How We Built Britain - Liverpool

Liverpool is a World Heritage Site. The city continues its battle between old and new, traditional and modern. This film explores plans for a Fourth Grace.

Liverpool is a World Heritage Site - something the people of Liverpool are very proud of. A city of cultural icons there is now a battle between the diverse styles - old and the new, traditional and modern.

This film on the Fourth Grace is presented by Lloyd Grossman, Liverpool's adopted son. Lloyd was influential in promoting the city to win the European Capital of Culture bid . He is, and has, been involved with numerous cultural boards there. He is passionate about Liverpool and is a highly regarded familiar figure on Merseyside as well as on TV.

You can see the full programme on BBC One at 10.35pm on Monday, 18 June, 2007.

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I watched it, thought it was pretty good.

I thought that it was rubbish, in fact a typical bbc nothing said programme.

Lots of missed opportunities of great photos like the met cathedral entrance.
There was nothing positive that came out of that that the rest of the country would say, "yes, I,d like to go and see that" except the short quip about the met cathedral. and the show was about the flippin, shops. "Is Liverpool ready for this," It won,t be with shows like this

Unfortunately, I never could stand listening to Loyd Grossman's accent, but quite enjoyed the programme.
Doesn't everybody know the Mersey Tunnel opened in 1934, not 1933!

I know yeah, 1933 was famous of course for Dixie Dean's Everton winning the F.A. Cup 3 - 0 against Man city at Wembley, the first time numbers were worn on the back - EFC were 1-11 making Dixie also Englands first No.9, City wore 12-22. They then paraded around the city on a horse drawn carriage with the cup to hundreds of thousands at St. George's plateau.

Liverpool in the foreign media thread has a good write up about us in Oz.

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Originally Posted by PhilipG

Doesn't everybody know the Mersey Tunnel opened in 1934, not 1933!

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Thanks Phil, I always thought it opened in 1933 with the official opening in 1934. It is a popular misconception with even songs using the 1933 date. Example;
'We dug the Mersey Tunnel boys
Way back in thirty three
Dug an 'ole in the ground
Until we found
An 'ole called Wallasey' etc.

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Originally Posted by Sloyne

Thanks Phil, I always thought it opened in 1933 with the official opening in 1934. It is apopular misconception with even songs using the 1933 date. Example;
'We dug the Mersey Tunnel boys
Way back in thirty three
Dug an 'ole in the ground
Until we found
An 'ole called Wallasey' etc.

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It was officially opened in July 1934, but now you've got me wondering when it was first opened to the public.
King George V opened it and he also opened Walton Hall Park and the new library in Birkenhead on the same day, so if either of those took longer to finish than the tunnel, Loyd Grossman could be right.
The digging was actually started in 1925.

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Originally Posted by PhilipG

It was officially opened in July 1934, but now you've got me wondering when it was first opened to the public.

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The same could happen with the new cruise liner berth which will have received vessels before the official opening. (Hopefully):)

That song could still be right though because they were still digging in 33, besides 34 doesn't rhyme with Wallasey :unibrow:

The tunnel was declared opened when the first vehicle entered the tunnel on 17, December 1933. The official opening was on 18, July 1934. This information was gleaned from the following web site. http://www.tunnelusers.org.uk/history.htm

What a fantastic resource this internet is.:)

The first bit seemed to be an exercise in how many times they could use the same shots of FACT and the Tea Factory and I was getting ready to throw things at the telly but it did turn into a less irritating and more interesting programme after that.

that woman annoyed me when she was saying that the new beetham added nothing to the skyline

After watching the programme, who can argue that the b.b.c. isn,t dumbing down British t.v. specially in the regions.

The programme spoke about Manchester as a good example of regeneration, but anyone who visits the city, will discover a place that says YES to every developement, and the result- one of the ugliest citys in Europe.

This true monster of modern Britain is a city of high unemployment, high crime, and a falling population. We are told that this redevelopement is fantastic, but there is only one thing going for Manchester, and that is shopping. So what...

Liverpool is so much more, shop if you want to, but the museums, art galleries, and just walking along the riverfront, are what makes our city the capital of the north.

Lloyd Grossman failled to point out that when Liverpool does develope, the result is some of the best architecture in Britain, and not the throw up that we see in London, for example.

Yes, I think there is much to be said for the slow developement that we all criticise Liverpool for. We can learn from the mistakes other cities have made
and do better.

Liverpool is the best example of a modern British city.

Did anyone hear windows xp sounds over the latter half of the programme; clicks and chimes? BBC Northwest production is terrible!

yeah, we heard it.

Thank God. Thought I was hearing things (again)... Ha ha. Rushed production or what?!

I thought my son was messing with our computer !! ha!

I quite enjoyed it (except for Lloyds accent and I guess he can't help that. The guy who planned to build the 4th Grace made me laugh - what a big head. He reckoned it didn't get built because we didn't really think we were worthy of it! And as for his assertion that Liverpool and Manchester are really just one city........

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Originally Posted by julieoapw

The guy who planned to build the 4th Grace made me laugh - what a big head......

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His name is Will Alsop and he is one of the worlds top and, most sought after, architects.

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Originally Posted by Sloyne

His name is Will Alsop and he is one of the worlds top and, most sought after, architects.

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Or so he would like us to think!

Without Googling can anybody name a building he's famous for, apart from that awful 'cloud'?

I go along with you there Phil. Such a great architect would have had a plan for an interior design and usage. I think he was just looking for a guinea pig to try out a costly escalating, radical design but not on our World Heritage site please. I see no other city has jumped in saying they'll have it instead and that says more about it than anything else.