Laura Davis enjoys Adam Hart Davis’s affectionate look at Liverpool

THE Liver Building bells are part of the soundtrack to our city – marking each and every hour of the near-century since the first of the Three Graces was constructed.

So perhaps it would come as a surprise to learn that there are no bells sounding when the clock strikes at all, just a series of piano strings played through an amplifier.

For a demonstration, you can tune into TV historian Adam Hart Davis’s new series, How Britain Was Built, which features Newcastle, Bristol, Edinburgh and, of course, Liverpool.

To create the programme, Davis visited many of our most famous and intriguing examples of architecture, among them the Liver Building.

“Inside, it is as grand and as imposing as you might expect, giving the right impression of permanence and substance for an insurance company,” he says.

“This building conveys something of Liverpool’s contrasts. The Liver Friendly Society was established to provide decent burials for the working poor, this building’s magnificence was paid for by the pennies of those afraid of a pauper’s grave.”

In the documentary, Davis makes much of Liverpool’s idiosyncrasies, suggesting that only in this city would the King open a road tunnel named “Queensway” and the Queen open one called “Kingsway”.

He is also taken by the history of the Liver Birds – not the original one that historians argue may or may not have been based on a cross between a cormorant and King John’s eagle symbol, but the very physical 18ft-tall ones overlooking the waterfront.

These were designed by the German, Carl Bernard Bartels, who, due to unfortunate timing, didn’t have long to admire his creations.

“He lived here for years, and three years after they went up he was interred because the First World War broke out. He was imprisoned for the whole war and then they sent him home – monstrous!,” he exclaims.

“There is a rumour that, if the Liver Birds ever flew away, that would be the end of Liverpool, but I reckon if they didn’t move after Butler was deported they’re not going to now.”

Arguably Liverpool’s most eccentric resident was Joseph Williamson, the “Mole of Edge Hill”, who constructed around 10 miles of tunnels deep underground with the help of veterans of the Napoleonic Wars in the early 1800s.

He spent £100,000 on their creation – the equivalent of around £6m in today’s money.

“Some say he was preparing for Armageddon, others that the tunnels led to his mistresses’ houses. Whatever the reason, they are beautifully built,” says Davis.

“One of the things I particularly like are the roofs – the lovely barrel arch. It’s surprising that it hasn’t fallen down in 108 years or so.”

In the programme, which also features the two cathedrals, the docks, St George’s Hall, the Philharmonic Hall and John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s boyhood homes, the historian uses wooden blocks to demonstrate the great strength of the arched roofs, which use the same technique as bridges by Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

In a bit of a cheat, Davis also focuses on some examples of architecture that are not strictly located in Liverpool – the village of Port Sunlight, in Wirral.

This was built using money made by Sunlight Soap baron William Lever, who improved traditional soap with the addition of pine kernel oil and used branded packaging.

“Before he came along, you had to buy your soap in the grocer,” explains Davis. “You’d go and buy your eggs and your bread and your flour and you’d ask for a chunk of soap.

“The grocer would hack off a length off a great bar and it was pretty rough stuff.”

Most overwhelming, the historian argues, is that the city was little known before its port began to expand.

“Liverpool was no great medieval town,” he says.

“There are no narrow streets and winding alleys with lovely timbered buildings, no ancient ruins. In Tudor times, the population was measured only in hundreds.

“But this was one of the world’s most important ports – 9m people sailed to the New World from here.

“It played a vital role in building the British Empire, handling a quarter of all Imperial imports and exports.

“The wealth created by its port paid for its great buildings and its engineering achievements.

“It’s a resilient city that has bounced back from riots and recession by turning itself into a cultural capital.”

THE series, How Britain Was Built, starts on Monday, January 26, at 9pm on the History channel. The Liverpool episode airs on Monday, February 9.

TO READ more features about Liverpool’s history, visit www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool or share your memories of the city at http://blogs.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/pooloflife

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