Having given the visitor
some impression of the City side of Liverpool, we now propose to make an
excursion to other streets of an interesting character.
Starting from the pavement
at the great North Western Hotel, we cross the entrance to the Railway
Terminus, and, bearing to the left, pass into the narrowest part of Lime
Street. Lying to our west is a very busy neighbourhood. The first turn to the
right, through Elliot Street, conducts us to the finest Market in Liverpool. St
John’s Market is one-eighth of a mile in length, and was finished in 1822, at a
cost of £36,813.
There are no fewer than
three Squares in close proximity to St. John’s Market, and in each of these we
find a place of amusement. Elliot Street leads direct to Clayton Square, where
the Prince of Wales Theatre is situated. By turning through Great Charlotte
Street we enter Queen Square, which is quite the “Covent Garden” of Liverpool.
Partly facing this busy place is the Royal Court Theatre. Occupying the ground
where the Copperas and Brownlow Hills meet in Ranelagh Place, is the fine
Adelphi Hotel, the property of the Midland Railway Company. A short distance up
to the right of Copperas Hill, in the unlovely Hawke Street, is the Roman
Catholic Pro-Cathedral of St. Nicholas, with a fine marble altar by Pugin. At
the top of the hill we notice the spire of St. Simon’s Church. Directly facing
the Adelphi Hotel is the important Ranelagh Street, from which we gain access
to the Central Railway Station, and at its
western end, thirty feet below the ground, the Station of the Mersey Railway.
By this underground line we can travel via James Street Station and under the
Mersey, through a tunnel 3690 feet in length, to Birkenhead and other stations
in the Wirral peninsula. Some ninety trains run daily each way. The Railway was
opened in 1886 by His Majesty King Edward VII, then Prince of Wales. The
handsome Central Station, a four-storey stone building with single span roof 65
feet in height, is a terminus of the Great Northern, Midland, and Great Central
Railway systems.
Looking up Mount Pleasant
from Ranelagh Place, we notice on the right the French Gothic Tower of the
Y.M.C.A., some 100 feet in height. This is one of the finest Institutions of
its kind in the kingdom, opened by the late Earl of Shaftesbury in 1877, the
foundation stone having been laid by the late well-known Evangelist, Mr. D. L.
Moody. We now pass along Renshaw Street.
This narrow thoroughfare
promises to be one of the most important in Liverpool. Recently it underwent a
great transformation, being renovated and widened from end to end. In the
distance we notice the turreted tower of St. Luke’s, one of the leading
Liverpool Churches.
A little way up Renshaw
Street on the right hand, the Deutsche Evangelische Kirche (1777), and further
on to the left the Renshaw Street Unitarian Chapel with its Ionic portico. This
well-known Chapel where Charles Beard preached, and William Roscoe was buried
in 1831, is now closed, and the congregation have removed to their new Chapel
in Ullet Road, Sefton Park. St. Andrew’s Church, with which the father of the
late Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone was largely associated, stood almost facing the
Unitarian Chapel, but it has been demolished, and the Roscoe Arcade which formerly
existed near at hand has shared the same fate, both making way for
improvements. On reaching St. Luke’s Place, we arrive at an important junction
of busy streets. To our immediate left, the rather steep incline, is Leece
Street, leading to Hardman Street, at the summit of which the corner of the
Philharmonic Hall and the Eye and Ear Hospital are noticeable. Directly facing
us is Berry Street, also lately widened and improved, leading to Great George
Street. By turning sharply to the right we enter the well-known Bold Street. A
word must be said about the very perpendicular looking St. Luke’s Church
(already alluded to), which here stands out so prominently. This Church was
built at a cost of £44,000, and seats 1,250 people. The tower, 137 feet in
height with a fine peal of bells, has the
advantage of standing in a most commanding position on a wide flight of steps
at the head of Bold Street. The highly decorated interior, with its stained
glass windows, is decidedly pleasing. The chancel is modelled from the
well-known Beauchamp Chapel at Warwick. New buildings are being erected on the
left side of Berry Street, which, when completed, will greatly improve the
appearance of the neighbourhood.
At the end of Berry
Street, where we cross Duke Street and enter Great George Street, a large
dome-topped building is prominent. This is considered to be one of the finest
buildings belonging to Chapel the Nonconformists. By a wide flight of steps we
pass through the circular portico. The leading features consist of the ten
fluted Corinthian columns, the shafts of which are in single blocks of stone. A
fine marble bust of Thomas Raffles, for 49 years minister of this congregation “the
eloquent preacher, the sound divine, the faithful and genial friend ”stands
in the entrance porch. The seats are so admirably arranged that it is possible
for every member of the congregation, being seated, to see their minister.
Now we will walk down Bold
Street. This is the Regent Street of Liverpool, and forms with its continuation
of Church and Lord Streets, for three-quarters of a mile in length, one fine
double row of first class shops of all descriptions. The upper end is narrow,
but the street widens as one proceeds downwards, and at night the thoroughfare
is admirably lighted by pendant electric lights in the middle of the roadway.
Compared with the splendid buildings of the City, those of Bold Street may seem
unpretentious. There are, however, some buildings which the visitor would do
well to note. At the top of the street, we notice the unusually open porch of
the London City and Midland Bank. A narrow opening on the left - Colquitt
Street, contains the Apothecaries’ Hall, an ornamental building of freestone.
Near by is the ancient building of the Royal Institution, formerly used in part
as an Art Gallery, and still the resort of the scientific and literary. It was
established as early as 1814. We shall be struck by the massive front, with its
figures of Hisculapius and his daughter Hygeia, the curious kneeling bull
brackets, and the ornamental snake entwined lamp standards. Emerging again from
Colquitt Street we see the large office of the Liverpool Savings Bank.
Continuing down Bold Street a frontage most likely to attract our attention is
Lloyds’ Bank, on the right, with lofty granite entrance. As we approach Church
Street, we pass on the right the fashionable Palatine Club, with its Italian
Renaissance facade, and at the end of Bold Street, adjoining the entrance to
the Central Railway Station, is the Lyceum Club and the Liverpool Library. This
is in the Ionic style, and was built in 1802. The News Room in this building
measures nearly 70 by 50 feet. Here, at the junction of
Ranelagh and Church Streets with Bold Street, the traffic becomes very
congested, but as we approach the point where Parker Street from the right side
enters Church Street the road widens.
Opposite Parker Street is
the Athenaeum Library and News Room, which, founded by William Roscoe and Dr.
Rutter in 1798, possesses many valuable books. A very fine spectacle here meets
our eye. It is difficult to specialize, but we cannot fail to mark the handsome
frontage of the City Chambers at the corner, and the fine Compton Hotel a
little way along Church Street. Opposite the latter is situated, in a little
oasis in the midst of lofty buildings, St. Peter’s Church, from which the
street takes its name. This unimportant looking Church, with its diamond panes
and dingy exterior, is the oldest Church in Liverpool, and at present does duty
as the Cathedral. It is wholly unworthy of such a dignity, but, as we
mentioned, the diocese is at last bestirring itself to erect a Cathedral that
shall bring honour to the City. What was possible has been done. Daily Service
is held in the Church, and the singing is quite excellent. The Church was built
in 1704, and contains some good oak carving, notably the reredos. The curious
tower, which has a fine peal of bells, is 108 feet in height. Standing near one
corner of St. Peter’s Garden is the highly ornamental turreted building, with
its gilded courses, belonging to Messrs. Russell. On the facade facing the
Garden are clocks giving the time of day in various parts of the world. Behind
and facing the Churchyard is the quadrangle of the Blue Coat Hospital School,
founded by Bryan Blundell in 1708. The Hospital will shortly be removed to new
buildings situate at Wavertree, erected at a cost of £90,000, from the designs
of Messrs. Briggs, Wolstenholme, Hobbs, and Thornely; they will accommodate 250
boys and 150 girls.
Proceeding down Church
Street, the visitor reaches a very busy spot, at the point where Paradise
Street and Whitechapel cross our line of route, the corners of which are marked
by lofty buildings. It is curious to recall that along here flowed one of the
streams of the Pool. At this point Church Street passes into Lord Street: Whitechapel,
the street on our right and a rather different place from the London locality
of that name, leads to Lime Street; while Paradise Street, on the left, leads
to the Customs House. Architecturally the lower part of Lord Street is the more
interesting. Note especially the Oxford and Cambridge Chambers on the right.
Nearby, also on the right, a handsome new Arcade has recently been completed. The
next cross thoroughfares are North and South John Streets. Looking down the
former we note the offices of the Royal Insurance Co., and the ' fine Central
Buildings. At the corner of South John Street, we see the newest ecclesiastical
building in Liverpool, the handsome structure of the Church House, which has
been erected to provide accommodation for meetings, of Societies in connection
with the work of the Church of England. The late Bishop Ryle, of Liverpool,
gave £1,200, and some 5,000 theological volumes to this Institution. The upper
part of Lord Street terminates in Derby Square. We have already noticed in a
former ramble the objects of interest which lie to our right and left here in
the Castle Streets, so we cross the Square and enter James Street. This short
thoroughfare leads down to the busy neighbourhood of the Docks and Landing
Stage. The fine tower and building of the James Street Station of the Mersey
Railway, the premises of the Dominion Line of Steamships, and the magnificent office
building of the White Star Company are noticeable. On the left of this street
are seen the Alexandra Buildings, the Leyland Line Offices, and the very
pleasing Tudor facade of the Pacific Line Offices. Crossing the road, turning
to the right and passing the curious antiquated Arcade of the Goree Piazza, we
terminate our present tour.
Link
Source
Central Library
Liverpool Records Office
Littlebury Brothers
Leonard Pattern
Robert F Edwards
