheLabour Party has chosen Liverpool numerous times since the mid 2010s for their annualLabour Party Conference. Liverpool hosted theEurovision Song Contest 2023.
Liverpool has been a centre of invention and innovation. Railways, transatlanticsteamships, municipal trams,[80] and electric trains were all pioneered in Liverpool as modes of mass transit. In 1829 and 1836, the first railway tunnels in the world were constructed under Liverpool (Wapping Tunnel). From 1950 to 1951, the world's first scheduled passenger helicopter service ran between Liverpool andCardiff.[81]
In 1864,Peter Ellis built the world's first iron-framed,curtain-walled office building,Oriel Chambers, which was a prototype of the skyscraper. The UK's first purpose-built department store wasCompton House, completed in 1867 for the retailer J.R. Jeffrey.[111] It was the largest store in the world at the time.[112]
Lewis's department store on Ranelagh Street. In 1879, theChristmas grotto was conceived in the store.
Between 1862 and 1867, Liverpool held an annualGrand Olympic Festival. Devised byJohn Hulley andCharles Pierre Melly, these games were the first to be wholly amateur in nature and international in outlook.[113][114] The programme of the first modern Olympiad inAthens in 1896 was almost identical to that of the Liverpool Olympics.[115] In 1865, Hulley co-founded the National Olympian Association in Liverpool, a forerunner of theBritish Olympic Association. Its articles of foundation provided the framework for theOlympic Charter.
Liverpool was the first city outside London to be chosen to have an officialBlue plaque and now has the largest number outside London.[119]
In 1889, borough engineerJohn Alexander Brodie invented the football goal net. He was also a pioneer in the use ofpre-fabricated housing[120] and oversaw the construction of the UK's first ring road (A5058) and intercity highway (East Lancashire Road), as well as theQueensway Tunnel linking Liverpool andBirkenhead. Described as "the eighth wonder of the world" at the time of its construction, it was the longest underwater tunnel in the world for 24 years.
In 1897, theLumière brothers filmed Liverpool,[121] including what is believed to be the world's firsttracking shot,[122] taken from theLiverpool Overhead Railway, the world's first elevated electrified railway. The Overhead Railway was the first railway in the world to useelectric multiple units, employ automatic signalling, and install an escalator.
In 1999, Liverpool was the first city outside London to be awardedblue plaques byEnglish Heritage in recognition of the "significant contribution made by its sons and daughters in all walks of life".[125]
For the purposes oflocal government, Liverpool is classified as ametropolitan borough with city status. The metropolitan borough is located within both the county ofMerseyside and theLiverpool City Region. Each of these geographical areas is treated as an administrative area with different levels of local governance applying to each.
Liverpool City Council is the governing body solely for the Metropolitan Borough of Liverpool and performs functions that are standard of an EnglishUnitary Authority. TheLiverpool City Region Combined Authority and theMayor of the Liverpool City Region reserve major strategic powers over such things as transport, economic development and regeneration for the city along with the 5 surrounding boroughs of the Liverpool City Region. The Combined Authority has competency over areas which have been devolved by national government and are specific to the city region.[126]
Nevertheless, there are a few exceptions to local governance apart from these two structures. Liverpool was administered byMerseyside County Council between 1974 and 1986 and some residual aspects of organisation which date back to this time have survived. When the County Council was disbanded in 1986, most civic functions were transferred to Liverpool City Council. However, several authorities such as thepolice andfire and rescue service, continue to be run at a county-wide level. The county of Merseyside, therefore, continues to exist as an administrative area for a few limited services only, while the capability and capacity of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority is evolving over time.[127]
City Councillors meet regularly at the Council Chamber inLiverpool Town Hall to conduct civic business.[128]
Liverpool City Council operates under a constitution comprising 85 city councillors who are directly elected by the Liverpool electorate every four years and represent a variety of differentpolitical parties. The city councillors make decisions about local services for the city's people.
At each election, the political party that wins the majority of the 85 council seats leads the council for the following four years. The local leader of this party assumes the role of Leader of the City Council who then chairs a Cabinet of 9 councillors who are assigned specific responsibilities known as 'portfolios'.
The incumbent Leader of Liverpool City Council isCouncillor Liam Robinson, who represents theLabour Party, which secured a large majority at the2023 local election,[129] the Leader is also a member of the Mayor of the Liverpool City Regions cabinet (Separate from the City Council Cabinet), at present Robinson holds the portfolio of Cabinet Member for Innovation.
The City Council's decisions and scrutiny of activities are undertaken by a number of different committees and panels which include the Overview and Scrutiny Committees, Scrutiny Panels, Regulatory Committees and other committees. The day-to-day management of the council is carried out by the management team which includes the Chief Executive and several directors and senior officers. The management team works with the Cabinet and councillors to deliver strategic direction and priorities such as the budget and the City Plan.[130][131]
During the2023 Liverpool City Council election, theLabour Party consolidated its control of Liverpool City Council, following on from the previous elections. Out of the total 85 City Council seats up for election, The Labour Party won 61 seats (53.13% of the electorate's total votes), theLiberal Democrats won 15 seats (21.61% of the votes), theGreen Party won three seats (9.76% of the votes), the Liverpool Community Independents won three seats (4.64% of the votes) and theLiberal Party won the remaining three seats (3.21% of the votes). TheConservative Party, the political party in power atnational government, had no representation on Liverpool City Council. Only 27.27% of the eligible Liverpool electorate turned out to vote.[133]
Throughout most of the 19th and early 20th centuries, Liverpool was a municipal stronghold ofToryism. However, support for the Conservative Party in recent times has been among the lowest in any part of Britain, particularly since themonetarist economic policies of former prime ministerMargaret Thatcher. After the1979 general election, many have claimed that her victory contributed to longstanding high unemployment and decline in the city.[134] Liverpool is one of the Labour Party's key strongholds; however, the city has also seen hard times under Labour governments. Particularly in theWinter of Discontent (late 1978 and early 1979) when Liverpool suffered public sector strikes along with the rest of the United Kingdom, but also when it suffered the particularly humiliating misfortune of havinggrave-diggers going on strike, leaving the dead unburied for long periods.[135]
City Council criticism and improvement
In recent years,Liverpool City Council began an extensive improvement program designed to ensure that the authority makes efficient use oftaxpayers' money and to encourage more business and investment in the city.Grosvenor Group, the property company responsible forLiverpool One, commended the changes as an "opportunity for bold thinking in liverpool".[136]
In 2021, a highly critical government inspection and subsequent report of Liverpool City Council (referred to as the Caller report) identified multiple shortcomings at Liverpool City Council. TheSecretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government,Robert Jenrick sent governmentcommissioners to oversee the City Council's highways, regeneration, property management, governance and financial decision-making. The authority was compelled to commit to a three-year improvement plan in which the entire structure of the council would be overhauled. As a result of the intervention, major structural changes at the City Council took place by the2023 United Kingdom local elections, which were labelled "the most unpredictable [elections] in the city's history". The number of electoral wards in the city was doubled from 30 to 64, while the overall number of city councillors up for election was reduced from 90 to 85. In future, the council would also change to 'all out' elections every four years whereby every single city councillor would be eligible for re-election at the same time. The role ofelected city mayor was also abolished and the Council reverted to the previousLeader and Cabinet style of leadership. The outcome of the elections were seen not only as a test of how the general public would respond to the government intervention in the city, but also to Prime MinisterRishi Sunak's government as a whole.[137][138][139][140]
Liam Robinson became the new Leader of Liverpool City Council at the 2023 City Council election. The Liverpool Strategic Futures Advisory Panel, chaired by theMayor of Liverpool City RegionSteve Rotheram, and including several high-profile figures with experience inlocal government, was established. The panel was tasked with directing the council's long-term future outside of government intervention measures and to advise on plans and priorities that the city should pursue.[141]
In February 2008, Liverpool City Council was reported to be the worst-performing council in the country, receiving just a one-star rating (classified as inadequate). The main cause of the poor rating was attributed to the council's poor handling of tax-payer money, including the accumulation of a £20million shortfall while the city held the title ofEuropean Capital of Culture.[142] In April 2024, theOffice for Local Government released a ranking of local authorities, placing Liverpool City Council 317th out of a possible 318.[143]
TheLord Mayor of Liverpool is an ancient ceremonial role. Councillors within Liverpool City Council (not the general public) elect the Lord Mayor annually, who then serves a one-year term. The Lord Mayor is styled as the "first citizen" and is chosen to represent the city at civic functions and engagements, promote it to the wider world, support local charities and community groups, attend religious events, meet delegates fromLiverpool's twin cities, chair council meetings and conferHonorary Freemen and associations.[144] The Lord Mayor is also the presiding officer for Liverpool City Council full meetings.
Liverpool is one of the six constituent boroughs of theLiverpool City Region. TheMayor of the Liverpool City Region is directly every four years by residents of those six boroughs and oversees theLiverpool City Region Combined Authority. The Combined Authority is the top-tier administrative body for the local governance of the city region and is tasked with taking major strategic decisions on issues such as transport and investment, economic development, employment and skills, tourism, culture, housing and physical infrastructure. The current Mayor isSteve Rotheram.
Liverpool experiences atemperatemaritime climate (Köppen:Cfb), like much of the British Isles, with relatively mild summers, cool winters and rainfall spread fairly evenly throughout the year. Rainfall and temperature records had been kept atBidston Hill since 1867, but records for atmospheric pressure go back as far as at least 1846.[148] Bidston closed down in 2002 but theMet Office also has a weather station atCrosby. Since records began in 1867, temperatures have ranged from −17.6 °C (0.3 °F) on 21 December 2010 to 34.5 °C (94.1 °F) on 2 August 1990, althoughLiverpool Airport recorded a temperature of 35.0 °C (95.0 °F) on 19 July 2006.[149]
The lowest amount of sunshine on record was 16.5 hours in December 1927 whereas the most was 314.5 hours in July 2013.[150][151]
Tornado activity orfunnel cloud formation is very rare in and around the Liverpool area and tornadoes that do form are usually weak. Recent tornadoes or funnel clouds in Merseyside have been seen in 1998 and 2014.[152][153]
During the period 1981–2010, Crosby recorded an average of 32.8 days of air frost per year, which is low for the United Kingdom.[154] Snow is fairly common during the winter although heavy snow is rare. Snow generally falls between November and March but can occasionally fall earlier and later. In recent times, the earliest snowfall was on 1 October 2008[155] while the latest occurred on 15 May 2012.[156] Although historically, the earliest snowfall occurred on 10 September 1908[157] and the latest on 2 June 1975.[158]
Rainfall, although light, is quite a common occurrence in Liverpool, with the wettest month on record being August 1956, which recorded 221.2 mm (8.71 in) of rain and the driest being February 1932, with 0.9 mm (0.035 in).[159] The driest year on record was 1991, with 480.5 mm (18.92 in) of rainfall and the wettest was 1872, with 1,159.9 mm (45.67 in).[160]
^Weather station is located 7 miles (11 km) from the Liverpool city centre.
^Sunshine hours were recorded at theBidston Observatory from the period of 1971–2000.
^Humidity was recorded at the Bidston Observatory for the period of 1975–June 2002. The period Jul–Sep 1992 has no record, with Jan–May 2001 reporting unreliabe data.
^From 1867–2002, extremes were recorded at the Bidston Observatory in Wirral. Since 1983, extremes were recorded at Crosby, Sefton.
In 2010, Liverpool City Council and the Primary Care Trust commissioned theMersey Forest to complete "A Green Infrastructure Strategy" for the city.[169]
Liverpool is a core urban element of agreen belt region that extends into the wider surrounding counties, which is in place to reduceurban sprawl, prevent the towns in the conurbation from further convergence, protect the identity of outlying communities, encouragebrownfield reuse, and preserve nearby countryside. This is achieved by restricting inappropriate development within the designated areas and imposing stricter conditions on permitted building.[170]
Due to being already highly built up, the city contains limited portions of protected green belt area withingreenfield throughout the borough atFazakerley,Croxteth Hall and country park and Craven Wood, Woodfields Park and nearby golf courses inNetherley, small greenfield tracts east of theSpeke area by the St Ambrose primary school, and the small hamlet ofOglet and the surrounding area south ofLiverpool Airport.[171]
The green belt was first drawn up in 1983 under Merseyside County Council[172] and the size in the city amounts to 530 hectares (5.3 km2; 2.0 sq mi).[173]
Demonyms
Scouser
"Scousers" redirects here. For the Harry Enfield sketch, seeThe Scousers.
Since the mid-20th century, Scouser has become the predominant demonym for the inhabitants of Liverpool, and is strongly associated with theScouse accent and dialect of the city.[174] The Scouse accent is described as progressively diverging from the Lancastrian accent in the late 19th century.[175][176][177][178][179]
The etymology of Scouser is derived from the traditional dishScouse brought to the area by sailors travelling through Liverpool's port.[179][180][181]
Earlier demonyms
Earlier terms used to refer to inhabitants of Liverpool include:
Professor Tony Crowley writes that up until the 1950s, inhabitants of Liverpool were generally referred to by a number of demonyms, including, in the mid-20th century, the rival terms of 'Liverpolitan' and 'Liverpudlian'. Debate surrounded the lexicology of these terms and their connotations of social class.[181][185]
Professor John Belchem suggests that a series of other nicknames such as 'Dick Liver', 'Dicky Sam' and 'whacker' were used, but gradually fell out of use. Belchem and Philip Boland suggest that comedic radio presenters and entertainers brought the Liverpool identity to a national audience, which in turn encouraged locals to be gradually more known as 'scousers'. By the time that Frank Shaw'sMy Liverpool, a Celebration of 'Scousetown' was published in 1971, Belchem argues, 'Scouser' had firmly become the dominant demonym.[174][186][187]
Borough of Liverpool founded byJohn, King of England. The economy was focused on agricultural and food processing,grain mills and warehouses until the 16th century.
1272
840
14th century
1,000 – 1,200
Population roughly 1,000 in 1300. Because Liverpool was a port, it was more at risk from the spread of disease. Townspeople lived partly by farming and fishing. Some were craftsmen or tradesmen such as bakers, brewers, butchers, blacksmiths, and carpenters. Awatermill existed to ground grain into flour for the townspeople's bread, and there was a windmill.Black Death wiped out whole families and bodies were buried in a mass grave atSt Nicholas's churchyard.
16th century
Ireland was still Liverpool's main trading partner. In 1540, a writer said: "Irish merchants come much hither as to a good harbor". He also said there was "good merchandise at Liverpool and much Irishyarn, thatManchester men buy there". Skins and hides were still imported from Ireland. Exports from Liverpool included coal, woolen cloth, knives and leather goods. There were still many fishermen in Liverpool. In the mid 16th century, the town was under the control of the countrygentry and trade was slow. The population dropped to below 600, in part due to deaths in the1558 plague when a third of the townspeople died. Furtherplague outbreaks took place in 1609, 1647 and 1650 which led to static or retrogressive population levels. The town was regarded as subordinate toChester until the 1650s.
1600
<2,000
English troops bound forrebellions in Ireland settled in the 16th and early 17th centuries.
1626
Charles I of England issued newCharter for the town. Trade with other cities, Ireland,Isle of Man, France and Spain increased. Fish and wool was exported to theContinent, and wines, iron and other commodities imported. In the following decades, merchants invested in Liverpool and its importance grew. Regular shipping began to America andWest Indies. Liverpool was controlled bythe Crown, the Molyneux and Stanley families.
1642
2,500
Liverpool overtookChester in exporting coal and salt in early 17th century, especially to Ireland.
1644
DuringEnglish Civil War,Prince Rupert led aroyalist army to capture Liverpool. He described the town as a "mere crow's nest which a parcel of boys could take". He stormedLiverpool Castle in the 'Siege of Liverpool' with considerable slaughter.
1647
Liverpool was made a free and independent port, no longer subject toChester.
1648
First recorded cargo from America landed at Liverpool.
Late 17th century
Liverpool grew rapidly with the growth ofEnglish colonies in North America andWest Indies. Liverpool was well placed to trade across Atlantic Ocean. The writerCelia Fiennes visited Liverpool and said: "Liverpool is built on theRiver Mersey. It is mostly newly built, of brick and stone after the London fashion. The original (town) was a few fishermen's houses. It has now grown into a large, fine town. It is but one parish with one church though there be 24 streets in it, there is indeed a little chapel and there are a great many dissenters in the town (Protestants who did not belong to theChurch of England). It's a very rich trading town, the houses are of brick and stone, built high and even so that a street looks very handsome. The streets are well paved. There is an abundance of persons who are well dressed and fashionable. The streets are fair and long. It's London in miniature as much as I ever saw anything. There is a very pretty exchange. It stands on 8 pillars, over which is a very handsomeTown Hall."
1700
5,714
First recorded Liverpoolslave ship, the 'Liverpool Merchant', sold a cargo of 220slaves in Barbados. In the early 1700s, the writerDaniel Defoe said: "Liverpool has an opulent, flourishing and increasing trade toVirginia and English colonies in America. They trade around the whole island (of Great Britain), send ships toNorway, toHamburg, and to theBaltic as also toHolland andFlanders (roughly modernBelgium)."Welsh people in search of work and opportunity made up a large amount of population in the early 18th century.
1715
World's first wet dock opened in Liverpool, symbolising a new era in the town's growth, the starting point of the 18th-century boom in Liverpool's fortunes.
Influx of Irish,Welsh, Scandinavian andDutch communities grew the town rapidly. Most of the population were not native to Liverpool.
1797
77,708
1801
77,000 – 85,000
1811
94,376
1821
118,972
1831
165,175
1835
Boundary of Liverpool expanded to includeEverton,Kirkdale and parts ofToxteth andWest Derby. Liverpool was second only to London in importance. Poor, overcrowded and unsanitary living conditions led to disease and epidemics ofcholera in 1830s to 1860s.
1841
286,487
1851
375,955
At the height of theGreat Famine in Ireland, Liverpool'sIrish-born population peaked to about 83,000–90,000. Forty-three thousand were settled in the area around the docks. More Irish people lived in Liverpool than the majority ofIrish towns. Forty per cent of the world's trade was passing throughLiverpool's docks.
Boundary of Liverpool expanded to includeFazakerley.
1907
746,144
1911
746,421 – 766,044
1913
Boundary of Liverpool expanded to includeWoolton andGateacre.
1921
805,046 – 821,000
1931
855,688
1937
867,000
The highest-recorded population of Liverpoolcity proper
1941
806,271
Liverpool's population fell in the following decades, largely due to thenew towns movement and the British government's policy to displace thousands of people from major British cities (including Central Liverpool) to variousnew towns within the region such asKirkby,Skelmersdale,Runcorn andWarrington.
1951
765,641 – 768,337
1961
683,133 – 737,637
1971
595,252 – 607,454
Suburbanisation into neighbouring local authorities continues.
1981
492,164 – 503,726
1991
448,629 – 480,196
2001
439,428 – 439,476
Liverpool's population steadily increased again, partly attributed to a rise in students, student accommodation, young professionals, and increased job opportunities throughurban regeneration.
2011
466,415
2021
486,100
The city
The city of Liverpool is at the core of a much larger and more populousmetropolitan area; however, at the most recentUK Census in 2021, the area governed byLiverpool City Council had a population of 486,100, a 4.2% increase from the previousCensus in 2011. This figure increased to 500,500 people by 2022, according to data from Liverpool City Council.
Taking in to account howlocal government is organised within the cities and metropolitan areas of England, the Liverpool was the fifth largest of England's'core cities' and had the second-overall-highest population density of those, by 2021.[199][200]
The population of the city has steadily risen since the2001 Census. As well as having a growing population, the population density also grew at the 2021 Census compared to the previous census. Since 2011, its population size ranked 10th out of 309 local authority areas.[201]
The population of the city is comparatively younger than that of England as a whole. Family life in the city is also growing at odds with the North West England region as a whole: At the 2021 Census, the percentage of households including a couple without children increased in Liverpool, but fell across the North West. The percentage of people aged 16 years and over (excluding full-time students) who were employed also increased in Liverpool compared to the overall North West region where it fell.
Liverpool'sethnic and international population is growing. More people in the city identified asAsian andBlack in themost recent census, compared to the previous census.
The 2021 Census also showed that Liverpool'sethnic and international population was growing. The number of residents in the city born outside of England has increased since the previous census, while the number of residents who did not identify with anynational identity associated with the UK has also increased at a faster rate than England as a whole. The overall share of the city's population who identified asAsian andBlack increased, while the percentage who identified aswhite decreased in the city compared with previous Census.[202]
It has been argued that the city can claim to have one of the strongestIrish heritages in the United Kingdom, with as many as 75 per cent (estimated) of Liverpool's population with some form ofIrish ancestry.[203]
The growing population of Liverpool in the 21st century reverses a trend which took place between the 1930s and 2001, when the population of thecity proper effectively halved.
Such a mass relocation and population loss during this time was common practice for many British cities, including London andManchester, In contrast, satellite towns such asKirkby,Skelmersdale andRuncorn saw a corresponding rise in their populations (Kirkby being the fastest growing town in Britain during the 1960s).[204][205][202][206]
Urban and metropolitan area
Liverpool is typically grouped with the widerMerseyside (plusHalton) area for the purpose of defining its metropolitan footprint, and there are several methodologies. Sometimes, this metropolitan area is broadened to encompass urban settlements in the neighbouring counties ofLancashire andCheshire.[207][208]
TheOffice for National Statistics in the United Kingdom uses the international standardisedInternational Territorial Levels (ITLs) to divide up theeconomic territory of the UK. This enables the ONS to calculate regional and local statistics and data. The ONS uses a series of codes to identify these areas. In order of hierarchy from largest area to smallest area, Liverpool is part of the following regions:[209][210][211]
ITL 1 region
North West England (code TLD) At the 2021 Census, the ITL 1 region of North West England had a usual resident population of 7,417,300.[212]
ITL 2 region
Merseyside (code TLD7) The ITL 2 region of Merseyside is defined as the area comprising East Merseyside (TLD71) plus Liverpool (TLD72),Sefton (TLD73) andWirral (TLD74). At the 2021 Census, the population of this area was as follows:[213]
Therefore, the total population of the ITL 2 Merseyside region was 1,551,500 based on the 2021 Census.
ITL 3 region
The smallest ITL 3 area classed as Liverpool (code TLD72), therefore, had a population of 486,100 at the 2021 Census.
Other definitions
At the 2021 Census, the ONS used a refreshed concept of built-up areas (BUAs) based on the physical built environment, usingsatellite imagery to recognise developed land, such as cities, towns and villages. This allows the ONS to investigate economic and social statistics based on actual settlements where most people live. Data from the 2021 Census is not directly comparable with2011 Census data due to this revised methodology. Using the population figures of BUAs at the 2021 Census (excluding London),Liverpool Built-up Area is the third largest in England with some 506,565 usual residents (behind onlyBirmingham andLeeds). Liverpool's built-up area is, therefore, larger than the major English cities ofBristol, Manchester,Newcastle upon Tyne,Nottingham andSheffield.[214]
A 2011 report,Liverpool City Region – Building on its Strengths, byMichael Heseltine andTerry Leahy, stated that "what is now called Liverpool City Region has a population of around 1.5million", but also referred to "an urban region that spreads fromWrexham andFlintshire toChester,Warrington,West Lancashire and across toSouthport", with a population of 2.3million.[219]
Liverpool and Manchester are sometimes considered as one large polynuclear metropolitan area,[221][222][223] ormegalopolis.
Ethnicity
In recent decades, Liverpool's population is becoming more multicultural. According to the 2021 census, 77% of all Liverpool residents described their ethnic group as White English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish or British. The remaining 23% were described as non-White English/British. Between 2011 and 2021, there was population growth across all ethnic groups, except 'White English/British' and 'Any Other', where there were overall losses. The number of 'Other White residents' in Liverpool also increased by almost 12,000 people, with notable increases in the 'Other Asian', 'Arab', and 'Other Mixed/Multiple' population categories. The non-White English/British population as a percentage of the total population across the'newly organised city electoral wards' ranged from 5% in theOrrell Park ward to 69% in thePrinces Park ward. Nine out of ten Liverpool residents regarded English as their main language. The most spoken non-English languages in the city wereArabic (5,743 main speakers) followed byPolish (4,809 main speakers). Overall, almost 45,000 residents had a main language that was not English.[224]
White: English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish or British
375,785
77.3
White: Other White
24,162
5.0
Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African: African
12,709
2.6
Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Chinese
8,841
1.8
Other ethnic group: Arab
8,312
1.7
Other ethnic group: Any other ethnic group
7,722
1.6
Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Other Asian
7,085
1.5
White: Irish
6,826
1.4
Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Indian
6,251
1.3
Mixed or multiple ethnic groups: Other mixed or multiple ethnic groups
4,934
1.0
Mixed or multiple ethnic groups: White and Black African
4,157
0.9
Mixed or multiple ethnic groups: White and Black Caribbean
4,127
0.8
Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Pakistani
3,673
0.8
Mixed or multiple ethnic groups: White and Asian
3,662
0.8
Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African: Other Black
2,762
0.6
Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh: Bangladeshi
1,917
0.4
Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African: Caribbean
1,493
0.3
White: Roma
1,169
0.2
White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller
501
0.1
According to a 2014 survey, the ten most popular surnames of Liverpool and their occurrence in the population are:[226][227]
1. Jones – 23,012
2. Smith – 16,276
3. Williams – 13,997
4. Davies – 10,149
5. Hughes – 9,787
6. Roberts – 9,571
7. Taylor – 8,219
8. Johnson – 6,715
9. Brown – 6,603
10. Murphy – 6,495
Liverpool is home tothe UK's oldest black community, dating back to at least the 1730s. Some Liverpudlians can trace their black ancestry in the city back ten generations.[228] Early Black settlers in the city included seamen, the children of traders sent to be educated, andfreed slaves, since slaves entering the country after 1722 were deemed free men.[229] Since the 20th century, Liverpool is also noted for its largeAfrican-Caribbean,[4]Ghanaian,[230] andSomali[231] communities, formed of more recent African-descended immigrants and their subsequent generations.
The city is also home to the oldestChinese community in Europe; the first residents of the city'sChinatown arrived as seamen in the 19th century.[232] The traditional Chinese gateway erected in Liverpool's Chinatown is the largest such gateway outside China. Liverpool also has a long-standingFilipino community.Lita Roza, a singer from Liverpool who was the first woman to achieve a UK number one hit, had Filipino ancestry.
The city is also known for its largeIrish andWelsh populations.[233] In 1813, 10 per cent of Liverpool's population was Welsh, leading to the city becoming known as "the capital ofNorth Wales."[233]
During, and in the decades following, theGreat Irish Famine in the mid-19th century, up to two million Irish people travelled to Liverpool within one decade, with many subsequently departing for the United States.[234] By 1851, more than 20 per cent of the population of Liverpool was Irish.[235] At the 2001 Census, 1.17 per cent of the population were Welsh-born and 0.75 per cent were born in theRepublic of Ireland, while 0.54 per cent were born inNorthern Ireland,[236] but many more Liverpudlians are of legacy Welsh or Irish ancestry.[237]
The thousands of migrants and sailors passing through Liverpool resulted in a religious diversity that is still apparent today. This is reflected in the equally diverse collection of religious buildings,[242] including two Christian cathedrals.
Liverpool is known to be England's 'most Catholic city', with aCatholic population much larger than in other parts of England.[243] This is mainly due to high historic Irish migration to the city and their descendants since.[244]
Liverpool's wealth as a port city enabled the construction of two enormous cathedrals in the 20th century. TheAnglican Cathedral, which was designed bySir Giles Gilbert Scott and plays host to the annualLiverpool Shakespeare Festival, has one of the longestnaves, largest organs and heaviest and highest peals of bells in the world. The Roman CatholicMetropolitan Cathedral, on Mount Pleasant next toLiverpool Science Park, was initially planned to be even larger. OfSir Edwin Lutyens's original design, only the crypt was completed. The cathedral was eventually built to a simpler design bySir Frederick Gibberd. While this is on a smaller scale than Lutyens' original design, it still incorporates the largest panel ofstained glass in the world. The road running between the two cathedrals is calledHope Street. The cathedral has long been colloquially referred to as "Paddy's Wigwam" due to its shape.[245]
Liverpool contains several synagogues, of which the Grade I listedMoorish RevivalPrinces Road Synagogue is architecturally the most notable. Princes Road is widely considered to be the most magnificent of Britain'sMoorish Revival synagogues and one of the finest buildings in Liverpool.[246] Liverpool has a thrivingJewish community with a further twoorthodox Synagogues, one in theAllerton district of the city and a second in theChildwall district of the city where a significant Jewish community reside. A third orthodox Synagogue in theGreenbank Park area of L17 has recently closed and is a listed 1930s structure. There is also aLubavitchChabad House and areform synagogue. Liverpool has had a Jewish community since the mid-18th century. The Jewish population of Liverpool is around 5,000.[247] TheLiverpool Talmudical College existed from 1914 until 1990, when its classes moved to theChildwall Synagogue.[citation needed]
The city had the earliest Mosque in England and possibly the UK, founded in 1887 byWilliam Abdullah Quilliam, a lawyer who had converted toIslam who set up theLiverpool Muslim Institute in aterraced house on West Derby Road.[251] Apart from the first mosque in England which now houses a museum,[252][253] the largest and main one,Al-Rahma mosque, was also the third purpose-built mosque in the United Kingdom.[254] The second largest mosque in Liverpool is the Masjid Al-Taiseer.[255] Other mosques in the city include the Bait ul Lateef Ahmadiyya Mosque,[256] Hamza Center (Community Center),[257] Islamic community centre,[258] Liverpool Mosque and Islamic Institute,[259] Liverpool Towhid Centre,[260] Masjid Annour,[261] and the Shah Jalal Mosque.[262]
Liverpool forms an integral part ofNorth West England's economy, the third largest regional economy in the United Kingdom. The city is also a major contributor to the economy ofLiverpool City Region, worth over £40billion per year.[266][267][268]
The local authority area governed byLiverpool City Council accounts for 39% of the Liverpool city region's total jobs, 40% of its total GVA and 35% of its total businesses. At the local authority level, the city'sGVA (balanced) at current basic prices was £14.3billion in 2021. Its GDP at current market prices was £15.9billion. This equates to £32,841 per head of the population.[269][270]
At the2021 United Kingdom census, 51.1% of Liverpool's population aged 16 years and over was classed as employed, 44.2% economically inactive and 4.8% unemployed. Of those employed, the most popular industries providing the employment were human health and social work activities (18.7%), wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motor cycles (15%), education (10.8%), public administration and defence; compulsory social security (7.3%), accommodation and food service activities (6.8%), construction (6.5%), transport and storage (5.8%), manufacturing (5.5%) and professional, scientific and technical activities (5.2%).[271]
According to theONS Business Register and Employment Survey 2021, some industries within Liverpool perform strongly compared to otherlocal authorities in Great Britain. In terms of absolute number of jobs per industry in Great Britain's local authority areas, Liverpool features in the national top 10 for human health and social work activities; arts, entertainment and recreation; public administration and defence; compulsory social security; accommodation and food service activities and real estate activities. Liverpool features in the national top 20 for number of jobs in education; construction; wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; transportation and storage; financial and insurance activities and professional, scientific and technical activities.[272]
According to the International passenger Survey, from theONS, Liverpool was one of the top 5 most visited cities in the UK by overseas tourists in 2022. As of the same year, the city's tourist industry was worth a total of £3.5billion annually and was part of a larger city region tourist industry worth £5billion. A consistent calendar of major events, as well as a plethora of cultural attractions, continue to provide a significant draw for tourists. Tourism related tothe Beatles is worth an estimated £100million to the Liverpool economy each year alone.Liverpool One, as well as a growing retail offer overall, has led to the city being one of the most prominent destinations for shopping in the UK.Liverpool Cruise Terminal, which is situated close to thePier Head, enables tourists to berth in the centre of the city.[274][275][276][277][278][279][280]
Liverpool is home to theKnowledge Quarter, a 450-acre city centre district that hosts some of the world's most influential institutions in science, health, technology, education, music and the creative performing arts. TheUK government has also identified the city as a 'pharmaceutical production superpower' and one of the UK's leading regions forbioprocessing. The accolade led to the government choosing the city for England's second ever 'Investment Zone' in 2023. This will involve millions of pounds being invested over the coming years in to science orientated districts including the Knowledge Quarter and the so-called 'pharma cluster' in the city suburb ofSpeke. The two clusters form an internationally significant role ininfectious disease control. Liverpool City Council also plan to invest in the city'sBaltic Triangle, which is renowned in the creative and digital industries.[281][282][283][284][285][286]
Historically, the economy of Liverpool was centred on the city's port and manufacturing base. Today, thePort of Liverpool is the UK's fourth-largest port bytonnage offreight, handling over 30 million tonnes in 2020. The city is also the UK's largest port fortransatlantic trade, handling 45% of the country's trade from the United States. In 2023, the city was chosen by the British government to be a designatedFreeport to encourage growing international commerce.
Liverpool's richarchitectural base has helped the city become the second mostfilmed city in the UK outside London. As well as being a featured location in its own right, it often doubles up for Chicago, London, Moscow, New York City, Paris andRome. The Depot studios, close to the city centre, provide space for film and TV productions.[306][307]
The policy agenda of theBritish Government is to continuously monitor the economy and productivity of the UK'score cities within the context of their respectivecity regions. The government's longer-term plan is to assess each area's potential for increaseddevolution and transfer of additional powers and budgets from central government inWhitehall to their correspondingcombined authorities. As such, official statistics about Liverpool's economy within the context of theLiverpool City Region, are closely monitored by theOffice for National Statistics. This allows policy and decision makers to more accurately assess the 'functional economic area' of the city, which is not bound by traditionallocal government geographies.[312][313][314][315][316]
As of 2023, there are ten city regions in England with combined authorities. The economy ofLiverpool's combined authority area in comparison to the other city regions is as follows:
Liverpool's long commercial history has given rise to a considerable variety ofarchitectural styles found within the city, ranging from 16th-centuryTudor buildings to modern-daycontemporary architecture.[318] The majority of buildings in the city date from the late 18th century onwards, the period during which the city grew into one of the foremost powers in theBritish Empire.[319] There are over2,500 listed buildings in Liverpool, of which 27 are Grade I listed[320] and 85 are Grade II* listed.[321] The city also has a greater number of public sculptures than any other location in the United Kingdom aside fromWestminster and significant number of Georgian houses still exist.[322][323] This richness of architecture has subsequently seen Liverpool described byEnglish Heritage, as England's finest Victorian city.[324]
The value of Liverpool's architecture and design was recognised in 2004, when several areas throughout the city were declared aUNESCOWorld Heritage Site. Known as theLiverpool Maritime Mercantile City, the sites were added in recognition of the city's role in the development ofinternational trade anddocking technology.[325] However, this status was revoked in July 2021, when UNESCO resolved that recent and proposed developments, such as theBramley-Moore Dock Stadium andLiverpool Waters projects, had resulted in the "serious deterioration" of the area's significance.[326]
As a major British port, the docks in Liverpool have historically been central to the city's development. Several major docking firsts have occurred in the city including the construction of the world's first enclosedwet dock (theOld Dock) in 1715 and the first everhydraulic liftingcranes.[327] The best-known dock in Liverpool is theRoyal Albert Dock, which was constructed in 1846 and today comprises the largest single collection of Grade I listed buildings anywhere in Britain.[328] Built under the guidance ofJesse Hartley, it was considered to be one of the most advanced docks anywhere in the world upon completion and is often attributed with helping the city to become one of the most important ports in the world. Today, the Royal Albert Dock houses restaurants, bars, shops, two hotels as well as theMerseyside Maritime Museum,International Slavery Museum,Tate Liverpool andThe Beatles Story. North of the city centre isStanley Dock, home to theStanley Dock Tobacco Warehouse, which was at the time of its construction in 1901, the world's largest building in terms of area[329] and today stands as the world's largest brick-work building.[330]
One of the most famous locations in Liverpool is thePier Head, renowned for the trio of buildings—theRoyal Liver Building, theCunard Building and thePort of Liverpool Building—which sit upon it. Collectively referred to as theThree Graces, these buildings stand as a testament to the great wealth in the city during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Built in a variety of architectural styles, they are recognised as being the symbol of 'maritime Liverpool' and are regarded by many as contributing to one of the most impressive waterfronts in the world.[331][332][333][334]
However, plans to redevelop parts ofLiverpool city centre have been marred bycontroversy. In December 2016, a newly formed company calledNorth Point Global Ltd. was given the rights to develop part of the docks under the "New Chinatown" working name. Though heavily advertised in Liverpool, Hong Kong and Chinese cities with high-profile advertisements and videos, the "New Chinatown" development failed to materialise.[337] In January 2018, theLiverpool Echo andAsia Times revealed that the site remained sans any construction. North Point Global as well as its subcontractor "Bilt" had both declared bankruptcy, and the small investors (mostly middle class couples) who had already paid money for the apartments had lost most of their savings in them.[338]
Liverpool's historic position as one of the most important trading ports in the world has meant that over time many grand buildings have been constructed in the city as headquarters for shipping firms, insurance companies, banks and other large firms. The great wealth this brought then allowed for the development of grand civic buildings, which were designed to allow the local administrators to 'run the city with pride'.[339]
Thecommercial district is centred on theCastle Street,Dale Street and Old Hall Street areas of the city, with many of the area's roads still following theirmedieval layout. Having developed predominantly over a period of three centuries, the area is regarded as one of the most important architectural locations in the city, as recognised by its inclusion in Liverpool'sformer World Heritage site.[340]
The area aroundWilliam Brown Street is referred to as the city's 'Cultural Quarter', owing to the presence of numerous civic buildings, including theWilliam Brown Library,Walker Art Gallery,Picton Reading Rooms andWorld Museum Liverpool. The area is dominated byneo-classical architecture, of which the most prominent,St George's Hall,[345] is widely regarded as the best example of a neo-classical building anywhere in Europe.[346] A Grade I listed building, it was constructed between 1840 and 1855 to serve a variety of civic functions in the city and its doors are inscribed with "S.P.Q.L." (Latinsenatus populusque Liverpudliensis), meaning "the senate and people of Liverpool". William Brown Street is also home to numerous public monuments and sculptures, includingWellington's Column and theSteble Fountain. Many others are located around the area, particularly inSt John's Gardens, which was specifically developed for this purpose.[347] The William Brown Street area has been likened to a modern recreation of theRoman Forum.[348]
While the majority of Liverpool's architecture dates from the mid-18th century onwards, there are several buildings that pre-date this time. One of the oldest surviving buildings isSpeke Hall, aTudormanor house located in the south of the city, which was completed in 1598.[349] The building is one of the few remainingtimber framed Tudor houses left in thenorth of England and is particularly noted for itsVictorian interiors, which were added in the mid-19th century.[350] In addition to Speke Hall, many of the city's other oldest surviving buildings are also formermanor houses includingCroxteth Hall andWoolton Hall, which were completed in 1702 and 1704 respectively.[351]
Liverpool is noted for having two cathedrals, each of which imposes over the landscape around it.[356] TheAnglican Cathedral, which was constructed between 1904 and 1978, is the largest cathedral in Britain[357] and thefifth largest in the world. Designed and built inGothic style, it is regarded as one of the greatest buildings to have been constructed during the 20th century[358] and was described by former BritishPoet Laureate,John Betjeman, as "one of the great buildings of the world".[359] The Roman CatholicMetropolitan Cathedral was constructed between 1962 and 1967 and is known as one of the first cathedrals to break the traditional longitudinal design.[360]
In the 21st century, many parts of Liverpool's city centre have undergone significant redevelopment and regeneration after years of decline. So far, the largest of these developments has beenLiverpool One, which saw almost £1billion invested in the redevelopment of 42 acres (17 hectares) of land, providing new retail, commercial, residential and leisure space.[361] Around the north of the city centre, several new skyscrapers have also been constructed including theRIBA award-winningUnity Buildings andWest Tower, which at 140m isLiverpool's tallest building. Many redevelopment schemes are also in progress including Circus,[362]King's Dock,[363]Paddington Village[364] andLiverpool Waters.[365]
Liverpool has an extensive transport infrastructure that connects the city with its metropolitan area, the rest of the United Kingdom, Europe and the world. Various modes of transport provide considerable connections by road, rail, air and sea. The local network of buses, trains and ferries is managed byMerseytravel, on behalf of theLiverpool City Region Combined Authority and theMetro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region. The Mayor and Combined Authority have control of adevolved transport budget and associated transport powers for this local system. The city's major port and international airport provide global links for both passengers and freight.[369][370]
National and international travel
Roads
The Liverpool city centre entrance to the Queensway tunnel under the River Mersey
The city sits at the centre of a much larger metropolitan area. Its suburbs run contiguously into the neighbouring boroughs defined by the ONS as theLiverpool Built-up Area. The wider City Region and Merseyside in general is densely urbanised and divided by several motorways and major roads. The city is served by a networkmotorways. The three motorways in closest proximity are theM58 to the north, andM62 andM57 to the east.
To the north, the M58 motorway runs 12 miles and provides links to the neighbouring counties ofLancashire andGreater Manchester, finally joining with the M6 west of Wigan.[371]
To the east, the M62 runs across the north of England, ultimately connecting Liverpool withHull on the opposite coast, and along the route with several large cities includingManchester,Leeds andBradford. The M62 also provides a connection to both theM6 andM1 motorways, providing indirect links to more distant areas includingBirmingham, London,Nottingham,Preston andSheffield.[372][373]
To the east, but running north-south, the M57 acts as a 10-mile ring road for the city itself and links the M62 and M58 motorways, as well as theA580 East Lancashire Road providing a link directly to theA5300 that links to the bridges that cross the Mersey to the south of the city.[374]
Liverpool Lime Street, one of the busiest railway stations in the UK outside London[377]
The national network, which is managed byNetwork Rail, provides Liverpool with connections to major towns and cities across England. The city's primary main line station isLiverpool Lime Street, which is the terminus for several lines into the city.
Opened in 1836, Lime Street is the world's oldest main line terminus station still in use.[383] In the south of the city,Liverpool South Parkway provides a connection to the city's airport.
Liverpool'surban railway network, known asMerseyrail, is one of the busiest and most extensive in the country. The network provides approximately 30 million passenger journeys per year, across a system of 69 stations throughout Liverpool's metropolitan area, within the formal boundaries of the Liverpool city region and adjacent areas of Cheshire and Lancashire.[419][420][421][422]
The network is predominantly electric and covers 75 miles (120 kilometres) of track.[425][426] Trains are owned and operated by theMerseyrail franchise and managed byMerseytravel under the direction of theLiverpool City Region Combined Authority. Local services on the City Line are operated byNorthern Trains, although the line itself remains part of the Merseyrail network. Within Liverpool city centre, four stations and over6+1⁄2 miles (10.5 kilometres) of tunnels are underground.[425]Birkenhead Hamilton Square andLiverpool James Street are the oldest deep level underground stations in the world.[427]
In 2023, for the first time in UK history,battery-powered passenger trains launched on Merseyrail tracks from the newly opened Headbolt Lane station in Kirkby. The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority's long termMerseyrail for All plan is to reduce dependency onlive third rail and promote battery power in order to further expand Merseyrail to previously inaccessible places across the city region and as far as Manchester, Wrexham, Warrington and Preston.[428][429]
Buses
Liverpool South Parkway, a bus & rail interchange serving south Liverpool and Liverpool John Lennon Airport
Local bus services within and around Liverpool are managed byMerseytravel[430] and are run by several different companies, includingArriva andStagecoach Merseyside. The two principal termini for local buses areQueen Square bus station (located near Lime Street station) for services north and east of the city, andLiverpool One bus station (located near theRoyal Albert Dock) for services to the south and east.[431]Cross-river services to theWirral use roadside terminus points in Castle Street and Sir Thomas Street. Anight bus service also operates on Saturdays providing services from the city centre across Liverpool and wider region.[432]
Tour bus services are provided by Maghull Coaches which allow tourists tohop-on-hop-off and view historical landmarks and attractions, as well asLiverpool F.C. andBeatles related locations.[433][434]National Express services operate from theLiverpool One bus station to and from destinations across the UK.[435] In 2023, the Liverpool city region confirmed plans to become the second place outside London to implementbus franchising. Local leaders have argued that it will improve services by transferring control over fares, ticketing and routes from bus companies to theCombined Authority. The full implementation of bus franchising will take place by the end of 2028.[436][437]
Mersey Ferry
A Mersey Ferry (foreground) with the Liverpool waterfront in the distance
The cross-river ferry service in Liverpool, known as theMersey Ferry, is managed and operated byMerseytravel, with services operating between thePier Head in Liverpool city centre and bothWoodside inBirkenhead andSeacombe inWallasey. Services operate at intervals ranging from 20 minutes, at peak times, to every hour during the middle of the day and at weekends.[438] Despite remaining an important transport link between the city and the Wirral Peninsula, the Mersey Ferry has become an increasingly popular tourist attraction within the city, with daytime River Explorer Cruises providing passengers with an historical overview of the River Mersey and surrounding areas.[439]
Cycling and scooters
Ascooter-sharing system andelectric bicycle scheme operates throughout Liverpool which allows residents and visitors to move around the city on rented scooters and bicycles. The scheme is operated by Swedish technology company Voi; riders are able to pick up and drop off bikes and scooters at various locations around the city.[440][441][442]National Cycle Route 56,National Cycle Route 62 and National Cycle Route 810 run through Liverpool.
As with other large cities, Liverpool is an important cultural centre within the United Kingdom, incorporating music, performing arts, museums and art galleries, literature and nightlife among others. In 2008, the cultural heritage of the city was celebrated with the city holding the title ofEuropean Capital of Culture, during which time a wide range of cultural celebrations took place in the city, includingGo Superlambananas! andLa Princesse. Liverpool has also held Europe's largest music and poetry event, theWelsh national Eisteddfod, three times, despite being in England, in 1884, 1900, and 1929.
On 7 October 2022, theBBC and theEuropean Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced that Liverpool would host theEurovision Song Contest 2023 on behalf of the previous year's winning countryUkraine, which was unable to meet the demands of hosting the event due to security concerns caused by theRussian invasion of the country. The contest was held at Liverpool Arena, and consisted of two semi-finals on 9 and 11 May and a final on 13 May 2023. This was the first time that the contest took place in the city, and was also a record-extending ninth time that the UK has hosted the contest, having last done so inBirmingham in1998.[453]
Liverpool has more galleries and national museums than any other city in the United Kingdom apart from London.[11]National Museums Liverpool is the only English national collection based wholly outside London.[454] TheTate Liverpool gallery houses the modern art collection of the Tate in the North of England and was, until the opening ofTate Modern, the largest exhibition space dedicated to modern art in the United Kingdom. TheFACT centre hosts touring multimedia exhibitions, while theWalker Art Gallery houses one of the most impressive permanent collections ofPre-Raphaelite art in the world.[455]Sudley House contains another major collection of pre-20th-century art.[456] Liverpool University'sVictoria Building was re-opened as a public art gallery and museum to display the university's artwork and historical collections which include the largest display of art byAudubon outside the US.[457] A number of artists have also come from the city, including painterGeorge Stubbs who was born in Liverpool in 1724.
TheLiverpool Biennial festival of arts runs from mid-September to late November and comprises three main sections; the International, The Independents and New Contemporaries although fringe events are timed to coincide.[458] It was during the 2004 festival thatYoko Ono's work "My mummy was beautiful" invited controversy when photographs of a woman's breast and crotch were exhibited on the main shopping street.[459]
Literature
Felicia Hemans (née Browne) was born in Dale Street, Liverpool, in 1793, although she later moved to Flintshire, in Wales. Felicia was born in Liverpool, a granddaughter of theVenetianconsul in that city. Her father's business soon brought the family toDenbighshire in North Wales, where she spent her youth. They made their home near Abergele andSt. Asaph (Flintshire), and it is clear that she came to regard herself as Welsh by adoption, later referring to Wales as "Land of my childhood, my home and my dead". Her first poems, dedicated to thePrince of Wales, were published in Liverpool in 1808, when she was only fourteen, arousing the interest ofPercy Bysshe Shelley, who briefly corresponded with her.[460]
An engraving of a painting ofThe Wishing Gate. by S. F. Serres was published in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1834 with a poetical illustration byLetitia Elizabeth Landon to which she adds the note 'I believe that to this haunted gate, a common superstition is attached, namely, that to wish, and to have that wish fulfilled, is the result of such wish being uttered while passing'. It stood on the North Shore before the docks were built and was a place where farewells could be waved to departing voyagers.[461]
Plaque in Campbell Square commemoratingCharles Dickens who from 1842 gave public readings of his novels atSt George's Hall, and who for one day in 1860 was appointed a specialpolice constable in the city while researching a novel.
A number of notable authors have visited Liverpool, includingDaniel Defoe,Washington Irving,Charles Dickens,Thomas De Quincey,Herman Melville,Nathaniel Hawthorne,Gerard Manley Hopkins andHugh Walpole. Defoe, after visiting the city, described it, as "one of the wonders of Britain in his 'Tour through England and Wales'".[462] Melville's novelRedburn deals with the first seagoing voyage of 19 years old Wellingborough Redburn between New York and Liverpool in 1839. Largely autobiographical, the middle sections of the book are set in Liverpool and describe the young merchantman's wanderings, and his reflections.[460] From 1842 to 1869, Dickens visited the city to give public readings of his novels.[463] Hawthorne was stationed in Liverpool as United States consul between 1853 and 1856.[464] Hopkins served as priest at St Francis Xavier Church, Langdale St., Liverpool, between 1879 and 81.[465] Although he is not known to have ever visited Liverpool,Jung famously had a vivid dream of the city which he analysed in one of his works.[466]
Her Benny, a novel telling the tragic story of Liverpool street urchins in the 1870s, written by Methodist preacherSilas K. Hocking, was a best-seller and the first book to sell a million copies in the author's lifetime.[467] The prolific writer of adventure novels,Harold Edward Bindloss (1866–1945), was born in Liverpool.
The writer, docker and political activistGeorge Garrett was born inSeacombe, on theWirral Peninsula in 1896 and was brought up in Liverpool's South end, around Park Road, the son of a fierce Liverpool–Irish Catholic mother and a staunch 'Orange' stevedore father. In the 1920s and 1930s, his organisation within the Seamen's Vigilance Committees, unemployed demonstrations, and hunger marches from Liverpool became part of a wider cultural force. He spoke at reconciliation meetings in sectarian Liverpool, and helped found theUnity Theatre in the 1930s as part of thePopular Front against the rise of fascism, particularly its echoes in theSpanish Civil War. Garrett died in 1966.[468]
The novelist and playwrightJames Hanley (1897–1985) was born inKirkdale, Liverpool, in 1897 (notDublin, nor 1901 as he generally implied) to a working-class family.[469] Hanley grew up close to the docks and much of his early writing is about seamen.The Furys (1935) is first in a sequence of five loosely autobiographical novels about working-class life in Liverpool. James Hanley's brother, novelistGerald Hanley (1916–92) was also born in Liverpool (notCounty Cork, Ireland, as he claimed).[470] While he published a number of novels he also wroteradio plays for the BBC as well as some film scripts, most notablyThe Blue Max (1966).[471] He was also one of several scriptwriters for a life ofGandhi (1964).[472] NovelistBeryl Bainbridge (1932–2010) was born in Liverpool and raised in nearbyFormby. She was primarily known for her works ofpsychological fiction, often set among the English working classes. Bainbridge won theWhitbread Awards prize for best novel in1977 and1996 and was nominated five times for theBooker Prize.The Times newspaper named Bainbridge among their list of "The 50 greatestBritish writers since 1945".[473]
J. G. Farrell was born in Liverpool in 1935 but left at the outbreak of war in 1939.[474] A novelist of Irish descent, Farrell gained prominence for his historical fiction, most notably hisEmpire Trilogy (Troubles,The Siege of Krishnapur andThe Singapore Grip), dealing with the political and human consequences of British colonial rule. However, his career ended when he drowned in Ireland in 1979 at the age of 44.
Helen Forrester was the pen name of June Bhatia (née Huband) (1919–2011),[475][476] who was known for her books about her early childhood in Liverpool during theGreat Depression, includingTwopence to Cross the Mersey (1974), as well as several works of fiction. During the late 1960s the city became well known for theLiverpool poets, who includeRoger McGough and the lateAdrian Henri. An anthology of poems,The Mersey Sound, written by Henri, McGough andBrian Patten, has sold well since it was first being published in 1967.
Liverpool has produced several noted writers of horror fiction, often set on Merseyside—Ramsey Campbell,Clive Barker and Peter Atkins among them. A collection of Liverpudlian horror fiction,Spook City was edited by a Liverpool expatriate, Angus Mackenzie, and introduced by Doug Bradley, also from Liverpool.[477] Bradley is famed for portraying Barker's creation Pinhead in theHellraiser series of films.
Performing arts
TheEmpire Theatre has the largest two-tier auditorium in the UK.
Liverpool has a thriving and varied nightlife. The majority of the city's late-night restaurants, bars, pubs, nightclubs, music venues and comedy clubs are located in a number of distinct districts.
Figures by the Liverpool BID Company suggest that the busiest nights of the week inLiverpool city centre are Friday and Saturday. Using cameras to track the flow of people in key locations between 7pm and 4am, at least 1.5million people pass through the city centre every Friday night and almost 2 million people on Saturday nights. The data demonstrates that Monday night is the quietest night of the week in the city centre and footfall then increases every single night to reach its peak on Saturday nights. 125,889 people worked in the city's night time economy as of 2022, according to the Liverpool BID Company.[485][486][487]
In Liverpool primary and secondary education is available in various forms supported by the state including secular,Church of England, Jewish, and Roman Catholic.Islamic education is available at primary level, but there is no secondary provision.One of Liverpool's important early schools wasThe Liverpool Blue Coat School; founded in 1708 as a charitable school. It is now astategrammar school.
The Liverpool Blue Coat School is the top-performing school in the city with 100% 5 or more A*-C grades at GCSE resulting in the 30th best GCSE results in the country and an average point score per student of 1087.4 in A/AS levels.[492] Other notable schools includeLiverpool College founded in 1840Merchant Taylors' School founded in 1620.[493] Another of Liverpool's notable senior schools isSt. Edward's College situated in the West Derby area of the city. Historic grammar schools, such as theLiverpool Institute High School andLiverpool Collegiate School—both closed in the 1980s—are still remembered as centres of academic excellence. Bellerive Catholic College is the city's top-performing non-selective school, based upon GCSE results in 2007.
TheUniversity of Liverpool was established in 1881 as University College Liverpool. In 1884, it became part of the federalVictoria University. Following a Royal Charter and Act of Parliament in 1903, it became an independent university, the University of Liverpool, with the right to confer its own degrees. It was the first university to offer degrees in biochemistry, architecture, civic design, veterinary science, oceanography and social science.
Liverpool Hope University, which was formed through the merger of three colleges, the earliest of which was founded in 1844, gained university status in 2005. It is the only ecumenical university in Europe.[494] It is situated on both sides of Taggart Avenue in Childwall and has a second campus in the city centre (the Cornerstone).
TheLiverpool School of Tropical Medicine, founded to address some of the problems created by trade, continues today as a post-graduate school affiliated with the University of Liverpool and houses an anti-venom repository.
Liverpool John Moores University was previously apolytechnic, and gained status in 1992. It is named in honour ofSir John Moores, one of the founders of theLittlewoods football pools and retail group, who was a major benefactor. The institution was previously owned and run by Liverpool City Council. It traces it lineage to the LiverpoolMechanics' institute, opened in 1823, making it by this measure England's third-oldest university.
There are two Jewish schools in Liverpool, both belonging to the King David Foundation.King David School, Liverpool, is the High School and the King David Primary School. There is also a King David Kindergarten, featured in the community centre of Harold House. These schools are all run by the King David Foundation located in Harold House in Childwall; conveniently next door to theChildwall Synagogue.
The two clubs contest theMerseyside derby, dubbed the 'friendly derby'. Despite the name the fixture is known for its keen rivalry, having seen more sending-offs in this fixture than any other. Unlike many other derbies it is not rare for families in the city to contain supporters of both clubs.[495] Liverpool F.C. is the English and British club with the most European Cup titles with six, the latest in2019.
Liverpool has played atAnfield since 1892, when the club was formed to occupy the stadium followingEverton's departure due to a dispute with their landlord. Liverpool are still playing there 125 years later, although the ground has been completely rebuilt since the 1970s. The Spion Kop (rebuilt as an all-seater stand in 1994–95) was the most famous part of the ground, gaining cult status across the world due to the songs and celebrations of the many fans who packed onto its terraces. Anfield as capacity for 54,000 spectators in comfort and is a distinctive landmark in an area filled with smaller and older buildings. Liverpool club also has a multimillion-pound youth training facility called The Academy.
After leaving Anfield in 1892,Everton moved toGoodison Park on the opposite side ofStanley Park. The ground was opened on 24 August 1892, by Lord Kinnaird and Frederick Wall of the FA but the first crowds to attend the ground saw a short athletics meeting followed by a selection of music and a fireworks display. Everton's first game there was on 2 September 1892 when they beat Bolton 4–2. It was one of the host venues during the1966 FIFA World Cup. It now has the capacity for just under 40,000 spectators all-seated, but the last expansion took place in 1994 when a new Park End Stand gave the stadium an all-seater capacity. The Goodison Road Stand dates back to the 1970s, while the Gwladys Street Stand and Bullens Road Stand are refurbished pre-Second World War structures.
Everton has recently completed the process of relocating, with a stadium move first mooted as early as 1996.[496] In 2003, the club were forced to abandon plans for a 55,000-seat stadium atKing's Dock due to financial constraints,[497] with further proposed moves to Kirkby (comprising part ofDestination Kirkby, moving the stadium just beyond Liverpool's council boundary intoKirkby) and Walton Hall Park similarly scrapped.
The club relocated to the multimillion-poundEverton Stadium designed by the American architectDan Meis at the nearbyBramley-Moore Dock on theRiver Mersey waterfront for the beginning of the 2025/26 season, with ground broken on the project in August 2021.[498] The new stadium will have a capacity of 52,888 which could be expanded to 62,000 demand permitting and it will be a host venue for theUEFA Euro 2028. Everton also have a multimillion-pound training facility based atFinch Farm. TheEverton Women's Team play in theWomen's Super League and moved into Goodison Park following the men's team's exit, having previously played atWalton Hall Park Stadium.
Rugby league
Despite being a popular sport in Northern England, professional rugby league failed to develop in the Liverpool city region.Liverpool City was the city's first professional club, but only competed in the1906–07 season where they finished 26th of 26.[citation needed] Despite the failure to establish a team, theNorthern Union scheduled fourKangaroo Tour matches atGoodison Park in their first three tours to Great Britain between 1908 and 1922, hosting three English League XIII games and oneLancashire game.[499]
Aintree Racecourse in the adjacentMetropolitan Borough of Sefton is home to the world's most famous steeple-chase, theRandox Grand National which takes place annually in early April. The race meeting attracts horse owners/ jockeys from around the world to compete in the demanding 4-mile (6.5-kilometre) and 30-fence course. There have been many memorable moments of the Grand National, for instance, the 100/1 outsider Foinavon in 1967, the dominantRed Rum andGinger McCain of the 1970s andMon Mome (100/1) who won the 2009 meeting. In 2010, the National became the first horse race to be televised inhigh-definition in the UK.
In August 2012, Liverpool gymnastBeth Tweddle won an Olympic bronze medal inLondon 2012 in the uneven bars at her thirdOlympic Games, thus becoming the most decorated British gymnast in history. Park Road Gymnastics Centre provides training to a high level.
Swimming
Liverpool has produced several swimmers who have represented their nation at major championships such as theOlympic Games. The most notable of which isSteve Parry who claimed a bronze medal at the2004 Athens Olympics in the 200m butterfly. Others include Herbert Nickel Haresnape,Margaret Kelly, Shellagh Ratcliffe and Austin Rawlinson. There is a purpose-built aquatics centre atWavertree Sports Park, which opened in 2008. The City of Liverpool Swimming Club has been National Speedo League Champions 8 out of the last 11 years.
Professional basketball came to the city in 2007 with the entry of Everton Tigers, later known asMersey Tigers, into the eliteBritish Basketball League. The club was originally associated with Everton F.C., and was part of theToxteth Tigers youth development programme, which reached over 1,500 young people every year.[507] The Tigers began to play in Britain's top league for the2007–08 season, playing at theGreenbank Sports Academy before moving into the newly completedEcho Arena during that season. After the 2009–10 season, Everton F.C. withdrew funding from the Tigers, who then changed their name to Mersey Tigers. The club were expelled from the British Basketball League in 2013 due to financial problems.[508]
Baseball
Liverpool is one of three cities which still host the traditional sport ofBritish baseball and it hosts the annual England-Wales international match every two years, alternating withCardiff andNewport. Liverpool Trojans are the oldest existing baseball club in the UK.
Cycling
The2014 Tour of Britain cycle race began in Liverpool on 7 September, using a city centre circuit to complete 130 km (80.8 mi) of racing.[509] The Tour of Britain took nine stages and finished in London on 14 September.
A 2016 study of UK fitness centres found that, of the top 20 UK urban areas, Liverpool had the highest number of leisure and sports centres per capita, with 4.3 centres per 100,000 of the city population.[510]
Media
The city has one daily newspaper: theEcho, published byReach plc.The Liverpool Daily Post was also published until 2013. The UK's first online-only weekly newspaper calledSouthport Reporter (Southport andMersey Reporter), is also one of the many other news outlets that cover the city. The independent media organisationThe Post[511] also covers Liverpool, whileNerve magazine publishes articles and reviews of cultural events.
Liverpool TV is a local television station serving Liverpool City Region and surrounding areas. The station is owned and operated by Made Television Ltd and forms part of a group of eight local TV stations. It broadcasts from studios and offices in Liverpool.
TheITV region which covers Liverpool isITV Granada. In 2006, the Television company opened a new newsroom in the Royal Liver Building. Granada's regional news broadcasts were produced at theRoyal Albert Dock News Centre during the 1980s and 1990s.[512] TheBBC also opened a new newsroom on Hanover Street in 2006.
ITV's daily magazine programmeThis Morning was broadcast from studios atRoyal Albert Dock until 1996, when production was moved to London. Granada's short-lived shopping channel "Shop!" was also produced in Liverpool until it was cancelled in 2002.[513]
Liverpool is the home of the TV production companyLime Pictures, formerly Mersey Television, which produced the now-defunct soap operasBrookside andGrange Hill. It also produces the soap operaHollyoaks, which was formerly filmed inChester and began onChannel 4 in 1995. All three series were/are largely filmed in theChildwall area of Liverpool.
Liverpool has also featured in films;[515] seeList of films set in Liverpool for some of them. In films the city has "doubled" for London, Paris, New York, Chicago, Moscow, Dublin, Venice and Berlin.[41][516]
This sectionis a candidate forcopying over toWikiquote using the Transwiki process.
"Lyrpole, alias Lyverpoole, a pavid towne, hath but a chapel... The king hath a castelet there, and theEarl of Darbe hath a stone howse there. Irisch merchants cum much thither, as to a good haven... At Lyrpole is smaul custom payed, that causith marchantes to resorte thither. Good marchandis at Lyrpole, and much Irish yarrn thatManchester men do buy there..." –John Leland,Itinerary,c. 1536–1539[517]
"Liverpoole is one of the wonders of Britain... In a word, there is no town in England, London excepted, that can equal [it] for the fineness of the streets, and the beauty of the buildings." –Daniel Defoe,A tour thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain, 1721–1726
"[O]ne of the neatest, best towns I have seen in England." –John Wesley.Journal, 1755
"I have not come here to be insulted by a set of wretches, every brick in whose infernal town is cemented with an African's blood." –George Frederick Cooke (1756–1812), an actor responding to being hissed at when he came onstage drunk during a visit to Liverpool[518]
"That immense City which stands like anotherVenice upon the water... where there are riches overflowing and every thing which can delight a man who wishes to see the prosperity of a great community and a great empire... This quondam village, now fit to be the proud capital of any empire in the world, has started up like an enchanted palace even in the memory of living men." –Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine, 1791
"I have heard of the greatness of Liverpool, but the reality far surpasses my expectation." –Prince Albert, speech, 1846
"Liverpool... has become a wonder of the world. It is the New York of Europe, a world city rather than merely British provincial." –Illustrated London News, 15 May 1886
"The dream represented my situation at the time. I can still see the greyish-yellow raincoats, glistening with the wetness of the rain. Everything was extremely unpleasant, black and opaque—just as I felt then. But I had a vision of unearthly beauty, and that is why I was able to live at all. Liverpool is the "pool of life." The "liver," according to an old view, is the seat of life, that which makes to live." –C. G. Jung,Memories, Dreams, Reflections, 1928
"The centre is imposing, dignified and darkish, like a city in a rather gloomy Victorian novel... We had now arrived in the heart of the big city, and as usual it was almost a heart of darkness. But it looked like a big city, there was no denying that. Here, emphatically, was the English seaport second only to London. The very weight of stone emphasised that fact. And even if the sun never seems to properly rise over it, I like a big city to proclaim itself a big city at once..." –J. B. Priestley,English Journey, 1934
"If Liverpool can get into top gear again, there is no limit to the city's potential. The scale and resilience of the buildings and people is amazing—it is a world city, far more so than London and Manchester. It doesn't feel like anywhere else in Lancashire: comparisons always end up overseas—Dublin, orBoston, orHamburg. The city is tremendous, and so, right up to theFirst World War, were the abilities of the architects who built over it. The centre is humane and convenient to walk around in, but never loses its scale. And, in spite ofthe bombings and the carelessness, it is still full of superb buildings. Fifty years ago it must have outdone anything in England." –Ian Nairn,Britain's Changing Towns, 1967
^Hanks, Patrick; Hodges, Flavia; Mills, David; Room, Adrian (2002).The Oxford Names Companion. Oxford: The University Press. p. 1110.ISBN978-0198605614.
^abHarper, Douglas."Liverpool".The Online Etymology Dictionary.Archived from the original on 10 January 2021. Retrieved15 September 2017.
^The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names, ed. by Victor Watts (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), s.v.Liverpool.
^Power, Michael (1999)."Creating a Port: Liverpool 1695–1715"(PDF).Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire.149:51–71. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 31 August 2019. Retrieved31 August 2019.
^"Liverpool Dock System".The New York Times. 2 January 1898.Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved2 June 2008. Note: "pdf" reader needed to see full article
^Landon, Letitia Elizabeth (1832). "picture".Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1833. Fisher, Son & Co.Archived from the original on 14 November 2022. Retrieved14 November 2022.Landon, Letitia Elizabeth (1832). "poetical illustration".Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1833. Fisher, Son & Co. pp. 14–15.Archived from the original on 14 November 2022. Retrieved14 November 2022.
^Beckert, Sven (2014).Empire of Cotton: a Global History. New York: Knopf.
^Adler, N (1925). "The work of Juvenile Courts".Journal of Comparative Legislation and International Law. Third Series, Vol.7, No.4.7 (4):217–227.JSTOR753176.
^"Culture 24". Culture 24. 26 November 2006. Archived fromthe original on 15 May 2021. Retrieved3 August 2010.
^Henley, Darren; McKernan, Vincent (2009),The Original Liverpool Sound: The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society, Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, p. 68,ISBN978-1-84631-224-3
^Pevsner Architectural Guides: Liverpool, Joseph Sharples, 2004, Yale University Press
^Black's Guide to Liverpool and Birkenhead, 1871, Adam and Charles Black, Edinburgh
^George R. Matthews (2005).America's First Olympics: The St. Louis Games of 1904 University of Missouri PressISBN978-0-8262-1588-8
^Ingomar Weiler (2004). "The predecessors of the Olympic movement, and Pierre de Coubertin",European Review, Vol. 12, No. 3, Cambridge University Press
^Craig Reedie, Jim Parry, Vassil Girginov (2005).The Olympic Games Explained: A Student Guide to the Evolution of the Modern Olympic Games, RoutledgeISBN978-0-415-34604-7
^Ralph Crane, "A Man from Elsewhere: The Liminal Presence of Liverpool in the Fiction of J. G. Farrell".Writing Liverpool:Essays and Interviews. (Liverpool: University of Liverpool Press, 2007), pp.88–9.
^Bradley, Kate (2 December 2011)."Helen Forrester obituary".The Guardian. London: Guardian News and Media Limited.Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved9 December 2011.
Writing Liverpool: Essays and Interviews, edited by Michael Murphy and Rees Jones, 2007.ISBN978-1-84631-073-7
Jenkinson, Jacqueline,Black 1919: Riots, Racism and Resistance in Imperial Britain (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2009)
May, Roy and Cohen, Robin, 'The Interaction between Race and Colonialism: A Case Study of the Liverpool Race Riots of 1919',Race and Class XVI.2 (1974), pp.111–26
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