General Aspect and Features.— The subsoil of Liverpool is the Bunter stratification of the New Red Sandstone, overlying the Coal-measures, which rise up some distance to the eastward. In the lower districts there is a deposit of boulder clay, which has been extensively used for the manufacture of bricks. The sandstone rises in long ridges to the eastward, in the highest points about 250 feet above the sea-level. The city therefore lies on a continuous slope varying in gradient, but in some districts very steep. Exposed to the western sea breezes, with a dry subsoil and excellent natural drainage, the site is naturally salubrious, but neglect and perverseness have in past times done much to neutralize these advantages. The old borough, lying between the pool and the river, was a conglomeration of narrow alleys and mean houses packed together without any regard to sanitary provisions; and during the 16th and 17th centuries it was several times visited by the plague, which carried off many of the inhabitants. When the town burst its original limits, and expanded up the slopes beyond, a better state of things began to exist. The older parts of the town have at successive periods been entirely taken down and renovated. The streets of shops—Church Street, Bold Street, Ac.—are equal in display to similar establishments in London. The commercial part of the city is remarkable for the number of palatial-looking piles of offices, built of hewn stone, principally in the Italian Renaissance style, amongst which the banks and insurance offices stand pre eminent. The demand for cottages about the beginning of the present century led to the construction of what are called “courts,” being narrow culs de sac, close packed, with no thorough ventilation. This, combined with the degraded habits of a population brought together indiscriminately, resulted in a very high rate of mortality, to contend with which enormous sums have been expended in sanitary reforms of various kinds. The more modern cottages, erected on the higher grounds, are all that can be desired for that class of habitation.
Parks.— The public parks of Liverpool now form a prominent feature in the aspect of the town. The earliest, the Prince’s Park, was laid out in 1843 by private enterprise. Sefton Park, the most extensive, containing about 400 acres, was commenced in 1865, and completed at a cost Of £410,000. A large portion of the land round the margin has been leased for the erection of villas. Wavertree, Newsham, Sheil, and Stanley Parks have also been constructed at the public expense. Connected with Wavertree Park are the botanic gardens, with the usual plant houses, and a large and lofty palm house. The suburbs are rapidly extending, and those on the south contain many good private residences. A boulevard, about a mile in length, planted with trees in the centre, leads to the entrance to Prince’s Park.
Public Buildings.— The old town has been so completely renovated during the present century that scarcely any of the public buildings date from an earlier period.
The earliest, and in many respects the most interesting, is the town-hall in Castle Street. This was erected from the designs of John Wood, the architect of the squares and crescents of Bath, and was opened in 1754. The building has since undergone considerable alterations and extensions, but the main features remain unchanged. It is a classical rectangular stone building in the Corinthian style, with an advanced portico in front, and crowned with a lofty dome surmounted by a seated statue of Minerva. The interior was destroyed by fire in 1795, and was entirely remodelled in the restoration. It now contains a splendid suite of apartments, including a ball-room about 100 feet by GO, approached by a noble staircase. The building is occupied by the mayor as the municipal mansion house. A range of municipal offices was erected in Dale Street in 1860. The building is in the Palladian style, of considerable extent and imposing design, with a dominating tower and square pyramidal spire.
The crowning architectural feature of Liverpool is St George’s Hall, completed in 1854. The original intention was to erect a music hall suited for the triennial festivals which had been periodically hel 1 in the town. About the same time the corporation proposed to erect law courts for the assizes, which had been transferred to Liverpool and Manchester. In the competitive designs, the first prize was gained in both cases by Harvey Lonsdale Elmes. He was employed to combine the two objects in a new design, of which the present building is the outcome.
The structure is one of which the city may well feel proud, and notwithstanding some defects it will always hold a high and honourable place amongst the erections of modern times. It is fortunate in its situation, occupying the most central position in the town, and surrounded by an area sufficiently extensive to exhibit its proportions to the best advantage. Another advantage it possesses is that of size; there are few buildings in the country, forming a solid mass under one roof, which surpass it in dimension. The plan is simple in arrangement, and easily described. The centre is occupied by the great hall, 169 feet in length, and, with the galleries, 87 feet wide and 74 feet high, covered with a solid vault in masonry. Attached to each end, and opening therefrom, are the law courts. A corridor runs round the hall and the courts, communicating with the various accessory rooms. Externally the east front is faced with a fine portico of sixteen Corinthian columns about 60 feet in height. An advanced portico of similar columns fronts the south end crowned with a pediment filled with sculpture, with the inscription—
“Artibus, Legibus, Consiliis Locum Municipia Constituerunt Anno Domini mdcccxli.”
The style is Roman, but the refinement of the details is suggestive of the noblest period of Grecian art.
The great hall is finished with considerable richness in polished granite columns, marble balustrades and pavements, polished brass doors with rich foliated tracery, &c. The organ, built by Messrs Willis of London, from the specification of Dr Samuel Wesley, is equal to any in the country for extent, power, and beauty of tone. Mr Elmes, a young architect of great promise, having died during the progress of the work, the building was completed by the late Mr C. R. Cockerell, R.A.
Next to the public buildings belonging to the city, the most important is the exchange, forming three sides of a quadrangle, adjoining the town-hall on the north side. The town-hall was originally built to combine a mercantile exchange with municipal offices, but the merchants perversely preferred to meet in the open street adjoining. This, with other circumstances, led to the erection of the new exchange, a building of considerable merit, which was commenced in 1803 and opened in 1808. It had scarcely been in use for more than fifty years when it was found that the wants of commerce had outstripped the accommodation, and the structure was taken down to make room for the present building, in which greater convenience has been attained, with considerable sacrifice of aesthetic effect.
The revenue buildings, commenced in 1828, on the site of the original Liverpool Dock, combine the customs, inland revenue, post-office, and dock board departments. It is a huge heavy structure, with three advanced porticoes in the Ilyssus Ionic style. Near by stands the sailors’ home, a large building in the Semi-Gothic or Elizabethan style.
The Philharmonic Hall in Hope Street, with not much pretension externally, is one of the finest music rooms in the kingdom; it accommodates an audience of about 2500.
The group of buildings forming the free public library, museum, and gallery of art are finely situated on the brow of the slope opposite St George’s Hall. The library and gallery of art are separate buildings connected by the circular reading-room in the middle. The latter possesses some novelties in construction, having a circular floor 100 feet in diameter without columns or any intermediate support, and a lecture-room underneath, amphitheatrical in form, with grades or benches hewn out of the solid rock.
Railways.— There are three passenger stations in Liverpool the London and North-Western, the Lancashire and Yorkshire, and the combined station of the Midland, Great Northern, and Manchester and Sheffield. The rapid increase of traffic has led to large extensions of the NorthWestern, and a very large addition to the Lancashire and Yorkshire is in progress (1882). The tunnel under the Mersey now in course of construction will give access for the Great Western and Cumbrian systems into Liverpool.
Water and Gas Supply.— The original supply of water was from wells in the sandstone rock, but in 1846 an Act was passed, under which extensive works were constructed at Rivington, about 25 miles distant, by which a much larger supply was obtained. The vast increase of population led to further requirements, and in 1880 another Act gave power to impound the waters of the Vyrnwy, one of the affluents of the Severn. This scheme which, it is expected, will give a copious supply for many years to come, is now being carried out. The gas-works are the property of a company. Efforts have been made to effect a purchase by the city, but hitherto without success.
Administration of Justice.— The city has quarter sessions for criminal cases, presided over by the recorder, but the sessions are really held eight times in the year. The court of passage for civil cases is a very ancient institution, dating from the foundation of the borough by King John, originally intended for cases arising out of the imports and exports passing through. Its jurisdiction has been confirmed and settled by parliament, and it is now competent, by consent, to try causes to any amount. The mayor is nominally the president, but the actual judge is an assessor appointed by the crown. There are two police courts which sit daily, one presided over by the lay magistracy, the other by the stipendiary magistrate.
Ecclesiastical.— The parish, which was separated from Walton-on-the-Hill in 1699, contained two churches, St Nicholas, the ancient chapel, and St Peter’s, then built. There were two rectors, the living being held in medieties. Of recent years changes have been sanctioned by parliament. The living is now held by a single incumbent, and a large number of the churches which have since been built have been formed into parishes by the ecclesiastical commissioners. St Peter’s has been constituted the procathedral, pending the erection of a more suitable building. Besides the two original parish churches, there are sixtyseven others belonging to the establishment.
The Roman Catholics form a very numerous and powerful body in the city, and it is estimated that from a third to a fourth of the entire population are Catholics. A large part of these are Irish settlers or their descendants, but this district of Lancashire has always been a stronghold of Catholicism, many of the landed gentry belonging to old Catholic families.
Charities.— These are numerous, and are maintained with no niggardly hand. The earliest foundation is the Blue Coat hospital, established in 1708, for orphans and fatherless children born within the borough. The building, erected in 1717, is a quaint and characteristic specimen of the architecture of the period. It now maintains two hundred and fifty boys and one hundred girls. There is an orphan asylum, established in 1840, for boys, girls, and infants, and a seamen’s orphan asylum, commenced in 1858, for boys and girls. The Roman Catholics have similar establishments. The medical charities are large and flourishing. The royal infirmary has had a school of medicine attached, which has been very successful, and is now merged in the new University College. The medical charities are aided by simultaneous collections in the churches and chapels on “Hospital Sunday,” the first Sunday in the year, the amount averaging about £10,000.
Literature, Art, and Science.— The free library, museum, and gallery of arts, established and managed by the city council, was originated in 1850. The library building was erected by Sir William Brown at a cost of £40,000. The Derby museum, containing the collections of Edward, the thirteenth earl, were presented by his son. The Mayer museum of historical antiquities and art was contributed by Mr Joseph Mayer, F.S. A. Sir Andrew Walker erected the art gallery which bears his name at an expense of .£35,000. The Picton circular reading-room, and the Rotunda lecture-room were built by the corporation at the cost of £25,000. The library contains nearly 100,000 volumes. An annual exhibition of paintings has been established, the sales from which average about £12,000 per annum. A permanent gallery has also been formed, which is now being enlarged at a cost of about £12,000.
The literary and philosophical society was established in 1812, and still flourishes. There are also philomathic, geological, chemical, historic, and various other societies for the cultivation of almost every branch of knowledge and inquiry. An art club has been established with great success, and possesses an excellent club-house and gallery. The royal institution, established by Roscoe in 1817, possesses a fine gallery of early art, and is the centre of the various literary institutions of the town.
Education.— Elementary education has always met with cordial support in Liverpool, and is now carried on with vigour by the school board, supplemented by voluntary schools. For middle class and higher education there have existed for many years three institutions, which have been very successful, viz., the school attached to the royal institution, the collegiate institution in Shaw Street, and the Liverpool institute high schooL A further effort has been successfully made resulting in the foundation of University College, the inaugural meeting of which was held on January 14,1882. This college is affiliated to the Victoria university of the north-west of England. The sum of £135,000 has been raised by voluntary subscription, to which £30,000 have been contributed by the corporation. Seven chairs have been endowed, and professors appointed, and a suitable building has been provided.
Recreation and Social Life.— There are eight theatres, besides many minor music halls and places of amusement. The most fashionable and exclusive is the Philharmonic Hall, which is a large handsome building open only to proprietors, where concerts take place every fortnight during the season. The Philharmonic concerts, and the balls at the Wellington Rooms (the Almacks of Liverpool), afford the principal opportunities for the gatherings of the fashionable world. The Alexandra theatre, the new Court theatre, the Prince of Wales theatre, and Hengler’s cirque are all that could be desired in point of decoration and the mise en scene. The minor houses are conducted on the whole with great propriety and success.
Population.— According to the censusof 1881 (preliminary report) the number of inhabitants within the parliamentary and the municipal borough—the limits of which are conterminous—amounted to 552,425 persons, 271,640 being males and 280,785 females. At the end of the 17th century the population of Liverpool was 5145, but since then it has steadily increased as follows :—
[table]
If the boroughs of Bootle and Birkenhead, which are component parts of the port, are included, Liverpool has now a population of about three quarters of a million.
Trade, and Commerce.— The progress of the commerce of Liverpool during the present century is almost without a parallel. In 1800 the tonnage of ships entering the port was 450,060; in 1880 it reached 7,933,620 tons. In 1800 4746 vessels entered, averaging 94 tons; in 1880 there were 20,249, averaging 440 tons. The only British port which can at all come into competition with Liverpool is London, the total trade of which, comprising exports and imports, amounted in 1880 to 16,479,108 tons, against 14,496,364 in Liverpool. A large proportion of this, however, is a coasting trade, indicated by the smaller size of the ships, averaging 240 tons each in London as compared with 440 tons in Liverpool. The coasting trade in Liverpool has rather fallen off owing to the superior advantages of railway traffic. The proportion of steamers to sailing ships has very largely increased of late years. The return for 1881 gives 5,534,462 tons of steam navigation to 2,379,466 tons in sailing ships. If we take the value of the imports as a criterion, London is far in advance of Liverpool, the values in 1880 being £141,442,907 and £107,460,187, but the London imports consist, to a great extent, of very valuable commodities, such as tea, silk, indigo, wines, &c., whilst the Liverpool imports principally consist of grain, food, and raw produce, the materials for manufacture. If we look at the exports the balance is reversed, Liverpool, in 1880, having exported the value of £84,029,651, against £52,600,929 from London. In the number of ships registered as belonging to the port, Liverpool stands first in the world, the tonnage belonging to Liverpool being 1,554,871, against 1,120,359 in London, and 1,005,894 in the whole of the ports on the Clyde.
The commerce of Liverpool extends to every part of the world, but probably the intercourse with America stands pre-eminent, there being five lines of steamers to New York alone, besides lines to Philadelphia, Boston, Halifax, Canada, New Orleans, &c. The size of the ships has greatly increased, having reached 8000 tons burden, with 10,000 horse-power.
The imports into Liverpool comprise produce of every description from every region under the sun. Cotton, however, is the great staple, almost the whole trade of the commodity centring here. Grain comes next, American and Australian com occupying a large proportion of the market. Within the last few years an enormous trade in American provisions, including live cattle, has sprung up. Tobacco has always been a leading article of import into Liverpool, along with the sugar and rum from the West Indies. Timber, principally from Canada, forms an important part of the imports, the stacking yards extending for miles along tne northern docks. At one time tea from China, and wool from Australia, promised to be imported with advantage, but the financial arrangements with London have drawn these trades almost entirely away. In regard to exports, Liverpool possesses decided advantages; lying so near the great manufacturing districts of Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire, this port is the natural channel of transmission for their goods, and, if everything else fails, there are always coal and salt from Wales and Cheshire ready to make up a cargo. The consequence is that many ships, after discharging their homeward cargoes at London and the eastern ports, come round in ballast to Liverpool for an outward cargo.
Manufactures. — The manufactures of Liverpool are not extensive. Attempts have been repeatedly made to establish cotton-mills in and near the city, but have resulted in uniform failure. Engineering works, especially as connected with marine navigation, have naturally grown up, and have been carried on successfully on a large scale. Shipbuilding, in the days of the old wooden walls, in the early part of the present century, was active and prosperous, several frigates and sloops-of-war for Government having been built here, but the keen competition of the Clyde and the north of England drew away a large portion of the trade. There are now four shipbuilding establishments on the Mersey. In the year 1880-81 there were launched from these yards thirty-three iron ships, with a tonnage of 53,971 tons. At one period the soap manufacture filled a large space in the industry of Liverpool, but it has almost entirely departed. During the latter half of last century and the beginning of the present, the pottery and china manufacture flourished in Liverpool. John Sadler, a Liverpool manufacturer, was the inventor of printing on pottery, and during the early period of Josiah Wedgwood’s career, all his goods which required printing had to be sent to Liverpool. A large establishment, called the Herculaneum Pottery, was founded in a suburb on the bank of the Mersey, and was carried on with success for many years, but the whole trade has long disappeared. One manufacture, established at an early period, still continues to flourish—the watch and chronometer trade. Litherland, the inventor of the lever watch, was a Liverpool manufacturer, and Liverpool-made watches have always been held in high estimation. There are several extensive sugar refineries, and two large tobacco manufactories.
Docks.— The docks of Liverpool on both...
