St George’s Hall: Great symbol of a city of contrasts

Jan 16 2008 by Peter Elson, Liverpool Daily Post

St George's Hall on Culture launch night

Liverpool’s Valhalla

ST GEORGE’S Hall is dubbed the “Valhalla of Liverpool” by Steve Binns, left, as it is home to statues of the city’s great and good.

There are 13 around the edge of the Hall, ranging from instantly recognisable names such as Sir Robert Peel, the founder of the modern Conservative party and national police force, to George Stephenson, the chief engineer of the world-pioneering Liverpool & Manchester Railway. William Ewart Gladstone, four times Prime Minister, who was born and brought up on Rodney Street, the scion of a great Liverpool family, surely deserves his place.

But, for example, what about Samuel Robert Graves, merchant and ship owner, and Edward Whitley, a solicitor who held public office in Liverpool?

“These were the sort of people that Liverpool back then most admired. They were not grand-standing Cabinet ministers, but backbench politicians who quietly worked for the city’s good behind the scenes,” says Steve.

“For example, Graves wasn’t wasting time discussing national issues, but sitting in the influential commercial committees, arguing the case for our shipping interests.

“I feel that most modern biography is ruinous, as it is obsessed with proving these men had feet of clay.

“Well, we all know that, but they also had very special qualities and that were often used for the greater good, to all our lasting benefit. That’s why they’re still interesting.”

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