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Posts from the ‘News’ Category

Jan 7

Buildings linked with Slave Trade Highlighted

The old Martin’s Bank, and a warehouse in Parr Street are two of the many buildings and landmarks in Liverpool linked to the trade in enslaved Africans. This connection has been highlighted by the government to commemorate two centuries since the trade’s abolition. Margaret Hodge, Culture Minister, and Simon Thurley, chief executive of English Heritage, both commented. There’s a full report by the Liverpool Echo.

Nov 8

Cathedral is one of Britain’s Best; Museum of Slavery

Continuing this series of catch-up stories, I thought I’d mention the recent UKTV History channel’s competition to find Britain’s favourite historic site. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Briton’s were most proud of the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge. In second place, however, was HMS Victory, which I think surprised a lot of people. In third place, however, was our very own Anglican Cathedral! A triumph of the 22 year old Giles Gilbert Scott, it took from 1902 until 1978 for the Cathedral to go from inception to completion. The architect is buried under the bell tower.

The August edition of the Museums Journal contains an interview with Richard Benjamin, the head of the recently opened International Slavery Museum. Although having no curatorial experience when he took on the role, Benjamin
has a bachelor’s degree in urban policy, community and race relations, and studied for a PhD on the archaeology of the African diaspora. Having spent his entire career giving access to education to ‘non-traditional’ groups, he is well qualified to “challenge the bigots, and to give people of African descent a sense of empowerment, by giving them information on African achievement and historical knowledge.”

Nov 7

A new exhibition, and Liverpool in ludicrous law levity!

Photographs of the houses of Liverpool’s and Wirral’s rich, as well as professional decorators and architects, are on display at Sudley Art Gallery, Mossley Hill Road, Aigburgh, until early 2008. The majority were taken by Harry Bedford Lemere, who was often drawn to the city during its time as the second port of the Empire. The exhibition has been arranged in partnership with English Heritage’s National Monuments Record, which holds a large collection of Bedford Lemere’s work. Many of the images, plus more from the Bedford Lemere Collection, can be found on English Heritage’s Viewfinder website. Follow this link to go straight to his photographs of Liverpool.

Liverpool was in the news yesterday for all the right reasons: it is home to the 3rd most ludicrous law in the UK. In the great city, it is illegal to be topless in public, unless (of course!) you are a clerk in a tropical fish shop. Dying in the Houses of Parliament, and using a postage stamp upside down are also illegal, and voted more ludicrous than the Liverpool law.

Oct 28

Introducing the all new Liverpool Landscapes Blog!

Liverpool is often in the media these days, what with the Capital of Culture events of next year, and the many exciting and controversial developments in the World Heritage Site and beyond. This blog will keep you abreast of the handful of articles I come across. Feel free to add more in the Comments section.

To get going, here are a few of the pieces I’ve found in the last few months:-

  • With Liverpool facing up to its placement at the Old Kent Road end of a hypothetical Monopoly board of Britain, the Guardian dedicates one of its ‘In praise of…’ columns to the city. The snub was “shrugged off with the humour for which it is famed”, with the council saying the manufacturers should be given a Go to Jail card. Still, Newcastle and Edinburgh failed to make the board at all.
  • River of Life: a large feature in the Guardian Society section tells of David Ward’s journey to find the source of the River Goyt, a Mersey tributary, and a walk along quite a length of the Mersey itself. As well as the oft-celebrated salmon, cod are regularly caught by local fishermen as far upstream as Otterspool; the only reason they’ve not been found further up being that “we haven’t fished there”. Porpoises, grey seals and an octopus – predators – have followed in the fishes’ wake. (Ward’s book Mersey: the River that Changed the World will be published on December 6th by Bluecoat Press)
  • Guardian National news: under a photograph of the Pier Head, including the proposed Mann Island development, an article outlining the huge events programme lined up for next year. Highlights naturally include Paul and Ringo, and the public face of the Culture year, Phil Redmond. A city-wide public arts programme, similar to the Biennial and events covering Bill Shankly, Mersey music and ‘North-West Side Story’ are also highlighted.
  • Finally, on October 25th, the Financial Times contained a whole supplement dedicated to the business potential of the whole region, entitled Doing Business in Liverpool and the North West. I haven’t had a chance to look at this in detail, but unsurprisingly it concentrates on the relevant interests of the FT’s readership, and is also overwhelmingly optimistic. More on this soon.

Well, I hope this gives you a taste of what the blog will bring. No doubt there will be plenty to report on in the next 18 months, and hopefully beyond. As it stands, nothing is off topic at the moment, so if you want to contribute, feel free to get in touch. Thanks for reading!

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