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Liverpool

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For alternate uses of "Liverpool" see Liverpool (disambiguation)

City of Liverpool
Liverpool
Shown within Merseyside
Geography
Status: Metropolitan Borough, City (1880)
Region: North West England
Ceremonial County: Merseyside
Area:
- Total
Ranked 232nd
111.84 km²
Admin. HQ: Liverpool
ONS code: 00BY
Demographics
Population:
- Total (2002 est.)
- Density
Ranked 5th
441,477
3,947 / km²
Ethnicity: 94.3% White
1.1% S.Asian
1.2% Afro-Carib.
1.2% Chinese
Politics
Liverpool City Council
http://www.liverpool.gov.uk/
Leadership: Leader & Cabinet
Executive: Liberal Democrats
MPs: Maria Eagle, Louise Ellman, Jane Kennedy, Peter Kilfoyle, Robert Wareing

Liverpool is a city in Merseyside in north west England, on the north side of the Mersey estuary. The city is in the extreme southwest of the traditional county of Lancashire.

Introduction

Liverpool is governed by Liverpool City Council, one of five councils within Merseyside. The population of the city in the 2001 census was 439,473, the surrounding Merseyside conurbation has a population of 1,362,026. Liverpool is the second largest export port of the United Kingdom. Though not as pre-eminent as a century ago, Liverpool still possesses some manufacturing base.

Liverpool is internationally famous for being the city where the Beatles came from.

Liverpool runs directly into Bootle in Sefton, and Huyton in Knowsley. It faces Wallasey and Birkenhead across the River Mersey.

Inhabitants of Liverpool are officially known as "Liverpudlians", but more commonly known as "Scousers". They are noted for their distinctive accent, called Scouse. In London and elsewhere Liverpudlians are sometimes known as "Mickey Mousers" (from Cockney rhyming slang Scouse - Mickey Mouse). Sometimes Liverpudlians are called "whackers", as in "watcha whacker!".

There are three tunnels under the River Mersey: one railway tunnel, and two road tunnels, Queensway Tunnel and Kingsway Tunnel. There is also the Mersey Ferry, made famous by the song Ferry Cross the Mersey by Gerry and the Pacemakers. In fact the song is now played on the ferryboats themselves every time they prepare to dock at Liverpool.

In 2001, Speke Airport was renamed Liverpool John Lennon Airport, in honour of the late Beatle John Lennon. The airports logo consists of a sketch that Lennon had drawn of himself, and the words "Above us only sky", lyrics from his legendary song "Imagine".

Liverpool has a train system called Merseyrail.

File:Liverpoolskyline 600.jpg
Liverpool's skyline, as seen from the River Mersey

Liverpool has three universities - Liverpool Hope University College, the University of Liverpool, and Liverpool John Moores University. The latter is one of the polytechnics given university status in 1992 and is named after the owner of the Littlewoods retail group.

Liverpool has a vibrant artistic life. Several pre-Raphaelites are among the important paintings of the Walker Art Gallery. With more to be found in the Sudley and Lady Lever Galleries. [1] The Tate Liverpool gallery houses the modern art collection of the Tate in the north of England. A flourishing orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra performs in its own hall, the Philharmonic Hall. The city also became well known for the Liverpool poets, of whom Adrian Henri and Roger McGough are among the best known. The city is also home to several successful theatre companies - The Everyman & Playhouse [2], The Unity [3] The city's daily newspaper is the Liverpool Echo. BBC Radio Merseyside, Juice 107.6 and Radio City as well as Magic 1548, based in St. John's Beacon which dominates the Liverpool skyline, all broadcast to the city.

Liverpool has two Premier division football clubs - Liverpool F.C. at Anfield and Everton F.C. at Goodison Park. Over the water at Tranmere are Tranmere Rovers F.C.

History

The origins of the city are usually dated from August 1207 when Liverpool was proclaimed a borough and a port. Initially it served as a dispatch point for troops sent to Ireland. For four centuries, Liverpool was relatively unimportant. In the middle of the 16th century the population of Liverpool was only around 500, and the area was regarded as subordinate to Chester until the 1650s. A number of battles for the town were waged during the English Civil War, including an eighteen day siege in 1644.

Liverpool Castle was built in the 13th century and was removed in 1726.

In the 18th century, as trade from the West Indies was added to that of Ireland and Europe, Liverpool began to grow. The first wet dock in Britain was built in Liverpool in 1715. Substantial profits from the slave trade helped the town grow and prosper. Liverpool's Black community dates from this period and grew rapidly, reaching a population of 10,000 within five years. By the beginning of the 19th century, 40% of the world's trade was passing through the docks at Liverpool.

Liverpool expanded significantly in the nineteenth century and a number of major buildings were constructed (St. George's Hall, Lime Street Station etc.). Liverpool was granted city status in 1880.

During the first part of the twentieth century Liverpool continued to expand; the population exceeded 850,000 in 1930. During World War II there were eighty air-raids on Merseyside, with an especially concentrated series of raids in May 1941 which interrupted operations at the docks for almost a week. Although only 2,500 people were killed, almost half the homes in the metropolitan area sustained some damage and 11,000 were totally destroyed.

Significant rebuilding followed the war, including massive housing estates and the Seaforth Dock, the largest dock project in Britain. However, the city has been suffering since the 1950s with the loss of numerous employers. By 1985 the population had fallen to 460,000. Declines in manufacturing and dock activity struck the city particularly hard.

96 Liverpool fans died or were severely injured in the Hillsborough disaster at a football game in 1989. This had a traumatic effect on people in both cities, and resulted in legally imposed changes in the way in which football fans have been accommodated in football stadiums since. A similar outpouring of grief and shock occurred in 1993 when two year-old Jamie Bulger was killed by two ten year-old boys, Jon Venables and Robert Thompson.

The city has emphasized its cultural attractions, winning the accolade of European City of Culture for 2008. Capitalising on the popularity of the 1960s pop group The Beatles and other groups of the Merseybeat era, tourism has also become a significant factor in Liverpool's economy.

Districts of Liverpool

Important landmarks and buildings

File:UK.Liverpool.Waterfront.01.jpg
Pier Head area, seen from the Albert Dock

Famous Liverpudlians

See also