Architecture of Liverpool
The architecture of Liverpool is rooted in the city's development into a major port of the British Empire. It encompasses a variety of architectural styles of the past 300 years, while next to nothing remains of its medieval structures which would have dated back as far as the 13th century. Erected 1716–18, Bluecoat Chambers is supposed to be the oldest surviving building in central Liverpool.
There are over 2500 listed buildings in Liverpool of which 27 are Grade I and 105 Grade II* listed. It has been described by English Heritage as England's finest Victorian city. However, due to neglect, some of Liverpool's finest listed buildings are on English Heritage's Heritage at Risk register. Though listed buildings are concentrated in the centre, Liverpool has many buildings of interest throughout its suburbs.
In accordance with Liverpool's role as a trading port, many of its best buildings were erected as headquarters for shipping firms and insurance companies. The wealth thus generated led to the construction of grand civic buildings, designed to allow the local administrators to "run the city with pride".
The historical significance and value of Liverpool's architecture and port layout were recognised when, in 2004, UNESCO declared large parts of the city a World Heritage Site. Known as the Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City, the nomination papers stress the city's role in the development of international trade and docking technology, summed up in this way under Selection Criterion iv: "Liverpool is an outstanding example of a world mercantile port city, which represents the early development of global trading and cultural connections throughout the British Empire." Following developments such as Liverpool Waters and Everton Stadium, the World Heritage Committee removed Liverpool's World Heritage Site status in July 2021.
As Liverpool grew in population, it absorbed certain surrounding areas which now act as its various inner districts or outlying suburbs, with varying architecture in each.
Medieval (11th century – 1485)
Liverpool's origins date back to at least when it was first mentioned and was made a borough in 1207 by King John, although today nothing remains of the city's medieval architecture. Probably the earliest building of note within Liverpool would have been Liverpool Castle, which was constructed between 1232 and 1235 by William de Ferrers. In 1257 mention of the chapel of St Mary del Key near the water's edge, gave its name to Chapel Street. The church of Our Lady and St Nicholas was originally built c.1360, though none of the fabric of the medieval church survives, Sir John Stanley was granted permission in 1406 to fortify his house at the bottom of Water Street, but again this doesn't survive. The oldest surviving building within the city is likely to be Stanlawe Grange in Aigburth, a Monastic grange dating from the 13th century. Frequent modifications throughout its history mean that little of the original building remains, although sections of it are believed to date from 1291. The only medieval church within the current bounds of Liverpool is All Saints' Church, Childwall, The chancel dates from the 14th century, and the south aisle and porch are probably from the 15th century, the tower and spire date from 1810 to 1811. The north aisle dates from 1833 and it was partly rebuilt between 1900 and 1905. Despite the lack of many physical remnants of this period, the city's medieval history is still evident in the street patterns around Liverpool Town Hall, with all seven of the city's original streets remaining in approximately the same position today. These are Chapel Street, Tithebarn Street, Dale Street, Water Street, Old Hall Street, High Street & Castle Street. In this early period of Liverpool's history trade was confined to coastal trade, trade with Ireland and other European nations.Tudor and Elizabethan (1485–1603)
Liverpool's first Town Hall—the town council used to meet in the common hall from 1350—was built in 1515 at the bequest of Rev. John Crosse, and was located in the block bounded by High Street, Dale Street and Exchange Street East. The building was replaced in 1673 by a new Town Hall, partly built on the site occupied by the current building. Speke Hall, which is located in the south of the city, is a manor house from the 16th century, completed in 1598: much of the building is earlier. It is one of the few remaining timber framed Tudor houses in the North of England and it is noted for its Victorian interior.Another large manor house from this period is Croxteth Hall, the ancestral home of the Molyneux family, started in 1575. Just one wing of the building dates from this period, and most of the house was completed during the 18th and 19th centuries. It mixes styles including Elizabethan, Queen Anne Style and Georgian.
The Old Grammar school near St Mary's Church, Walton-on-the-Hill is dated c.1600.
Stuart (1603–1714)
The development of the port began in the mid 17th century, with trade being established with the American colonies and the British West Indies, the first recorded cargo from America being tobacco that arrived in 1648. In 1672 The Corporation of Liverpool took a thousand-year lease of the lordship from Caryll Molyneux, 3rd Viscount Molyneux in order to obtain control of the land to the east of the medieval core. Liverpool's first Custom house was built in 1680 at the bottom of Water Street. Imports of tobacco went from virtually nothing in 1665 to 1.75 million pounds weight by the end of the 17th century, and over the same period sugar imports went from 700cwt to 11,600cwt and salt from 6,000 bushels to 300,000 bushels. In 1698 Celia Fiennes described Liverpool as having twenty-four streets, with "mostly new built houses of brick and stone after the London fashion.....built high and even". In this period the first recorded slave ship sailed from Liverpool. Named the Liverpool Merchant, it sailed on 3 October 1699 and arrived in Barbados on 18 September 1700 with a cargo of 220 enslaved Africans. Liverpool's strategic location on the estuary of the River Mersey and in 1710 the start of construction of the world's first commercial wet dock known as Old Dock, designed by Thomas Steers Dock Engineer and opened in 1715, saw the beginning of Liverpool's rise as a major port city.In the aftermath of the English Civil War Liverpool Castle was partially dismantled and left a ruin; it was finally demolished in the 1720s. Liverpool's second town hall of 1673 was raised on stone pillars that formed an arcade that acted as the exchange. Several buildings from the Stuart era remain in Liverpool today, with one of the oldest of them, Tuebrook House a former farmhouse, dating from 1615. The Ancient Chapel of Toxteth also dates from this period and was likely started around 1618. The building is today grade I listed and still serves its original purpose as a Unitarian Chapel. In 1702 the south front of Croxteth Hall was created as the main facade of the building. The architect is not known for certain though master mason Henry Sephton has been suggested. The Unitarian Chapel in Gateacre was built in 1700, and altered 1719.
One of the period's most notable remaining buildings is Woolton Hall, a grade I listed manor house located in the south of the city. Also built for the Molyneux family, the hall is conceived as a Palladian villa and constructed from red sandstone from the local quarry in Woolton. The main facade is a remodelling of c.1774-80 by Robert Adam.
Mainly built in 1716–17, but with additions nearly immediately necessary, Bluecoat Chambers is the oldest surviving building in Liverpool city centre. Designed in the Queen Anne style, following in the tradition of Christopher Wren, it housed the Liverpool Blue Coat School. After the school moved to new premises in 1906, Bluecoat Chamber faced the possibility of being demolished several times. Following war damage in 1941, the reconstructed building was grade I listed in 1952.
Georgian (1714–1837)
The city expanded into an international seaport from the 17th century onward. The resulting transatlantic trade, particularly in slaves specifically the Triangular trade, was ended by the Slave Trade Act 1807. Liverpool's leading abolitionist was William Roscoe. Yet the predicted collapse in trade on the abolition of the slave trade failed to materialise, and dues from the docks rose from £28,365 in 1801 to £130,911 in 1824. The growth of the cotton industry in Lancashire had a major impact on the growth of Liverpool. In 1715 imports of tobacco were 2 million pounds and by 1750 6.1 million pounds, For sugar the figure are in 1715 30,000cwt and by 1750 100,000cwt. The growth in trade meant a new larger custom house was needed. This was designed by Thomas Ripley in 1717 and opened in 1722. The population of Liverpool rose from about 5,700 in 1700 to 165,000 by 1831. Revolutions in transport, including dock technology, first the growth of canals especially Mersey and Irwell Navigation, Douglas Navigation, Sankey Canal and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal built surveyed by James Brindley, the Bridgewater Canal reached via the Leeds and Liverpool and then the railways starting with the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, chief engineer George Stephenson, built, would contribute to the growth of the city. When Old Dock was completed in 1715 the tonnage of shipping into the port was 18,800. This grew to 29,100 in 1752 just before Salthouse Dock opened, and by the time George's Dock opened in 1771 it was 59,700. By 1800 the figure for shipping using the docks was around 400,000 tons. By 1825 1.2 million tons of goods were passing through the port. This ensured a continuing demand for new docks.The docks created during the Georgian period were: under Thomas Steers Dock Engineer : Canning Dock in 1737 as a dry dock open to the river. Built under Henry Berry during his tenure as Dock Engineer, some were designed by other engineers: Salthouse Dock opened 1753; George's Dock opened 1771; Duke's Dock opened 1773 probably designed by James Brindley; Manchester Dock designer unknown, opened 1785 as a tidal basin open to the river; King's Dock, opened 1785, this catered to the tobacco trade; Queen's Dock, opened 1785, used for the timber trade. Thomas Morris Dock Engineer during his tenure: Chester Basin opened 1795. John Foster Sr. Dock Engineer consultation involved in 1800 William Jessop and 1809 John Rennie the Elder, dock's built under him were: locks added to the Manchester Dock between 1810 and 1815 to make it a wet dock; Prince's Half-Tide Dock, opened 1810; Prince's Dock, opened 1821. Jesse Hartley dock engineer designed the following docks: Clarence Dock, opened 1830 specifically for the use of steamers; Canning Dock, originally opened 1737 as a dry dock and only became a full wet dock opened 1832 ; Brunswick Half Tide Dock, opened 1832; Brunswick Dock opened 1832 used for the timber trade; Waterloo Dock, opened 1834; Victoria Dock, opened 1836; Trafalgar Dock, opened 1836. The dominant force in Liverpool Architecture from the late 18th century to the 1830s was John Foster Sr. and John Foster Jr. many of their buildings have been demolished, see Demolished Georgian Buildings below for details.