Liverpool

LIVERPOOL, city; municipal, county and parliamentary borough ; seaport ; Lancashire, England ; 201 m. north-west of London by rail; situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Mersey, the centre of the city being about 3 m, from the open sea. The form of the city is that of an irregular semicircle, hav ing the base-line formed by the docks and quays extending about 9 m. along the north-east bank of the estuary, which varies in breadth from i to 2 m. On the north the city is partly bounded by the borough of Bootle, along the shore of which the line of docks is continued. The population has increased from 753,353 (791I) to 802,940 (1921) and to S55,539 (1931).

The city lies on a continuous slope of varying gradient, but in some districts is very steep. The old borough, lying between the pool, now completely obliterated, and the river, was a conglomera tion of narrow alleys, and during the 16th and 17th centuries is was several times visited by plague. When the town expanded beyond its original limits, and spread up the slopes beyond the pool, conditions improved. The commercial part of the city is remarkable for the number of palatial piles of offices built chiefly of stone, among which the banks and insurance offices stand pre eminent. Since the end of the 19th century large sums have been spent on slum-clearance, improvement of sanitary arrange ments and road improvements. Important municipal housing schemes have also been carried out in recent years.

Parks.—The earliest public park, the Prince's Park, was laid out in 1843 by private enterprise but has been acquired by the corporation. Sefton Park (269 ac.) was opened in 1872, and a palm house opened in it in 1896. A large portion of the land round the margin has been leased for the erection of villas. Waver tree, Newsham, Sheil and Stanley Parks, the latter having a conservatory, have also been constructed at the public expense. Connected with Wavertree Park are the botanic gardens. Since 1882 several of the city churchyards and burial grounds and many open spaces have been laid out as gardens and recreation grounds. A playground containing io8 acres in Wavertree was presented to the city in 1895, and in 1902 grounds outside the city boun daries containing 94 acres were acquired and are now known as Calderstones Park. In 1906 about r oo acres of land in Roby, also outside the boundaries, was presented to the city. In recent years

the following estates have been added: Harthill estate of 321 acres (1913), Walton Hall estate of 1301 ac. (1913), Woolton Wood estate of 62 ac. (1917) and Allerton and Allerton Towers estate of 228 ac. (1924). The total area of parks and open spaces is 1,396 acres. A boulevard about I m. long leads to the entrance to Prince's Park, and a new circumferential road, the Queen's Drive, from Sefton Park to beyond Walton adds greatly to the beauty of the outskirts of the city.

Public Buildings.

The city is rich in buildings of architec tural interest but there is practically no work in the town earlier than the r8th century. The earliest important work is the Old Blue Coat Hospital (built 1717) at the back of Church St., which is a Queen Anne group built round a courtyard. The town-hall (opened 1754) designed by John Wood of Bath, is a rectangular stone building in the Corinthian style. It has been altered and added to and the inside remodelled after a fire in 1795. There are a large number of fine 19th century houses in Rodney Street and Abercromby Square, which houses were the former residences of Liverpool merchants. Liverpool contains the noblest and finest piece of modern Greco-Roman architecture in Europe, in St. George's Hall. Designed by Harvey Lonsdale Elmes and com pleted in 1854, it stands in the centre of the city and is surrounded by an area sufficiently extensive to exhibit its proportions. Exter nally the east front is faced with a fine portico of sixteen Corin thian columns, 60 ft. in height. Owing to the death of Elmes in 1847 the work was completed by Prof. C. R. Cockerell, R. A. To the north of St. George's Hall are the Law Courts, the Walker Art Gallery, the Picton Library and the Museum and Technical School, which forms an impressive row of buildings. Of the public buildings, the exchange, adjoining the town hall, is worthy of note. It is built around three sides of a quadrangle and replaces an earlier structure on the same site, which had become inadequate to the needs of the city. The Customs House is an impressive building of the mid-nineteenth century. Of modern buildings three imposing structures overlook the river at the Pier Head. These comprise the Dock Offices, the Liver Buildings and the Cunard Building, but, although some of the buildings have distinct architectural merit, the group as a whole is very unbalanced.