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“Your heart could sink on realising how little information remains – there aren’t even any buildings from that time in the town centre. None of the city views go back that far.
“But you use your reason instead. In a painting of Carrickfergus harbour, in Ireland, there are ships anchored which must have come from either Liverpool or Chester, so there is an insight into the kinds of vessels owned by Liverpool merchants.
“Previous researchers concentrated on the big Tudor cities like Bristol, London and York and it occurred to me that not many little places had much attention paid to them.
“Luckily, you can piece together the human picture through probate records which begin to provide details of some individuals, their possessions and their occupations.
“The personal records and deeds, like those compiled by the More and Molyneux families, mean that the gentry influence and interests in the town can be seen more clearly.
“The dominant family was the Stanleys, headed by the Earl of Derby, whose archive is now at Preston. Other archives are at Liverpool and Sefton. However, there was not the great array of rich merchant families as in Tudor Exeter or Bristol.”
The Derby’s Liverpool residence was the Tower, on the Strand by Our Lady & St Nicholas’ Church, which was yet to be built.
The parish church’s Chapel Street site was occupied by the chapels of St Mary del Quay and St Nicholas. Instead of traffic, their walls were lapped by the river.
Archives for Crown possessions held by the Duchy of Lancaster are in London. Janet’s hunt for documentation included the British Library and Spain.
As the attempted invasion by the Spanish Armada wrecked Liverpool’s fledgling trade to its ports, Liverpool merchants tried to get round embargoes by importing from Spain via Ireland.
Having specialised in teaching 16th century history and studied numerous historic records through long term membership of the Lancashire and Cheshire Historic Society, Janet had much information at hand.
“The style of economy, trade and shipping activities in the town are quite well documented. The local marketing arrangements and range of occupations are evident,” she says.
“They reveal the town’s society with its merchants, craftsmen, ship owners, retailers, farmers, labourers and servants.
“The one really old landmark of more than local importance was the castle, but by the time of Queen Elizabeth I, it was in ruins and later pulled down.
“Given the predominance now of 19th century buildings, the castle would have given a focal point to the city and created a rather different identity.
“While Tudor Liverpool was not the most prosperous port in the country, it wasn’t one of the worst either. The climate was mildish, grain could be grown, the river fished and cheeses bought from south Lancashire.
“Because Liverpool was small, this meant that few of its population escaped the attention and recording by local tax officials. Even if the citizens didn’t appreciate their attention, historians do.”
LIVERPOOL in the 16th Century – A Small Tudor Town, by Janet Hollinshead, Carnegie Publishing, £11.99
Source:
Liverpool Daily Post
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