Robs Heritage Blog

2009-11-27T15:14:00.000-08:00

Josephine Butler House

2009-05-13T17:46:00.000-07:00

Josephine Butler House in the process of destruction by the developers. Flogged by John Moores University, abandoned by Liverpool City Council

St John the Divine Victorian church spire saved

2008-12-15T14:55:00.000-08:00

St John the Divine spire saved by campaigners

Dec 11 2008 by David Bartlett, Liverpool Daily Post

St John the Divine in Fairfield

CAMPAIGNERS last night claimed a victory for people power after it was announced a threatened Victorian church spire in Fairfield, Liverpool, has been saved from demolition.

The church council of St John the Divine has agreed a deal which has rescued the spire of the church.

They agreed to sell the building to developers Huyton-based DDL90 at a much reduced cost, in return for an agreement that the spire will remain intact. It followed a concerted effort from local heritage campaigners, councillors, and the charity Save Britain’s Heritage, whose expert stonemasons proved the building had a financially viable future.

Last night, Jonathan Brown, of Merseyside Civic Society, said: “We regret the diocese had to be shamed by public outrage into doing the right thing, but congratulate them for eventually seeing the light. We are also very grateful to the Daily Post for its coverage of the story.”

Liverpool Diocese decided in June that the spire had to be knocked down because the structure might collapse and costs of repair were prohibitive.

The church won a special court case to allow it to demolish the spire in September, but only yesterday announced the deal to save it.

Last night, the city’s historic environment champion Cllr Berni Turner; Cllr Colin Eldridge, who campaigned to save the spire, and Fairfield’s Cllr Louise Baldock said they were delighted by the decision.

And the Venerable Ricky Panter, Archdeacon of Liverpool, said the case showed the dilemma facing many of the diocese’s churches. “On this occasion, the church council were able to agree a rescue package, but this isn’t always the case and sometimes difficult decisions have to be made”.

St John the Divine Victorian church spire saved

A THREATENED Victorian church spire has been saved from demolition following a last minute deal.

The church council of St John the Divine has agreed a deal which has rescued of the spire of church in Fairfield, Liverpool.

They agreed to sell the building to developers Huyton-based DDL90 at a much reduced cost in return for an agreement that the spire will remain intact.

The church council had been awarded a court judgement giving them permission to demolish the spire on health and safety grounds.

As the building does not meet listing requirements, the church was unable to get money from English Heritage.

The Venerable Ricky Panter, Archdeacon of Liverpool said: "While it is tremendous to have been able to have preserved the spire at St John’s this case shows the dilemma facing many of our churches.

"Very often they are caught between the heritage lobby calling for buildings to be preserved and the financial reality that there is no money to pay for the work to be done.

"On this occasion the church council were able to agree a rescue package however this is not always the case and sometimes difficult decisions have to be made".

"The Diocese of Liverpool is very conscious of the many fine church buildings that exist in the Diocese and works hard to help local vicars and congregations preserve these buildings."

"It would have been easy for them to demolish the church and sell the land, once they found out that the spire was unsafe and beyond their means to repair.

"We particularly owe a debt of thanks to Reverend Andrew Porter and his congregation at St John the Divine for finding the money to save the church and spire for posterity by reducing the sale price accordingly.

"It is a great day for Fairfield's heritage and a great way to end the 08 Culture year in our neighbourhood".

Daily Post 10/12/08

Quentin Hughes the Man who Saved the Albert Dock

2007-12-02T22:15:00.000-08:00

The Man Who Saved the Albert Dock

Professor James Quentin Hughes MC* OBE (1920 – 2004)

Soldier, Educator, Architect, Historian, Authority on Fortifications

Professor James Quentin Hughes was an only child and was born in Liverpool on the 28th February 1920 and educated at Rydal School in North Wales. In 1939 at the beginning of his university training as an architect at The Liverpool University School of Architecture he volunteered for Officer Training with the Royal Artillery. He was dispatched on the illustrious Force H convoy sent to relieve the beleaguered island of Malta, Jimmy ( as he liked to be called by his friends) Hughes, lived through the appalling bombardment. He organised the coastal battery defences and the training of the locally recruited Malta Regiment. In January 1944 with a party of five parachutists, under the command of Major Tony Widdrington, he took off from the American air base in Italy, on Operation Pomegranate. Their aim was to raid the airfield at San Egidio and destroy German reconnaissance aircraft prior to the forthcoming landings at Anzio.

As they neared the airfield the landing lights came on and four Junkers flew in. A fifth crashed and burst into flames, it was 10.30 pm before they were able to release their bombs. As they were defusing surplus bombs, one exploded, killing Widdrington. Hughes was temporarily blinded and concussed. After being taken to hospital he was interrogated and then placed in solitary confinement, after being told that he would probably be shot as a saboteur. Hughes had partly recovered, and although he was blind in one eye the Gestapo insisted that he must be handed over to be shot, but a German Staff Officer whom he had befriended in hospital, succeeded in getting him re-classified as a prisoner of war।

During his stay in hospital he met an American Army Air Force sergeant and a private in the Signal Corps and while outside Modena, on a train heading north, the three men climbed out of the windows and escaped. Hughes and his comrades headed for the Allied lines. At the end of March, helped by the local partisans, Hughes joined an escape party of 22 PoWs and headed for Fermo, near the Adriatic coast. Quentin was awarded an immediate MC for the raid. The citation stated that he and Widdrington had destroyed four Ju 88s, two Fieseler Storch aircraft and one Ju 52. Within a fortnight of learning of the award, he was told that he had been given a Bar to it for his escape. In July 1945 he was injured in a Jeep accident and had to retire from the Army।

1946 saw the completion of his undergraduate studies at Liverpool in Architecture, reading a second degree in Town Planning. He gained his PhD at Leeds University and was appointed to the teaching staff at the Liverpool School of Architecture. He was made Reader in Architecture in 1972. In 1955 he became a lecturer and later reader at the Liverpool School of Architecture. He was a well respected teacher, and many of his undergraduates will remember with affection his appearances in the Lecture Hall dressed in battle fatigues sporting a 9mm captured Luger modified as a cigarette lighter।

His time on Malta left a lasting impression and deep affection for the islands and the Maltese, which led to him writing of the definitive architectural histories of the Island. In 1968 he moved to Malta to set up The Royal University of Malta Department of Architecture at the invitation of the Maltese Government. He became its first Professor of Architecture and inspired a generation of architects. He received the Order of Merit of Malta in 2004. He is a founder member of the Fortress Study Group, and was editor of their journal "Fort". Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Society of Antiquaries. He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1999 for services to Architectural Conservation.

Quentin Hughes later in life became a conservation architect, earning him admiration and respect for his conservation and lobbying efforts from many grateful Merseysiders, who, to this day are able to admire the many important Liverpool buildings which he was instrumental in saving for future generations to appreciate।

He is the author of numerous books including:

"Seaport -Architecture and Town Planning in Liverpool"(1969),

“Military Fortress”: Architecture and Military History in Malta (1969)

"Strong as the Rock of Gibraltar" with Athanassios Migos (1995)

“Who Cares Who Wins” (1968) An account of his military adventures.

"The Building of Malta:1530-1795" (1956)

by Rob Ainsworth

The Liverpool Working Horse Monument

2007-12-02T22:05:00.000-08:00

The Liverpool Working Horse Monument

A Registered Charity

Appeal for donations

Please send donations no matter how small to:

Sharon Brown (Secretary of the Group)
Liverpool Carters Working Horse Monument Project,
P O Box 136,
Liverpool
L14 5WZ।

Or you can donate safely on line at the LWHMF वेबसाइट

http://lwhmf।tripod.com/

Liverpool Carters Monument Donations Welcomed

2007-12-02T21:14:00.000-08:00

The Liverpool Working Horse Monument

A Registered Charity

Appeal for Donations

An oppertunity to contibute towards heritage

The Liverpool Retired Carters' Association is campaigning to raise money for a monument to the working horse in Liverpool. The monument - a full size bronze statue of a working horse designed by renowned sculptor Judy Boyt - would be placed at Hartley's Quay, Albert Dock, Liverpool. It would commemorate the importance of the working horses to the economic development of the city. As part of the fundraising initiative a limited edition of 20 miniatures of the full-size statue, also cast in bronze, is available to purchase. The maquette stands about 18'"high and is an exact copy of the full-size statue, retailing at £8,000.

The first mini-statue was bought by Ms Lynette Beardwood whose family have strong carting connections. The second statue has been purchased by Lord Vestey, whose companies used numerous horses throughout the city to transport goods.

The Monument

The Liverpool Working Horse Monument 'Waiting' has been designed by renowned equine sculptor Judy Boyt in consultation with the members of the Retired Carter's Association। The horse will stand approximately 16 hands high (1।80m, 6'), cast in bronze, on a rectangular slate base। The base will have the outline of a wagon and two horses plus a potted history of the Liverpool working horse sandblasted into the surface।

The estimated total cost for the monument is now £120,000। To date through their own efforts the Carters have amassed a balance of over £76,000 has been raised.

Fundraising is ongoing and they have been designated as a charitable organisation. The location for the monument has yet to be confirmed। The Carters feel a position on the Albert Dock site i.e. Hartley Quay, would be appropriate as many of them trod the cobbles in this area during their working lives.

The Project

The proud history of the Carters and their horses was in danger of being lost, but the members of the Retired Carter's Association have kept their history alive by their determined efforts to get recognition for the Liverpool Working Horse. For more than 250 years horses were used to move goods to and from Liverpool docks and businesses। At their peak more than 20,000 horses worked on the streets of Liverpool, more than in any other city outside London.

During the Second World War the Liverpool Carter's and their horses maintained the vital link between the docks and the city, keeping food and raw materials moving during the most difficult of times। By the 1950s horsepower had been largely replaced by petrol-driven wagons which could move larger loads more quickly. It was the end of an era.

Cultural value to Liverpool

Judy Boyt is a renowned sculptor who has completed many important commissions। These include Rebellion commissioned by Standard Life in London for which Judy was awarded the Royal Society of British Sculptors medal in 1993. She won the British Sporting Art Trust Award 2001 for Evocation of Speed, sited in Epsom town centre and has produced bronzes of many racehorses including Golden Miller which is located at Cheltenham Racecourse.

To have a sculpture by such an eminent artist would be a fine addition to the impressive collection of statues in Liverpool।

Historical Importance

A guidebook to Liverpool in 1914 reported "It is the boast of Liverpool that the horses employed in the city's industry are the finest in the kingdom, and it is a boast to which it is scarcely possible to take exception."

It could be said that Liverpool was built on the back of horses and we believe that their important role in the city's history should be properly celebrated with a monument to their loyalty and service. There is huge public affection for the working horse evidenced by the response in terms of support and donations whenever any publicity for the monument appears।

The monument would be a popular addition to the cultural and historical heritage of Liverpool and to have it in place for the 2007 Charter celebrations and the European Capital of Culture year of 2008 would be a fitting tribute to both the Carters and their horses।

Further Information Liverpool Monuments BBC David Charters Article. Liverpool Monuments Judy Boyt Liverpool City Council Liverpool Heritage Forum National Museums Liverpool Scottie Press LWHMF Web Site or http://lwhmf.tripod.com

Please send donations no matter how small to:

Sharon Brown (Secretary of the Group)
Liverpool Carters Working Horse Monument Project,
P O Box 136,
Liverpool
L14 5WZ।

Or you can donate safely on line at the LWHMF वेबसाइट

http://lwhmf।tripod.com/

Many thanks for showing interest.Publish Post

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

2007-11-02T00:21:00.001-07:00

The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine was founded on 12 November 1898, by a donation from Sir Alfred Lewis Jones, a Liverpool Shipowner. The donation of £350 created the first school of its kind.
The school has made many contributions to tropical medicine especially in identifying the vector for malaria, for which Sir Ronald Ross won the first British Nobel Prize in 1902.

Today the school continues its work as a post-graduate school and is a registered charity affiliated to the University of Liverpool. In October 2005 Bill Gates donated £28million to the school which will more than double the size of the school.

Sir Andrew Barclay Walker

2007-11-02T00:19:00.000-07:00

1824 - १८९३

Brewer, Mayor of Liverpool ,Alderman and sponsor of the Walker Art

Sir Andrew Barclay Walker was a wealthy brewer born in Ayrshire who expanded the family business to England and moved to live in Gateacre, Liverpool. He presented an Art Gallery to Liverpool in 1877 to commemorate his term as Mayor donating £20,000 towards the costs. The Walker Art Gallery houses one of the largest art collections in England, outside of London. It is promoted as "the National Gallery of the North". Designed by local architects Cornelius Sherlock and H.H. Vale. In 1884 a new extension to the Walker Art Gallery was opened of which Walker paid the cost the rest of his donation paid for works of art. He also erected public houses of high architectural standards and gave generously to many charities.

He was born at Auchinflower, Ayrshire and was educated at Ayr Academy and at the Liverpool Institute. His father Peter Walker took him into partnership in the brewing business and he later established a brewery in Ray Street, Liverpool. This business was successfull and in 1846 Walker moved it to a new brewery in Warrington, where the family already had two others.

His first wife in 1853 was Eliza they had six sons and two daughters. Eliza died in 1882, and in 1887 Walker married Maude second daughter of Haughton Charles Okeover.

Walker owned a number of colliery properties in Ayrshire and South Wales were he earned a large income. In 1884 he bought Osmaston Manor, Derbyshire.

Walker resigned from his position as alderman on the city council in 1889 through ill health. In recognition of his service to the city, Liverpool made him its first honorary freeman in January 1890. He died at Gateacre Grange, Little Woolton, Lancashire, in 1893.

St George's Hall

2007-11-02T00:18:00.001-07:00

St George's Hall lies in the centre of Liverpool on Lime Street and presents an awesome first impression to visitors exiting from the nearby train station. The building was designed by Harvey Lonsdale Elmes and opened to the public in 1854, after having taken over ten years to complete. Its practical purpose was to act as hall, concert hall and law courts for the city, but it also served the role of being a supreme expression of confidence by a city that was newly flush with wealth and success and wished to announce this to the world.

Built in a neo classical style the hall has been described as the finest example of its type in the country by Prince Charles and the building is superbly decorated within. Marble pillars, fine mosiacs and enormous chandlers all abound. The structure is rightfully grade one listed.

Amongst other notable facts are that Charlies Dickens would often give readings here, and that the murder trial of Florence Maybrick, wife of supposed Jack the Ripper suspect James Maybrick, took place here - she was alleged to have poisoned him.

The hall today is owned by Liverpool Council and has recently undergone a multi-million pound refurbishment after having been mostly closed to the public for many years. Sadly it still remains closed the majority of the time. Though there is talk of changing this. The hall is sometimes open for trade shows and exibitions and if you happen to be in the city when one of these take place, you would do well to pay a visit inside.

St George's is truly one of the jewels in Liverpool's crown that helps set the place apart from your average provincial town or city.

The Beatles

2007-11-02T00:16:00.000-07:00

They continue to be held in the highest esteem for their artistic achievements, their huge commercial success, their groundbreaking role in the history of popular music, and their contributions to popular culture. Although their initial musical style was rooted in the sounds of 1950s Rock & Roll, the group explored a great variety of genres, ranging from Tin Pan Alley to psychedelic rock. The innovative music and style of John Lennon (1940–1980), Paul McCartney (1942—), George Harrison (1943–2001), and Ringo Starr (1940—) helped to define the 1960s.

The Beatles were the best-selling popular musical act of the 20th century. In the United Kingdom alone, they released more than 40 different singles, albums and EPs that reached number one. This commercial success was repeated in many other countries: EMI estimated that by 1985, the band had sold over one billion discs or tapes worldwide.[3] The RIAA has certified The Beatles as the top selling artists of all time in America based on US sales of singles and albums.[4]

The Beatles were a major force behind the so-called "British Invasion" of UK-based popular bands in the United States in the mid-1960s and they helped to pioneer more advanced, multi-layered arrangements in pop music. The Beatles' impact extended well beyond their music. Their clothes, hairstyles, and statements made them trend-setters from the 1960s to this day, while their growing social awareness – reflected in the development of their music – saw their influence extend into the social and cultural revolutions of the 1960s.

The Athenaeum Church Alley, Liverpool.

2007-11-02T00:14:00.000-07:00

The Athenaeum is a haven in the heart of Liverpool that offers a distinguished setting and an atmosphere unrivalled in the city of Liverpool. It was founded in 1797 to provide a meeting place where ideas and information could be exchanged in pleasant surroundings. Today, the Athenaeum continues to provide this facility in the elegant building erected in 1928 near the famous Bluecoat Chambers in Church Alley. In addition to its newsroom, the most splendid room of its kind in Liverpool, the Athenaeum has a justly renowned library, a very attractive dining room and a smaller meeting room. The Institution is normally open from 10am to 4pm each day. The premises are also open for occasional evening functions. There is no overnight accommodation but special rates can be obtained from nearby hotels.

The Athenaeum has a distinguished membership of proprietors drawn from every walk of life across the city of Liverpool and the North West of England. Early proprietors took a major part in the national movement to end slavery. Past proprietors have included Nobel Laureates. Today the proprietorship is drawn among others from those engaged in commerce, the church, the law, the city’s large academic community, public service and the armed forces.

The heart of the Athenaeum is its library, one of the greatest proprietary libraries in the United Kingdom. In 1848, Washington Irvine wrote in his sketchbook, "One of the first places to which a stranger is taken in Liverpool is the Athenaeum; it contains a good library and a spacious reading room and is the great literary resource of the place."

The "good library" of 1848 has grown considerably. Containing books, prints, maps and charts, it is one of the most important regional history resources in the country. Although the privileges of the Athenaeum are primarily reserved for its proprietors, arrangements can be made for researchers and others, if introduced by a proprietor, to make use of the library under conditions agreed by the committee.

The Athenaeum was founded on 22nd November 1797. For the twelve months following November 1997, proprietors have been attending a number of functions commemorating the splendid achievement of their 200 years of existence. Events will have included a banquet in the Town Hall, when the principal guest was the Lord Chief Justice of England. This was followed by a luncheon attended by the past and present Lord Mayors of the city of Liverpool, when the present Lord Mayor presented a scroll in recognition of the bicentenary. There will have been two lectures whose themes have shared a common thread of millennium issues, a concert and a final celebration luncheon honoured by the presence of His Royal Highness the Duke of York.

The Library

The heart of the Athenaeum is its famous library. The Reading Room has been called ‘one of the handsomest rooms in Europe’. It is frequently used as a film and television location. The library has some 60,000 items in stock in the reading room, on two floors and a glass floor. A further three bookcases stand in the newsroom and the committee room houses rare books and the Roscoe collection (see below). The library covers all subjects and is arranged Dewey order. The collection of books and pamphlets dealing with local matters is of great importance. It includes bequests made by notable antiquarians. There is also a good collection of local maps and charts. The library also houses a fine collection of drawings of Liverpool buildings made by James Brierley between 1828 and 1830 and also pencil sketches of eminent Liverpool personalities by Thomas Hargreaves, the pupil of Sir Thomas Lawrence.

There are no newspaper files. Archive material relates to the club only and not to Proprietors (except for a name index).

One of the most important parts of the library is the Roscoe Collection. William Roscoe was one of the founding proprietors. After his bankruptcy in 1815 and the forced sale of his library, his friends purchased certain volumes and presented them to the Athenaeum thereby ensuring that Roscoe had continued use of these books.

Questions by non-proprietors about the Athenaeum and in its area of interest – largely historical and now mainly local – may be answered at the discretion of the staff and the committee. No responsibility can be taken for the accuracy of replies. No genealogical research is carried out. Where appropriate, photocopies may be supplied at a cost of 15 pence per sheet. Search and access fees may be charged for the use of material owned by the library, additional to any copyright fees involved. All items will be despatched post free within Europe. Outside Europe, postage will be charged.

Proprietors

Of the many distinguished Proprietors it is perhaps unkind to mention only four. Nevertheless their service to Liverpool and their country marks them out as setting the standard to which all Proprietors may strive to achieve.

WILLIAM ROSCOE 1753-1831 MP, slavery abolitionist, botanist, historian, poet, lawyer.
"Liverpool`s Greatest Son"

WILLIAM H DUNCAN MD 1805-1863 Physician and first Medical Officer of Health in Britain

SIR RONALD ROSS 1857-1932 1902 Nobel Laureate in Medicine
First Nobel prize awarded for Medicine

SIR CHARLES SHERRINGTON 1857-1952 1932 Joint Nobel Laureate in Medicine with E D (later Lord) Adrian.

The Forgotten Gem Windleshaw Abbey St Helens

2007-11-02T00:12:00.000-07:00

The graveyard adjoining the St Helens borough cemetery known as Windleshaw Abbey is a hidden heritage gem. The vandalised Cemetery was a chantry, built almost six centuries ago by Sir Tomas Gerard of Bryn and dedicated to St Thomas of Canterbury, It was a place where Masses were said for the souls of his ancestors. It is of significant national and local historical importance of great antiquity, having been built in 1435.

This ancient place of worship, which should be a local treasure to the people of St Helens is unfortunately the haunt of vandals and drug users”. it is only a small cemetery originally measuring 50ft by 14ft, the tower is 36ft high and 12ft square and built of yellow sandstone,

Its closure was ordered under the Chantries Act of 1447 when Sir Thomas Gerard descendant of the founder pleaded in vain for its exemption under Edward VI. When Edward's sister, the Catholic Queen Mary, came to the throne six years later, there was a brief respite and Sir Tomas was made High Sheriff of Lancashire. His fortunes changed under Elizabeth and he was imprisoned in the Tower, charged with plotting to replace Elizabeth with Mary Queen of Scots.

Sir Thomas's son the Jesuit John Gerard was also sent to the Tower, having the distinction of being one of the few to escape from it. Despite having been tortured on the rack, he managed to climb down a rope from Cradle Tower to Tower Wharf and get away by boat.

From the early 1700's land around the chantry became a burial place for Catholics denied burial elsewhere. Many of the interments took place secretly at night. It is believed that Windleshaw chantry was partly demolished in 1644 at the time of the Civil War, when Lathom House nine miles away, was under siege by 3,000 troops under Cromwell's General Fairfax.".

Before the Windle estate passed out of the family's hands in the early 1900's, Dean Austin Powell of Birchley persuaded Lord Gerard to donate land as a site for a new school and church. Opened in 1911, the church was like the chantry, dedicated to St Thomas of Canterbury.

Newsham Park Bye Laws of 1871

2007-11-01T02:58:00.000-07:00

LIVERPOOL

A. BARCLAY WALKER,

MAYOR.

It is to be hoped that all Persons using this Park will, by example, and all other necessary means, assist the authorities in preserving decency of behaviour and good order and conformity to the above Regulations.

Liverpool Theartres

2007-11-01T02:54:00.000-07:00

Liverpool Playhouse

The Liverpool Playhouse is a theatre in Williamson Square in the city of Liverpool and is the oldest repertory theatre in England and is the Liverpool home of classic drama, from ancient to modern, presented with the highest production values. Following completion of its refurbishment in 2000, the Playhouse now has a new box office, bars and bistro as well as a glazed extension to enhance its facilities.

Although parts of the Grade II listed building date back to 1844, the main theatre was built in 1866 when it was the Star Music Hall. It was the home to Liverpool Repertory Theatre Company, which was established in 1911, and disbanded in 1999. During the Second World War it was home to the Old Vic who decamped, perhaps unwisely, to what was to be Britain’s second most bombarded city. The theatre was briefly closed in the late nineties, but has now reopened and has become the venue for numerous acclaimed new productions of old plays, in contrast to its sister theatre, the Everyman Theatre, which has focused on new works.

The Playhouse’s acting roster was among the finest in the country – including Sir Ian McKellen, Robert Donat, Michael Redgrave, Rachel Kempson, Alex Atkinson John Thaw, Anthony Hopkins and many, many more – and the rich variety of the repertory programme formed many generations of committed theatregoers. It was here that Noel Coward first worked with Gertrude Lawrence. The latter part of the twentieth century featured many high points, perhaps the most notorious being the tenure of the Gang of Four – Alan Bleasdale, Chris Bond, Bill Morrison and Willy Russell – a brief but dazzlingly creative period which spawned, among many others, Russell’s international smash hit, Blood Brothers.

Everyman

Founded in 1964 in the appropriately named Hope Hall prevoiusly a chapel, then a cinema, in an area of Liverpool noted for its bohemian environment and political edge, the Everyman quickly built a reputation for ground-breaking work. A succession of directors, exciting writers, and bold young acting companies kept the theatrical flame alive for decades, and the Everyman was the crucible for an astonishing range of theatrical talent. Julie Walters, Bernard Hill, Antony Sher, Bill Nighy, Alan Bleasdale, Willy Russell, Barbara Dickson, Matthew Kelly, Cathy Tyson, David Morrissey, several McGanns and the Liverpool Poets all considered the Everyman a formative home in their early years. The theatre has played host to many famous acts including, amongst others Steve Coogan,, Lenny Henry, Kate O'Mara, Jenny Seagrove and Jenny Agutter.

Since January 2004, the Everyman has been a producing theatre once again, and the cornerstone of its programme is the living writer. Whether it is the debut of a new Liverpool playwright, a new version of a world classic, or the British première of a major international play, the warmth and dynamism of the Everyman space embraces each of the stories that traverse its stage.

The Neptune

The Crane Brothers' music store had been trading for several years when they opened the music hall above their store on Hanover Street in central Liverpool. Over the first few years, many amateur drama groups staged productions there, thus leading to its renaming as the Crane Theatre in 1938.Originally opened in 1913 as Crane's Music Hall, the Neptune Theatre is a Grade II listed building, with many of the original features. The Theatre is located in the heart of the new Grosvenor project on the second floor of Hanover House Building, Hanover Street Liverpool. The theatre is a proscenium arch type stage, has superb acoustics for music shows and has 398 seats arranged on two levels.

Little changed over the next twenty years, until in 1960 a bar was opened in the theatre's box office area. However, the theatre was threatened with closure in 1966. In 1967 the theatre was brought from the Cranes by Liverpool Corporation, who decided that the theatre should be run by local people for local people. To reflect the city's maritime history the name of the theatre was changed again, this time to the Neptune Theatre, after Neptune, the Roman god of the seas and central character in Marc Lescarbot's "Theatre of Neptune in New France" (Canada's first European play, written and performed in 1606).

The Neptune Theatre closed in June 2005 to complete the refurbishment programme that will see the theatre restored to its former glory, it is currently estimated that the theatre will reopen September 2007. A newly established Friends of the Neptune Theatre has been established.

The theatre was dedicated to the memory of Beatles manager Brian Epstein by the city council in 1997, for his contributions to the city's cultural and musical scene although he had nothing to do with the Neptune. Local artist Tony Brown offered a portrait of Epstein on permanent loan to the theatre in 1999 and this now hangs in the bar.

Galkoff`s Kosher Butchers Shop

2007-11-01T02:53:00.000-07:00

Galkoff`s Kosher Butchers shop situated at Pembroke Place, in Liverpool city centre and is the last surviving property that reflect the London Road area and Liverpool's historic Jewish and émigré links that have existed for nearly 300 years. The property has been under threat of demolition for more than a decade. There have been three previous attempts by local development agencies to compulsory purchase the property for demolition. Liverpool Vision the current development agency are currently (September 2006) attempting to encourage Liverpool city council to again compulsory purchase the building

John Stubbs & Sons Marble Company of Crown Street, Liverpool , supplied the three inch thick white carrera marble butchers and display slabs, the company also supplied the marble fitted in some of the great ships and transatlantic liners of the White Star Cunard Liners to name only a few. They also provided much of the finishing and monuments of the Mersey Road Tunnel, Queensway.

Web site link http://galkoffs.tripod.com/

Contact email : galkoff@btinternet.com

Edward Fitzmaurice Chambré Hardman

2007-11-01T02:51:00.000-07:00

1898-1982
Photographer.

He was born in Fox Rock, County Dublin, the son of a keen amateur photographer. By the age of fourteen he had entered and won several photographic competitions in magazines, including “Amateur Photographer” and “Photographer and Focus”.

Following family tradition, Hardman served in the army in India and here took some of his earliest soft-focus, painting-style pictures. It was during this time that he met and became good friends with Captain Burrell who became his business partner on their return to England. Together they set up the portrait business, on Bold street in Liverpool, Burrell’s home town.

As time went on Burrell and Hardman became the fashionable choice for portrait photography. This reputation resulted in Hardman being commissioned by the Playhouse Theatre in Liverpooll to photograph the up and coming stars of the time. Ivor Novello, Robert Donat, Michael Redgrave, and Patricia Routledge are just a few names that feature in the business records.

Landscapes had always been Hardman’s passion, and the images within these pages reflect his ‘pictorialist’ approach to his work, be it portrait, building, or landscape. Hardman would carefully compose his subject, making the best use of light and arrangement, but would not hesitate to improve the image back in the darkroom;

The portrait business prospered, and in 1948, the Hardmans moved to 59, Rodney Street, where they lived and worked together for the rest of their lives. Hardman officially retired as a professional photographer in 1966, although he continued to take photographs and exhibit his pictures. He was an honoured member of the Royal Photographic Society, and a respected member of the London Salon.

The National Trust owns his house in Rodney Street in Liverpool and exhibits a selection of his photographs there.

Professor James Quentin Hughes

2007-11-01T02:44:00.000-07:00

Professor James Quentin Hughes

Soldier, Educator, Architect, Historian, Authority on Fortifications

Professor James Quentin Hughes

Soldier, Educator, Architect, Historian, Authority on Fortifications

Professor James Quentin Hughes the only child of a vicar of the Church in Wales was born in Liverpool on February 28 1920. Quentin was educated at Rydal School. in 1939 at the beginning of his university training as an architect at The Liverpool University School of Architecture he volunteered for Officer Training with the Royal Artillery. Dispatched on the illustrious Force H convoy sent to relieve the beleaguered island of Malta, Jimmy Hughes lived through the appalling bombardment. He organised the coastal battery defences and the training of the locally recruited Malta Regiment. In January 1944 with a party of five parachutists under the command of Major Tony Widdrington he took off from the American air base in Italy, on Operation Pomegranate. Their aim was to raid the airfield at San Egidio and destroy German reconnaissance aircraft prior to the forthcoming landings at Anzio.

As they neared the airfield's the landing lights came on and four Junkers flew in. A fifth crashed and burst into flames, it was 10.30 pm before they were able to plant their bombs. As they were defusing surplus bombs, one exploded, killing Widdrington. Hughes was temporarily blinded and concussed. After being taken to hospital he was interrogated then placed in solitary confinement after being told that he would probably be shot as a saboteur. Hughes had partly recovered, although he was blind in one eye the Gestapo insisted that he must be handed over to be shot. But a German staff officer whom he had befriended in hospital succeeded in getting him re-classified as a prisoner of war.

1946 saw the completion of his undergraduate studies at Liverpool in Architecture, reading a second degree in Town Planning. He gain his PhD at Leeds University and was appointed to the teaching staff at the Liverpool School of Architecture and he was made Reader in Architecture in 1972. In 1955 he became a lecturer and later reader at the Liverpool School of Architecture. He was a well-respected teacher, and many of his undergraduates will remember with affection his appearances in the Lecture hall dressed in battle fatigues sporting a 9mm captured Luger modified as a cigarette lighter.

His time on Malta left a lasting impression and deep affection for the islands and the Maltese, which led to him writing of the definitive architectural histories of the Island. In 1968 he moved to Malta to set up a The Royal University of Malta Department of Architecture at the invitation of the Maltese Government. He became its first Professor of Architecture and inspired a generation of architects. He received the Order of Merit of Malta in 2004. He is a founder member of the Fortress Study Group, and was editor of their journal "Fort". Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Society of Antiquaries. He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1999 for services to Architectural Conservation.

Quentin Hughes later in life became a conservation architect earning admiration and respect for his conservation and lobbying efforts from many grateful Merseysiders who are able to admire the important Liverpool buildings he was instrumental in saving for future generations to appreciate..

He is the author of numerous books, including

“Malta wartime pictures” Water colours painted during the battle of Malta
"Seaport -Architecture and Town Planning in Liverpool"(1969),
“Military Fortress”: Architecture and Military History in Malta (1969)
"Strong as the Rock of Gibraltar" with Athanassios Migos (1995)
“Who Cares Who Wins” (1968), an account of his military adventures.
"The Building of Malta:1530-1795" (1956)

( Robert Ainsworth)

St Helens

2007-03-14T00:52:00.000-07:00

St.Helens is an old industrial centre lying to the edge of the urban sprawl of Merseyside.

In the 18th century the town gained a reputation for its production of glass, as is demonstrated by the large Pilkington Glass Museum which displays both English and Continental examples of this centuries old craft. The museum houses some of the finest glass in the world, and traces its history from the Egyptians to the present day.