Colin, congratulations on your centennial post. And what an image to reward us all with. Your blog is eagerly followed by many members here on Yo, including myself, and we'd like to say we all really appreciate your efforts in putting the blog together.
div>
St. George's Hall - the first thing that struck me about the photo was the date. I'm so used to seeing 1854, as the date of the Hall's opening, which followed 100 years after John Wood's exchange building [current Town Hall] was built in 1754. But to see an image, 3 years earlier, is really amazing. It's essentially a construction photo.
Some observations:
1. All the statue pedestals are empty.
2. There's an 'A' frame contruction crane visible on the roof.
3. Lime Street station was open and had been receiving visitors since 1836, some 15 years earlier.
4. At the time of this photograph 'William Brown Street' didn't exist. The progress of the new Hall would've been viewed from 'Shaw's Brow'.
5. The census population for Liverpool in 1851 was 376,000
6. In 1851, a boy born in inner Liverpool had a life expectancy of only 26 years, compared with a boy born in the small market town of Okehampton, who could expect to live to 57
Bookmarks