Central Liverpool

This book of photographs not only depicts the cosmopolitan face of Liverpool but also traces the many changes that Liverpudlians have experienced over the last century. This isn't just a story based around grand buildings, it's about the ordinary people of the city as well. These people, with their indomitable spirit, have made Liverpool great and will make it great again. Liverpool began as a sub-manor attached to the Manor of West Derby and did not rate a mention in the Domesday Book. The town developed slowly. At the time of the Restoration there were only seven main streets and the first regular coach service between Liverpool and London only started in 1760. It was the development of the dock system that changed the character of Liverpool. In 1709 the nation's first purpose-built dock was opened and expansion soon followed as trade developed and in 1824, Jesse Hartley was appointed as Dock Engineer. His achievements were prodigious and during the next thirty-six years he created more than 140 acres of wet docks including the Albert Dock, which, opened in 1845, was arguably his greatest feat. By 1927 Liverpool possessed the most comprehensive system of docks in the world, stretching for more than seven miles along the waterfront. They were of such strategic importance that during the Second World War they attracted the most devastating bombing campaigns. The city later embarked on a redevelopment programme on a scale that was unprecedented. The photographs used to assemble this collection come from many sources, including the Liverpool Central Library, and dramatically illustrate the nature and character of changes in the city.