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111-593: The Liverpool Olympia (Known for sponsorship reasons as the Eventim Olympia ) is a venue in Liverpool , England , situated on West Derby Road next to The Grafton Ballroom . The Liverpool Olympia was built in 1905 For Moss Empires Ltd by architect Frank Matcham as a purpose built indoor circus and variety theatre. The theatre was a response to the enormous success of Thomas Barrasford 's Royal Hippodrome Theatre (4,000 capacity, built 1902, demolished 1984) which stood

222-534: A 15-metre (49 ft) wide Proscenium, was 12 metres (39 ft) deep, and had a height of 21 metres (69 ft). The theatre was purchased by ABC theatre company, and converted into a Cinema in 1930. and was used up to the Second World War in 1939. Throughout the war, the Olympia was used as a Royal Naval Depot. After the war, the Olympia did not re-open and was sold to Mecca Leisure Group in 1948. The Olympia

333-642: A circular route, using the Hunts Cross to Southport line, however, these were never carried out. With fewer ships docking in Liverpool during the Great Depression , there was a reduction in usage of the Overhead Railway. Tourist tickets were offered from 1932, which also included visits to ocean liners that were moored at the docks, as part of a scheme to increase ticket sales, along with reduced prices, and

444-671: A city which 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 planner Graeme Shankland , led to compromised town planning and vast road-building schemes that devastated and divided inner city neighbourhoods. Concrete brutalist architecture , compromised visions, botched projects and grand designs that were never realised became

555-544: A joint European Capital of Culture for 2008. The celebrations included the erection of La 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 the Queensway Tunnel . Spearheaded by

666-608: A major advertising campaign. During the Second World War, the railway suffered extensively from bomb damage. As a purely local undertaking, it was not nationalised in 1948 with the rest of the British railway system. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the company started to modernise some of the carriages, incorporating sliding doors. The line continued to carry large numbers of passengers, especially dock workers. The Mersey Docks & Harbour Board maintained stringent controls over

777-432: A manner with this great and splendid undertaking. I am glad to be associated with an enterprise which I hope will carry still further the prosperity and power of Liverpool, and which will carry down the name of Liverpool to posterity as the place where a great mechanical undertaking first found its home... I will therefore, though with some fear and trembling, fulfil the injunctions of Sir William Forwood, and proceed to handle

888-422: A nominal 16 ft (4.9 m) above the roadway. A total of 567 spans were erected, most being 50 ft (15 m) long. The standard gauge railway was laid on longitudinal timbers on the elevated sections. Four bridges were constructed to cross wider streets. Hydraulic lifting sections were provided at Brunswick , Sandon and Langton Docks to allow goods access to the docks. To allow shipping access to

999-432: A part in the degradation of the structure. Alongside this deterioration of the railway, the company never made as much money as they had hoped. Passengers made shorter journeys over the years, with the average passenger value declining from 2 d in 1897 to 1.7d in 1913. Electric trams were introduced and competed with the railway, reducing the number of people using it, and changes to ticketing increased operational costs for

1110-471: A pool or creek, and is first recorded around 1190 as Liuerpul . According to the Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names , "The original reference was to a pool or tidal creek now filled up into which two streams drained". The place appearing as Leyrpole , in a legal record of 1418, may also refer to Liverpool. Other origins of the name have been suggested, including "elverpool", a reference to

1221-407: A regenerated Albert Dock which proved to be a catalyst for further regeneration. 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

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1332-518: A significant town in the late 17th century, when the port at nearby Chester began to silt up. The Port of Liverpool became heavily involved in the Atlantic slave trade , with the first slave ship departing from the town in 1699. The port also imported much of the cotton required by the neighbouring Lancashire textile mills , and became a major departure point for English and Irish emigrants to North America. Liverpool rose to global economic importance at

1443-533: A very short distance away; the Olympia never managed to meet the success of the Hippodrome, and never managed a profit. It is one of very few of its kind left in the country. Performing animals would appear in the auditorium by being lifted from the basement where they lived. Evidence of the lift mechanism and living areas for elephants and lions can still be found under the theatre. The roof space still holds pulley, and wheel mechanisms used by trapeze artists (including

1554-519: Is Llynlleifiad , again a 19th-century coining. " Llyn " is pool, but " lleifiad " has no obvious meaning. G. Melville Richards (1910–1973), a pioneer of scientific toponymy in Wales, in "Place Names of North Wales", does not attempt to explain it beyond noting that " lleifiad " is used as a Welsh equivalent of "Liver". A derivative form of a learned borrowing into Welsh ( * llaf ) of Latin lāma (slough, bog, fen) to give " lleifiad "

1665-473: Is also home to the UK's oldest surviving classical orchestra ( Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra ) and repertory theatre ( Liverpool Playhouse ). 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 was Compton House , completed in 1867 for the retailer J.R. Jeffrey. It

1776-460: Is home to the UK's second highest number of art galleries , national museums , listed buildings , and parks and open spaces , with only London having more. It is often used as a filming location due to its distinctive architecture , and was the fifth most visited UK city by foreign tourists in 2022. It is the only UNESCO City of Music in England and has produced countless musicians , most notably

1887-409: Is in the city centre; transport is also served by the underground Merseyrail network. The city's port was the fourth largest in the UK in 2023, with numerous shipping and freight lines having headquarters and offices there. Residents of Liverpool are often called "Scousers" in reference to scouse , a local stew made popular by sailors in the city, while "Scouse" is also the most common name given to

1998-759: Is located on the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary , adjacent to the Irish Sea , and is approximately 178 miles (286 km) northwest of London . Liverpool is the fifth largest city in the United Kingdom and the largest settlement in Merseyside. It is part of the Liverpool City Region , a combined authority with a population of over 1.5 million. Established as a borough in Lancashire in 1207, Liverpool became

2109-565: Is named after the city. As early as 1851, the city was described as "the New York of Europe". During the late 19th and early 20th century, 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. The Deutsche Kirche Liverpool , Greek Orthodox Church of St Nicholas , Gustav Adolf Church and Princes Road Synagogue were all established in

2220-524: Is no ambiguity as the electrical supply was third rail . When the LOR was extended to the Dingle terminus the "overhead" description of the railway would have seemed an anomaly to those descending to the platform there which was underground in a tunnel. At least two alternative names for the railway existed: "Dockers' Umbrella"; and "ovee", a local slang term. As a result of the traffic, congestion, and overcrowding of

2331-545: Is possible, but unproven. In the Middle Ages , Liverpool existed firstly as farmland within the West Derby Hundred before growing in to a small town of farmers, fishermen and tradesmen and tactical army base for King John of England . The town was planned with its own castle , although due to outbreaks of disease and its subordinance to the nearby Roman port of Chester , the town's growth and prosperity stagnated until

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2442-576: Is the world's oldest existing organisation devoted to the promotion of spaceflight . Its journal, the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society , is the longest-running astronautical publication in the world. Liverpool Overhead Railway The Liverpool Overhead Railway (known locally as the Dockers' Umbrella or Ovee ) was an overhead railway in Liverpool that operated along

2553-502: The British 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 included Swedish 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. The Housing Act 1919 resulted in mass council housing being built across Liverpool during

2664-532: The English Civil War , including a brief siege in 1644. In 1699, the same year as its first recorded slave ship , Liverpool Merchant , set sail for Africa, Liverpool was made a parish by Act of Parliament . But arguably, the legislation of 1695 that reformed the Liverpool council was of more significance to its subsequent development. Since Roman times , the nearby city of Chester on the River Dee had been

2775-541: The Eurovision Song Contest 2023 . Liverpool has been a centre of invention and innovation. Railways, transatlantic steamships , municipal trams, 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 and Cardiff . The first School for

2886-470: The Grand National , both held at Aintree Racecourse . Through services from Dingle to Southport were withdrawn in 1914. By 1914 the railway had served over 10 million passengers. To allow the through-running of L&YR trains, the conductor rail was moved to outside the running rails and the centre rail became the earth return until the 1920s. The first automatic train-stop system was installed on

2997-573: The Great 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 and strikes took place in numerous locations, including a police strike in Liverpool among the City Police . Numerous colonial soldiers and sailors from Africa and India, who had served with

3108-461: The Leeds and Liverpool Canal , at Stanley Dock a bridge was replaced by a combined lifting-and-swing bridge, the lower lifting section carrying the road and goods railway. At Bramley-Moore Dock , the railway dropped to road level to pass under the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) coal tip branch. As the gradient was 1 in 40, this was known as the switchback . Originally the conductor rail

3219-477: The Liverpool Docks and opened in 1893 with lightweight electric multiple units . The railway had a number of world firsts: it was the first electric elevated railway, the first to use automatic signalling, electric colour light signals and electric multiple units , and was home to one of the first passenger escalators at a railway station. It was the second-oldest electric metro in the world, being preceded by

3330-692: The Macgregor Laird expedition to the Niger River, at that time in progress. This is to a painting by Samuel Austin , Liverpool, from the Mersey . Britain was a major market for cotton imported from the Deep South of the United States, which fed the textile industry in the country. Given the crucial place cotton held in the city's economy, during the American Civil War Liverpool was, in

3441-514: The Paradise Project , a £920 million development based on Paradise 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

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3552-554: The Queensway Tunnel linking Liverpool and Birkenhead . 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, the Lumière brothers filmed Liverpool, including what is believed to be the world's first tracking shot , taken from the Liverpool Overhead Railway , the world's first elevated electrified railway. The Overhead Railway

3663-561: The River Dee continued to silt up, Liverpool began to grow with increasing rapidity. The first commercial wet dock was built in Liverpool in 1715. Substantial profits from the slave trade and tobacco helped the town to prosper and rapidly grow, although several prominent local men, including William Rathbone , William Roscoe and Edward Rushton , were at the forefront of the local abolitionist movement . The 19th century saw Liverpool rise to global economic importance. Pioneering, world first , technology and civic facilities launched in

3774-409: The Second World War . At its peak almost 20   million people used the railway every year. Being a local railway, it was not nationalised in 1948 . In 1955, a report into the structure of the many bridges and viaducts showed that major repairs, which the company could not afford, were needed. The railway closed at the end of 1956, and despite public protests, the structures were dismantled in

3885-528: The distinctive local accent . The city's cultural and ethnic diversity has resulted from its history of attracting immigrants, especially from Ireland, Scandinavia, and Wales; it is also the home of the earliest black community in the UK , the earliest Chinese community in Europe , and the first mosque in England. The name comes from the Old English lifer , meaning thick or muddy water, and pōl , meaning

3996-532: The sea-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. Capitalising on the popularity of 1960s rock groups, such as the 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. In 2004, property developer Grosvenor started

4107-484: The " Merseybeat " sound, which became synonymous with the Beatles and fellow Liverpudlian rock bands. Influenced by American rhythm and blues and rock music, they also in turn strongly affected American music. The Beatles became internationally known in the early 1960s and performed around the world together ; they were, and continue to be, the most commercially successful and musically influential band in popular history. Their co-founder, singer, and composer John Lennon

4218-533: 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 the Polish community in its final years as a place of worship. 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 two World wars . Economic depressions (both in

4329-557: The 1840s when Irish migrants began arriving by the hundreds of thousands as a result of the Great Famine . While many Irish settled during this time in the city, a large percentage also emigrated to the United States or moved to the industrial centres of Lancashire , Yorkshire and the Midlands . In her poetical illustration "Liverpool" (1832), which celebrates the city's worldwide commerce, Letitia Elizabeth Landon refers specifically to

4440-586: The 1880s there was an omnibus service every five minutes. An elevated railway was first proposed in 1852, and in 1878 the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board (MD&HB) obtained powers in the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board (Over-Head Railways) Act 1878 ( 41 & 42 Vict. c. cxcviii) for a single-line steam railway with passing loops at stations. The MD&HB applied to the Board of Trade based on this plan, but it

4551-405: The 1890 City and South London Railway . Originally spanning five miles (8 km) from Alexandra Dock to Herculaneum Dock , the railway was extended at both ends over the years of operation, as far south as Dingle and north to Seaforth & Litherland . A number of stations opened and closed during the railway's operation owing to relative popularity and damage, including air bombing during

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4662-414: 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. Numerous private homes were also built during this era. During the Great Depression of

4773-507: The Beatles , who are widely regarded as the most influential band of all time ; musicians from the city have released more UK No. 1 hit singles than anywhere else in the world. It has also produced many academics , actors , artists , comedians , filmmakers , poets , scientists , sportspeople , and writers . In sports, it is known as the home of Premier League football teams Everton FC and Liverpool FC . The world's oldest still-operating mainline train station, Liverpool Lime Street ,

4884-814: The Blind , Mechanics' Institute , High School for Girls, council house, and Juvenile Court were all founded in Liverpool. Charities such as the RSPCA , NSPCC , Age Concern , Relate , and Citizen's Advice Bureau all evolved from work in the city. The first lifeboat station, public bath and wash-house, sanitary act, medical officer for health ( William Henry Duncan ), district nurse, slum clearance , purpose-built ambulance, X-ray medical diagnosis, school of tropical medicine ( Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine ), motorised municipal fire-engine, free school meal, cancer research centre, and zoonosis research centre all originated in Liverpool. The first British Nobel Prize

4995-444: The LOR staff joined British Railways for work after its closure. The railway was replaced by a bus service operated by Liverpool Corporation who purchased 60 new buses for the route. The price of a workman's return fare subsequently increased from 8 d to 1 s as workers were forced to use bus services. Demolition of the structure commenced on 23 September 1957, and all 80 acres (32 ha) of elevated track were removed by January

5106-486: The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway at Seaforth for the purposes of transporting coal to Herculaneum Dock. The lack of development or rescue by the board was at least in part due to its determination to restrict its activities to those that directly impacted the dock. The railway was carried mainly on iron viaducts, with a corrugated iron decking onto which the tracks were laid. It was vulnerable to corrosion, especially as

5217-519: The Mersey, and the CSS Shenandoah surrendered there (being the final surrender at the end of the war). The city was also the center of Confederate purchasing war materiel, including arms and ammunition, uniforms, and naval supplies to be smuggled by British blockade runners to the South . For periods during the 19th century, the wealth of Liverpool exceeded that of London, and Liverpool's Custom House

5328-494: The Museum of Liverpool, and the only surviving first-class modernised carriage, No 7, was taken on by Coventry Railway Centre. On 24 July 2012, a portion of the terminal tunnel near Dingle collapsed. The railway used electric units with passenger accommodation and an electric motor in the same unit. Any number could be coupled together with all motors controlled by the driver. Built between 1892 and 1899 by Brown Marshall & Co,

5439-718: The National Olympian Association in Liverpool, a forerunner of the British Olympic Association . Its articles of foundation provided the framework for the Olympic Charter . A concept devised by retail entrepreneur David Lewis , the first Christmas grotto opened in Lewis's department store in Liverpool in 1879. Sir Alfred Lewis Jones , a shipowner, introduced bananas to the UK via Liverpool's docks in 1884. The Mersey Railway , opened in 1886, incorporated

5550-587: 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 the European Capital of Culture . To celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 2002, the conservation charity Plantlife organised a competition to choose county flowers ;

5661-459: The Southport branch of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway were made available, with revised fares and timetables. The L&YR built some special lightweight electric stock and from 1906 began running services from Dingle to Southport and Aintree. Regular services to Aintree were withdrawn in 1908, and after this special trains ran only twice a year, on Jump Sunday and the following Friday for

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5772-515: The UK's first Underwriters' Association and the first Institute of Accountants . The Western world's first financial derivatives (cotton futures) were traded on the Liverpool Cotton Exchange in the late 1700s. In the arts, Liverpool was home to the first lending library ( The Lyceum ), athenaeum society ( Liverpool Athenaeum ), arts centre ( Bluecoat Chambers ), and public art conservation centre ( National Conservation Centre ). It

5883-463: The UK, TNA's 2008 UK tour and also 1PW's The New Divide show). The Olympia is owned by the same company as The Grafton Ballrooms next door. The Olympia was designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building in 1975. Liverpool Liverpool is a cathedral city , port city , and metropolitan borough in Merseyside , England. It had a population of 496,770 in 2022. The city

5994-414: The United Kingdom and across the world), changing housing patterns and containerisation 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 of urban renewal paved the way for the redefined modern city of the 21st century. The period after

6105-411: The area. More immigrants arrived after World War II, mostly settling in older inner-city areas such as Toxteth , where housing was less expensive. The black population of Liverpool was recorded at 1.90% in 2011. In the 2021 Census , 5.2% described themselves as black African, Caribbean, mixed white and black African, mixed white and Caribbean or 'other black'. In the 1960s, Liverpool was the centre of

6216-633: The borough was probably due to King John deciding it would be a convenient place to embark men and supplies for his Irish campaigns , in particular John's Irish campaign of 1209 . The original street plan of Liverpool is said to have been designed by King John near the same time it was granted a royal charter , making it a borough. The original seven streets were laid out in the shape of a double cross: Bank Street (now Water Street ), Castle Street , Chapel Street , Dale Street , Juggler Street (now High Street ), Moor Street (now Tithebarn Street ) and Whiteacre Street (now Old Hall Street ). Liverpool Castle

6327-511: The central government in London. Liverpool in the 1980s has been labelled as Britain's 'shock city'. Once the second city of the British Empire which rivalled the capital city in global significance, Liverpool had collapsed in to its 'nadir' at the depths of post-colonial , post-industrial Britain. In the late 20th century, Liverpool's economy began to recover. The late 1980s saw the opening of

6438-523: The city and form an important part of the economy. In June 2014, Prime Minister David Cameron launched the International Festival for Business in Liverpool, the world's largest business event in 2014, and the largest in the UK since the Festival of Britain in 1951. The Labour Party has chosen Liverpool numerous times since the mid 2010s for their annual Labour Party Conference . Liverpool hosted

6549-494: The city to serve the accelerating population which 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 and Manchester became the first cities to have an intercity rail link, through the Liverpool and Manchester Railway . The population continued to rise rapidly, especially during

6660-473: 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, 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. During this period, Liverpool became a hub of fierce left-wing opposition to

6771-451: The city, the Seaforth extension resulted in a large increase in traffic from residents of the outer areas of Liverpool. An extension southwards from Herculaneum Dock to Dingle was opened on 21 December 1896. Dingle was the only underground station, the extension from Herculaneum Dock being achieved with a 200 ft (61 m) lattice girder bridge and a half-mile (800 m) tunnel through

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6882-484: The city. 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 at Bramley-Moore Dock was regarded as the largest single-site private sector development in the United Kingdom at the time of construction. Major events, business and political conferences regularly take place in

6993-548: The company. A full-time maintenance team was employed solely for the Overhead Railway, but struggled to keep up with repairs, and costs began to rise steeply during the 1950s. In 1955, a survey discovered that repairs would be necessary in five years at a cost of £2 million. The company could not afford such costs and looked for financial support, from the Liverpool Corporation , the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board and British Railways . A number of attempts to rescue

7104-416: The dock roads, many proposals were made for transport solutions. Rails were laid at Liverpool Docks in 1852, linking the warehouses and docks. Initially horses were used, for locomotives were banned because of the risk of fire. From 1859, passenger services were provided using adapted horse omnibuses ; the wheel flanges could be retracted to allow an omnibus to leave the tracks to overtake a goods train. By

7215-504: The early 1930s, unemployment peaked at around 30% in the city. Liverpool was the site of Britain's first provincial airport , operating from 1930. During the Second World War , the critical strategic importance of Liverpool was recognised by both Hitler and Churchill . The city was heavily bombed by the Germans, suffering a blitz second only to London's. The pivotal Battle of the Atlantic

7326-424: The electric machinery which is to set this line in motion. I only hope the result will be no different from what he anticipates." The Marquis of Salisbury at the opening ceremony. The first official journey on the railway took place on 7 January 1893, with the railway chairman taking engineers and other people of importance on a tour of the length of the railway. The railway was officially opened on 4 February

7437-402: The famous Henderson family). The ornate interior still reflects the building's past with elephants, lions set into Indian wall Panelling. The auditorium is one of the largest in Liverpool; in its heyday it could accommodate 3,750 people in the stalls and on 3 balconies. The unusual proscenium stage was at the same level as the stalls, with an orchestra riser against the back wall. The stage had

7548-527: The first to be installed in Britain. The track also contained automatic braking systems for trains which ran through a red light; the current could be automatically disconnected and air brakes applied. The seventeenth and final station was opened on 16 June 1930, at Gladstone Dock , between Alexandra Dock and Seaforth Sands stations. Plans were put forward to extend the line from Herculaneum Dock to St Michaels , and from Seaforth Sands to Sefton , to create

7659-439: The following year. Little evidence of the railway remains, but a small number of columns set into walls at Huskisson Dock , and the tunnel at Herculaneum Dock into Dingle station have survived, the latter being used as a garage. The foundations of the double deck swing bridge at Stanley Dock also remain. One of the original wooden carriages, on a recreated section of elevated track, remains on display with other artefacts at

7770-505: The following year. Since 1977, Liverpool's needs for rapid transit and commuter rail have been served by the partially underground Merseyrail network, which was formed from local suburban lines and new tunnel formed into a network, using no former infrastructure of the Liverpool Overhead Railway. The "overhead" refers to the railway being primarily constructed above street level, and not to " overhead line ", though there

7881-535: The forefront of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century and was home to the first intercity railway , the first non-combustible warehouse system (the Royal Albert Dock ), and a pioneering elevated electrical railway ; it was granted city status in 1880 and was moved from Lancashire to the newly created county of Merseyside in 1974 . Like many other British cities, it entered a period of decline in

7992-503: The formation of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority in a form of devolution . With a devolved budget granted by central government , the authority now oversees and invests in foremost strategic affairs throughout the Liverpool 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

8103-428: The frequency of trains was increased to one every three minutes during peak times. By 1910, the operating hours were unrivaled, providing at least one train every 10   minutes from 4:45   am until 11:33   pm on weekdays. From 2 July 1905, Overhead Railway trains began running through to Seaforth & Litherland, and through connections and through bookings between Liverpool Overhead Railway stations and

8214-461: The height of the railway while standing up on the top deck of open-top buses. Realising that the railway was receiving low traffic outside of working hours, the line was extended northwards to Seaforth Sands on 30 April 1894 in order to reach more residential areas. The extension brought the total length of the railway to 6 miles (10 km) and cost a total of £10,000. While the passengers had previously been primarily travelling to businesses and

8325-518: The large number of eels in the Mersey . The adjective "Liverpudlian" was first recorded in 1833. Although the Old English origin of the name Liverpool is beyond dispute, claims are sometimes made that the name Liverpool is of Welsh origin, but these are without foundation. The Welsh name for Liverpool is Lerpwl , from a former English local form Leerpool. This is a reduction of the form "Leverpool" with

8436-408: The late 17th and early 18th centuries. Substantial growth took place in the mid-late 18th century when the town became the most heavily involved European port in the Atlantic slave trade . King John 's letters patent of 1207 announced the foundation of the borough of Liverpool (then spelt as Liuerpul ). There is no evidence that the place had previously been a centre of any trade. The creation of

8547-409: The line was closed on the evening of 30 December 1956. The final two scheduled trains were full of passengers and were timed to meet at Pier Head, where crowds gathered. It was the first electrified urban railway in the UK to close. A small number of staff were kept to maintain the buildings and structures, and it was hoped that a way of reopening the railway could be found. More than 100 members of

8658-425: The line, and was electrically operated. An arm on the trackside would be struck by each passing train, activating an electromagnet, resulting in a 'danger' signal being shown until the train had passed through the next station. As a result of automation, the number of staffed signal boxes was reduced to two. The line upgraded the signalling from semaphore to a Westinghouse permanent daytime colour-light system in 1921:

8769-417: The loss of the intervocalic [v] (seen in other English names and words e.g. Daventry (Northamptonshire) > Danetry, never-do-well > ne’er-do-well). In the 19th century, some Welsh publications used the name " Lle'r Pwll " ("(the) place (of) the pool"), a reinterpretation of Lerpwl , probably in the belief that " Lle'r Pwll " was the original form. Another name, which is widely known even today,

8880-531: The mid-20th century; however, it has experienced significant and ongoing regeneration since the European Union selected it as the European Capital of Culture in 2008, which was reported to have generated over £800 million for the local economy within a year. The economy of Liverpool is diversified and encompasses tourism, culture , maritime , hospitality , healthcare , life sciences , advanced manufacturing, creative , and digital sectors. The city

8991-421: 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, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh visited Liverpool to mark the Golden Jubilee . On speaking to an audience at Liverpool Town Hall ,

9102-606: The multi-billion- pound Liverpool ONE development, regeneration continued throughout the 2010s. Some of the most significant redevelopment projects included new buildings in the Commercial District , King's Dock , Mann Island , around Lime Street , the Baltic Triangle , RopeWalks , and Edge Lane . Changes to Liverpool's governance took place in 2014. The local authority of Liverpool City Council decided to pool its power and resources with surrounding boroughs through

9213-468: The norm became a three-coach train consisting of two motor coaches with a trailer coach between. Two classes of accommodation were provided, originally first and second, becoming first and third in 1905 when the L&;YR began running over the railway. The cars were open with transverse seating: the central trailer had leather-covered seats for first class passengers; third class passengers had wooden seating. As

9324-477: The operation of the Overhead Railway for the duration of its operation. The board protected its own freight transport interests by including clauses in the Overhead Railway's enabling legislation to limit the weight of parcels that could be transported, and renewing the lease on it every seven years. The board blocked an attempt by the Liverpool Overhead Railway Company to extend its line to join

9435-424: The original units had one 60 horsepower (45 kW) motor, but by the third batch this had been replaced by a 70 horsepower (52 kW) motor. In 1902, the motor cars were fitted with two 100 horsepower (75 kW) motors, and these were replaced in 1919 by 75 horsepower (56 kW) motors. Air brakes were fitted, the pressure being topped up at the termini. In the early days a single motor coach ran off-peak, but

9546-476: The railway and arrange a takeover took place over the next year but were ultimately unsuccessful. The company went into voluntary liquidation , despite still being reported to be profitable for its shareholders, and was relieved of its statutory obligation to operate passenger services with the Liverpool Overhead Railway Act 1956 ( 4 & 5 Eliz. 2 . c. lxxxii). Despite public protest,

9657-463: The railway. The public services started on 6 March, with the first carriages leaving from the Alexandra Dock and Herculaneum Dock stations at 7   am. The Liverpool Echo reported that "the carriages appear to be fairly well filled with passengers." In the early days of the railway there were a number of injuries and at least one fatality as a result of passengers and conductors overestimating

9768-543: The region's principal port on the Irish Sea . However, as the Dee began to silt up , maritime trade from Chester became increasingly difficult and shifted towards Liverpool on the neighbouring River Mersey . The first of the Liverpool docks was constructed in 1715, and the system of docks gradually grew into a large interconnected system. As trade from the West Indies , including sugar, surpassed that of Ireland and Europe, and as

9879-720: The same year by the Leader of the Opposition the Marquis of Salisbury , who turned on the main electrical current during a ceremony at the generating station at the Bramley-Moore Dock . The ceremony was attended by the Earl of Lathom , Lord Kelvin , the mayor of Liverpool, the chairman of the Dock Board, directors and engineers, and a number of other guests, who traveled on an inaugural journey along

9990-413: The sandstone cliff to Park Road. The railway's contractor, J.W. Willans, was appointed as its chief engineer. He specialised in building and running electric railways, and in 1902, newer and more powerful electric motors were fitted to the trains in order to reduce service times in order to keep up with the competition from trams. In the early 20th century, the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway L&YR

10101-459: The steam-operated Docks Railway operated beneath some sections, despite the locomotives being fitted with chimney cowls which were intended to deflect the steam from the structure. Parts of the decking had become rusty on the surface, caused by steam and soot from the dock locomotives that passed underneath, mixing with rainwater to form an acid that began to corrode the metalwork. Drainage blockages combined with grit and constant vibration also played

10212-543: The structure to prevent ash falling to the street below; however, this was seen as a fire risk. Sir William Forwood , the Chairman of the Liverpool Overhead Railway, had studied American electric railways, and in 1891 electric traction was chosen. John William Willans was chosen as the primary contractor. Building began in 1889 and was completed in January 1893. The structure was to be made of wrought iron girders, positioned

10323-440: The subject of condemnation. Historian Raphael Samuel labelled Graeme Shankland "the butcher of Liverpool". A significant West 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 to a significant number of Commonwealth immigrants, beginning after World War I with colonial soldiers and sailors who had served in

10434-552: The track in the switchback section. The finished railway ran between Alexandra Dock and Herculaneum Dock , though the line extended another half a mile (800 m) north of Alexandra Dock station to the carriage sheds and workshops; no land closer to the station had been available. At the time of opening in February 1893, the railway had cost £510,000 and used a total of 25,000   tons of iron and steel. "I have great pleasure in associating myself in however humble and transitory

10545-495: The voltage was 500 V, when they ran on the L&YR 630 V system the motors had to be in series mode. A three-car train was modernised in 1945–47; this involved replacing the timber body with aluminium and plywood, and fitting power-operated sliding doors under control of the guard. New trains were considered too expensive and six more trains were rebuilt. The Liverpool Overhead Railway operated one steam locomotive, called Lively Polly, an inside-cylinder 0-4-0WT , which

10656-672: The words of historian Sven Beckert , "the most pro-Confederate place in the world outside the Confederacy itself." Liverpool merchants helped to bring out cotton from ports blockaded by the Union Navy , built ships of war for the Confederacy , and supplied the South with military equipment and credit. During the war, the Confederate Navy ship, the CSS Alabama , was built at Birkenhead on

10767-409: The world". As of 1919, a total of 18   million passengers used the Overhead Railway each year, 14   million passengers per year, even during the Second World War , and 9   million into the 1950s. From 1902, the journey end-to-end journey time was reduced to 22   minutes, but due to increased power and maintenance costs, the trains were then slowed down by six minutes in 1908, and

10878-419: The world's first tunnel under a tidal estuary and the world's first deep-level underground stations ( Liverpool James Street railway station ). In 1889, borough engineer John Alexander Brodie invented the football goal net. He was also a pioneer in the use of pre-fabricated housing and oversaw the construction of the UK's first ring road ( A5058 ) and intercity highway ( East Lancashire Road ), as well as

10989-480: Was awarded in 1902 to Ronald Ross , professor at the School of Tropical Medicine, the first school of its kind in the world. Orthopaedic surgery was pioneered in Liverpool by Hugh Owen Thomas , and modern medical anaesthetics by Thomas Cecil Gray . The world's first integrated sewer system was constructed in Liverpool by James Newlands , appointed in 1847 as the UK's first borough engineer. Liverpool also founded

11100-404: Was built before 1235, it survived until it was demolished in the 1720s. 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 1000 people due to slow trade and the effects of the plague . In the 17th century, there was slow progress in trade and population growth. Battles for control of the town were waged during

11211-495: Was converted to a Ballroom, and was renamed the Locarno. The Locarno was then converted into a bingo hall between 1964 and 1982 before being closed and re-opening between 1987 and 1990. The Olympia reopened in the 1990s, and after substantial renovations is currently used as a venue for all kinds of events including boxing, dance showcases, music concerts and more recently wrestling events (including Ring of Honor's 2006 and 2007 shows in

11322-404: Was electrifying its routes out of Liverpool Exchange . A connection was built from the L&YR Seaforth & Litherland station to a new station beside Seaforth Sands. The railway became popular with tourists. A 1902 Liverpool guidebook devoted a whole chapter to viewing and visiting the docks via the overhead railway, and a 1930s poster described it as "the best way to see the finest docks in

11433-561: Was kept by the Museum of Liverpool and a modernised carriage was stored at the Electric Railway Museum, Warwickshire . The railway is featured in the films Waterfront and The Magnet (both 1950), and in the final scenes of The Clouded Yellow (1951), as the character played by Jean Simmons uses it to travel to one of the docks. Extensive archive footage appears in Of Time and

11544-616: Was killed in New York City in 1980. Liverpool Airport was renamed after him in 2002, the first British airport to be named in honour of an individual. Previously part of Lancashire, and a county borough from 1889, Liverpool became a metropolitan borough within the newly created metropolitan county of Merseyside , in 1974. From the mid-1970s onwards, Liverpool's docks and traditional manufacturing industries declined due to restructuring of shipping and heavy industry, causing massive losses of jobs. The advent of containerisation meant that

11655-585: Was originally built in Leeds by Kitson for the West Lancashire Railway . It was used to de-ice the track and haul the maintenance train from its acquisition in the 1890s until it was sold to Rea Ltd, a coal merchant in Birkenhead in 1949. It was replaced by a Ruston diesel engine, which was bought in 1947. Both were fitted with the proprietary coupling used by the Overhead Railway's EMUs. An original train

11766-428: Was placed between the rails, energised at 500–525   volts DC . The power was supplied by a generating station at Bramley-Moore Dock that received its coal directly from the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway branch line which passed above. Special lightweight passenger cars were designed with each having a driving motor car; one bogie was powered with a single 60 horsepower (45 kW) motor. They were placed on

11877-456: Was planned, fought and won from Liverpool. The Luftwaffe made 80  air raids on Merseyside , killing 2,500 people and causing damage to almost half the homes in the metropolitan area. Significant rebuilding followed the war, including massive housing estates and the Seaforth Dock , the largest dock project in Britain. Since 1952, Liverpool has been twinned with Cologne , Germany,

11988-432: Was rejected and there was no further progress. The Liverpool Overhead Railway Company was formed in 1888 and obtained permission to build a double-track railway in the same year via the Liverpool Overhead Railway Act 1888 ( 51 & 52 Vict. c. cx). Engineers Sir Douglas Fox and James Henry Greathead were commissioned to design the railway . Steam traction was considered, and they considered fitting floors to

12099-454: Was the first railway in the world to use electric multiple units , employ automatic signalling, and install an escalator. Liverpool inventor Frank Hornby was a visionary in toy development and manufacture, producing three of the most popular lines of toys in the 20th century: Meccano , Hornby Model Railways (both in 1901), and Dinky Toys in 1934. The British Interplanetary Society , founded in Liverpool in 1933 by Phillip Ellaby Cleator,

12210-523: Was the largest store in the world at the time. Between 1862 and 1867, Liverpool held an annual Grand Olympic Festival . Devised by John Hulley and Charles Pierre Melly , these games were the first to be wholly amateur in nature and international in outlook. The programme of the first modern Olympiad in Athens in 1896 was almost identical to that of the Liverpool Olympics. In 1865, Hulley co-founded

12321-575: Was the single largest contributor to the British Exchequer . Liverpool was the only British city ever to have its own Whitehall office. During this century, at least 40% of the world's entire trade passed through Liverpool. In the early 19th century, Liverpool played a major role in the Antarctic sealing industry, in recognition of which Liverpool Beach in the South Shetland Islands

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