Listen to May Duke talk about her working class Liverpool
childhood. (Source: Recording courtesy of the North
West Sound Archive, recorded 1986)
Click "play".
How Liverpool grew
In 1207 King John signed and sealed a charter, for Liverpool,
which effectively founded the city of Liverpool. This is the
text:
John, by the grace of God, King of England, Lord of Ireland,
Duke of Normandy and Acquitaine, Count of Anjou, to all his
faithful people who may have desired to have burgages in Liverpool,
greeting. Know ye that we have granted to all our faithful
people who may have taken burgages in Liverpool that they
may have in the township of Liverpool all the liberties and
free customs which any free borough upon the sea has in our
land. And therefore we command you that securely and in our
peace you come there to receive and inhabit our burgages.
And in witness thereof we transmit to you these our Letters
Patent.
The charter encouraged people to come and settle in
Liverpool. Each person would be given their own plot
of land or 'burgage' and they had to pay rent of 1s
(5p) a year. They could build a house and were able
to pass the land on to their sons. The original settlement
was situated on a sandstone ridge about 50 feet high
between the River Mersey and a tidal creek named The
Pool. By 1235 a small castle, a watermill, a windmill,
a courthouse and a few stone houses had been built,
on a small grid of streets. Although there are no traces
of medieval buildings in Liverpool today, the plan of
these streets has survived in the area around Castle
Street, Dale Street, Tithebarn Street and Chapel Street.
A map of Liverpool from about 1670
Map of Liverpool from 1725
The first detailed plan of Liverpool was surveyed
by Chadwick in 1725. The original medieval settlement
had grown considerably and had a population of over
5,000. The Pool had been filled in to form streets.
Its route can be traced today along Byrom Street, Whitechapel
and Paradise Street. The first dock opened in 1715,
with a new Customs House, the third in Liverpool, nearby.
Local industries included refining salt (from Cheshire),
glass making and ropeworks. Liverpool was rapidly becoming
the commercial centre of the area. Daniel Defoe, in
his 'Tour through England and Wales', described Liverpool
as "one of the wonders of Britain."
Much of Liverpool's prosperity from the end of the
eighteenth century was based on the slave trade. The
subsequent wealth created by this appalling trade permeated
all of Liverpool life. Many ordinary citizens had a
least a part share in a slave ship or some connection
with the trade.
Right: Map of Liverpool from
the 29th September 1768
A map of Liverpool from 1800
In 1800 the population of the city had risen to over
75,000. There were now five docks handling 5,000 ships
and over 450,000 tonnes of shipping a year. Shipbuilding
was itself increasingly important. As the built-up area
grew so the boundaries of the city were gradually extended
outwards from the old central core. The first areas
to be developed were Toxteth, to the south and Everton
to the north. By 1871 the population had increased dramatically
to 493,405 and to 746,421 by 1911. Much of this population
growth was due to migration into the city from other
parts of Britain, from Ireland, especially after the
disastrous famine of 1846-8, and from overseas.
All these people had to live somewhere and there were a number
of different solutions to this problem, some more successful
than others. Many people lived in appalling conditions in
property rented by private landlords. Increasingly towards
the end of the nineteenth century and into the twentieth century
Liverpool Corporation played a role in providing homes for
people to live in.
