May 30
I’ve been very excited about this for a little while, and though it may be just me who thinks this is cool, I’m pleased to announce the launch of the all-new, polished-and-improved, shiny-swishy Historic Liverpool!
And that’s why I’ve been neglecting this blog for several weeks now. Read more
Dec 28
Liverpool Waterfront, by Ade Bond via Flickr
It’s the end of 2010. It’s been an… interesting year politically – a coalition government for the first time in my lifetime; frequent use of the word ‘swingeing’ in many and varied ways; the Conservation Centre is shutting its doors to the public; and snow is keeping you indoors reading this.
But what else has happened this year? Anything to warm our annual nostalgia cockles?
2010 started on an optimistic note – it was the World Museum’s 250th anniversary, though this was somewhat overshadowed with the closure of the Conservation Centre.
February saw start of the excellent Streets of Liverpool blog. Later in February the keys were handed over for the new Museum of Liverpool, although controversy rose its ugly head later in the year when a historic view was shown to have been blocked.
March and April went by in a blur (oh yes, probably because I got married) and when things recovered the election was fast approaching. At the same time Lewis’s was heading for closure as everyone felt the pinch of recession.
In July the first object – a carriage from the Overhead Railway – moved into the museum, but at the same time the North West Development Agency closed its doors. Another funding source for culture had disappeared.
The Peel Waters project cropped up again and again in 2010. English Heritage expressed concerns about the effect of the new buildings on the World Heritage Site, while in later months Council Leader Joe Anderson reacted angrily to what he saw as EH’s interference with Liverpool’s development and future prospects. Meanwhile we were spoiled for heritage and arts projects, including: Edge Hill station being turned into an arts venue, Heritage Open Days bringing people into Liverpool’s historic water supply, the funding of conservation for 95,000 aerial photographs of England as well as Visible in Stone – women’s history and the built environment and in October Black History Month. Finally, Historic Liverpool underwent a bit of a redesign, although it’s far from a finished project. Here’s to another year of additions to that!
Phew! Liverpool and its heritage have had their ups and downs this year. We’ve celebrated the old, welcomed in the new (mostly) and commemorated the highs and lows of Liverpool’s past and imminent future.
Any predictions for the coming 12 months? Or is that an impossible task? And as for 2011, what kind of posts would you like to see here? More about researching Liverpool local history? Should I keep to the news and concentrate the history on Historic Liverpool? Or something completely different?
Oct 26
Quite a short one for you today. I’ve just completed the Historic Liverpool page on the history of Croxteth Park.
The township of Croxteth Park naturally includes most of the park itself, but funnily enough not Croxteth Hall itself. This is still a very wooded area today, and originally was part of the vast hunting forest which stretched from Toxteth to Simonswood. This meant that the area didn’t get built on for hundreds of years, and only really saw development in the 1980s when the estates of Coachman’s Drive and Fir Tree Avenue appeared.
Before then the nearest development was in Gillmoss, which grew from a tiny collection of cottages and farm buildings into a classic example of post-war large scale development.
Even now, Croxteth Park sits on the edge of Liverpool, and remains a ‘green lung’ for anyone in the city to enjoy.
Sep 21
Historic Liverpool with its new Drupal theme
Just thought I’d write a short note to let you know that the appearance of Historic Liverpool has changed!
I’ve changed the colour scheme – the Drupal Theme for those web developers out there – because there were some issues with the last one. I’ve still got to do a bit of tweaking to make sure my particular content fits the new clothes. It’s mostly the same, however, so all the menus and text haven’t changed.
I’d like to know what you think. It feels a bit more professional than the last one, and I really like the way it looks, but the most important opinions are those of the people who use it, so do let me know what you think.
May 13
Bootle village in 1851, from the Ordnance Survey 1st Edition
I’ve put the finishing touches to the History of Bootle page today (minus a couple of tweaks here and there). I’m planning on concentrating more on Historic Liverpool over the coming weeks, after being more involved in other projects over the past weeks.
So, if you know anything about Bootle, or there are other pages you want to see on the Historic Liverpool site, drop me a line or fill in the comments form!
Historic Liverpool is all about the historic landscape of Liverpool, rather than the history. So while there are thousands of merry men and women who’ve appeared in the annals of the city over the years, I’ll be concentrating on the built environment – how the city has changed over the years. So I’ll be most interested in comments about buildings – farms, offices, libraries, churches – and landscape features – lakes, ponds, forests, streams, dams – and things like roads and railways. If, of course, you know of great people who’ve shaped the city and its suburbs, and who deserve a place on the site, please do mention them in the comments – I won’t delete anything unless it’s spam!
Bootle’s one of the areas that’s changed the most – from a tiny village (albeit with its own waterworks) through being a seaside resort(!) to an industrial landscape and the modern area of Liverpool it is today.
I’ll be moving on to Childwall next, so if there’s something you’ve been dying to tell about that part of south Liverpool drop me an email or comment. Or if there’s some other part of Liverpool’s history you’d be more interested in finding out about, give me a shout and I’ll do that instead.
I look forward to hearing from you! (Don’t all shout at once…)
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