Lime Street in

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, was created as a street in 1790. Its most famous feature is Lime Street railway station. It is part of the

William Brown Street William Brown Street in Liverpool, England, is a road that is remarkable for its concentration of public buildings. It is sometimes referred to as the "Cultural Quarter". Originally known as ''Shaw's Brow'', a coaching road east from the city ...

conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

History

The street was named for lime kilns owned by William Harvey, a local businessman. When the street was laid out in 1790 it was outside the city limits, but by 1804 the lime kilns were causing problems at a nearby infirmary. The doctors complained about the smell, and so the kilns were moved away, but the street name remained unchanged.BBC Liverpool Lime Street history
/ref> With the arrival of the railway line in 1836, the street moved from a marginal to a central location in the city, a position that confirmed by the creation of St George's Hall, on the side of the street opposite the railway station, in 1854.

Wellington's Column Wellington's Column, or the Waterloo Memorial, is a monument to the Duke of Wellington standing on the corner of William Brown Street and Lime Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England ...

, a monument to the

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister ...

was built to mark one end of the street, at the corner with

. The modern street is part of the A5038 road. The Lime Street name ends at the crossroads marked by the Adelphi Hotel, though, as Renshaw Street, the road continues directly uphill to St Luke's Church. The Futurist Cinema operated on Lime Street from 1912, until the cinema's closure in 1982. The building was demolished in 2016. The Empire Theatre opened on Lime Street in 1925, and was the second theatre to be built on the site. The first theatre had opened in 1866, and was demolished in 1924. The theatre has the largest two-tier auditorium in Britain.

Reference to the street

The street is mentioned as the favourite haunt of prostitute " Maggie May" in the Liverpool

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

of that name, most famously recorded by

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

on the album '' Let It Be''. The name has been used in many novels and plays, including

Alun Owen Alun Davies Owen (24 November 1925 – 6 December 1994) was a Welsh playwright, screenwriter and actor, predominantly in television. However, he is best remembered by a wider audience for writing the screenplay of The Beatles' debut feature fi ...

's ''

No Trams to Lime Street ''No Trams to Lime Street'' is a 1959 British television play, written by the Welsh playwright Alun Owen for the ''Armchair Theatre'' anthology series. Produced by ABC Weekend TV for transmission on the ITV network, the play was broadcast on 18 ...

'' and

Helen Forrester Helen Forrester was the pen name of June Huband Bhatia (6 June 1919 – 24 November 2011), who was an Anglo-Canadian author known for her books about her youth in Liverpool, England, during the Great Depression and World II, as well as seve ...

's autobiographical ''Lime Street at Two''. In 2012 the farce ''A Nightmare on Lime Street'' was performed at the

Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool The Royal Court Theatre is a theatre located at 1 Roe Street in Liverpool, England. The current Royal Court Theatre was opened on 17 October 1938, after fire destroyed its predecessor. It was rebuilt in Art Deco style and soon became Liverpool's ...

, starring David Gest as Frankenstein's monster, being recreated in the bowels of Lime Street railway station.Alfred Hickling, "A Nightmare on Lime Street – review Royal Court, Liverpool", ''The Guardian'', Thursday 29 November 2012
/ref>

Gallery

File:Lime street july 2010.jpg, Lime Street railway station in 2010 File:Wellington Column.jpg, Wellington's column, marking the end of the street. File:Liverpool Equestrian.jpg, Equestrian statue of Prince Albert, by

Thomas Thornycroft Thomas Thornycroft (19 May 1815 – 30 August 1885) was an English sculptor and engineer. Biography Thornycroft was born at Great Tidnock, near Gawsworth, Cheshire, the eldest son of John Thornycroft, a farmer. He was educated at Congleton G ...

File:Liverpool Pals inspection, 1915.jpg, Inspection of the Liverpool Pals regiment on Lime Street by Lord Kitchener in 1915 File:Lime Street from William Brown Street. Liverpool - geograph.org.uk - 159021.jpg, Lime Street viewed from William Brown Street

References

{{Roads in Liverpool Streets in Liverpool