Liverpool Miscellany.

I have been dashing about backwards and forwards between home and the boat in Liverpool, so soory for the lack of a blog. The following are just a few photos of our walking journeys around the town.

Not far from Albert Dock is Castle Street, close to where there used to be a castle (parts of which were used to build the first dock as seen in a previous blog). It is on the way to the Town Hall. This is the British and Foreign Marine Insurance Co. Ltd. building that was designed by G.E. Grayson and was completed in 1889. It is Grade II Listed. The most outstanding feature is perhaps the Venetian Mosaic that were installed by Antonio Salviati. He started his first workshop in 1859 on the island of Murano in the Venice lagoon. It is still there. The top picture is fairly badly damaged but you can easily make out the nautical theme. You can also just about make out the signature bottom right of Frank Murray 1889, the designer. The Salviati company had already installed around 50 mosaics in churches in England and Wales.

This is a building with bling. It was built for the Adelphi Bank with terracotta ground floor. There are statues in niches in the second floor. To the left of the corner is a statue of a girl with a bird on her should and a mother with a child at her breast. On this side are a girl with a ships rudder, a figure of bling justice and a night in armour. There are many cherubs around etc. Unfortunately you can't see the original bronze door that are heavily embossed with pairs of figures, David/Jonathon, Castor/Pollux, Achilles/Patroclus, Roland /Oliver and Thomas. Adelphi apparently means brothers or siblings. It was done by Thomas Stirling lee in 1892.

This old brick building seems quite lost in among the brand new glass and steel new buildings on Mann Island. It is all that is left of the pumping station that kept the Mersey rail tunnel dry. It also was ventilation for the smoke from the steam powered trains. When it was built in 1882 the Mersey rail tunnel was the longest undersea tunnel in the world. In the dock near here in 1974 I sat my Efficient Deck Hand Certificate and Lifeboatman's Certificate.

 50 years after the Beatles played their last gig in Liverpool the Cavern Club donated this 1.2 tonne statue of the 'Fab Four'. It was unveiled in 2015 and was by Andrew Edwards.

I always find the Merchant Navy Memorial to the lost in war moving. It is a shock to find that it wasn't erected until 1998. There was a greater portion of Merchant Seamen lost in WWII than any other service. 

This is craved on the opposite side. There are several other memorials to seamen of other nations that were lost in wars too.

On the west bank, Birkenhead side, of the Mersey was the dazzle Ferry 'Snowdrop' that was painted like this in honour of the dazzle painted vessels of WWI. The design was made by Sir Peter Blake in honour of the First World War Commemorations.

Close by the Merchant Navy Memorial is this much larger one that was dedicated to those men of the Merchant Navy that were working with the Royal Navy Auxillary service. Nearly 13,000 served in this force in vessels like Auxiliary Cruisers. 1400 of them were lost. It was unveiled in 1952.