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St George's Hall is a building on St George's Place, opposite
Lime Street railway station in
the centre of
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, England. Opened in 1854, it is a
Neoclassical building which contains concert halls and law courts, and is recorded in the
National Heritage List for England
The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, an ...
as a designated Grade I
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
. On the east side of the hall, between it and the railway station, is St George's Plateau and on the west side are
St John's Gardens. The hall is included in 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.
In 1969 the architectural historian
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (1 ...
expressed his opinion that it is one of the finest
neo-Grecian buildings in the world, although the building is known for its use of
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
sources as well as Greek. In 2004, the hall and its surrounding area were recognised as part of
Liverpool's World Heritage Site until its revocation of World Heritage status in 2021. The Liverpool Register Office and Coroner's Court have been based in the hall since 2012.
History
The site of the hall was formerly occupied by the first
Liverpool Infirmary from 1749 to 1824. Triennial music festivals were held in the city but there was no suitable hall to accommodate them.
Following a public meeting in 1836 a company was formed to raise subscriptions for a hall in Liverpool to be used for the festivals, and for meetings, dinners and concerts. Shares were made available at £25 each and by January 1837 £23,350 () had been raised. In 1838 the
foundation stone
The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.
Over tim ...
was laid to commemorate the
coronation
A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a coronation crown, crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the ...
of
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
.
[
A competition was announced on 5 March 1839 via an advertisement in '']The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' to design the hall, first prize was 250 guineas
The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from t ...
, second prize 150 guineas. By July more than eighty entries had been received, and the competition was won by Harvey Lonsdale Elmes
Harvey Lonsdale Elmes (10 February 1814 – 26 November 1847) was an English architect, the designer of St George's Hall, Liverpool.
Life
The son of the architect, James Elmes, he was born in Chichester. After serving some time in his fathe ...
, a London architect aged 25 years, the second prize went to George Alexander of London. The requirement was:
:''"There is to be accommodation in the main hall for 3000 persons; and there is also to be a concert room, capable of accommodating 1000 persons, applicable to other purposes such as lectures and smaller meetings....the cost of the building will be £35,000"''
There was a need for assize
The courts of assize, or assizes (), were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes e ...
courts in the city and a competition to design these with first prize £300 and second prize £200 was announced. There were eighty-six entries and it was also won by Elmes. The original plan was to have separate buildings but in 1840 Elmes suggested that both functions could be combined in one building on a scale which would surpass most of the public buildings in the country at the time. Construction started in 1841 and the building opened in 1854 (with the small concert room opening two years later).
:''"How frequently I observe the great & true end & aim of Art entirely lost sight of in the discussion of some insignificant detail or quaint Antiquarianism. Bold and original conceptions never can find favour while so much stress is laid upon precedent"'' Harvey Lonsdale Elmes in a letter to Robert Rawlinson
Sir Robert Rawlinson KCB (28 February 1810 – 31 May 1898) was an English engineer and sanitarian.
Early life
He was born at Bristol. His father was a mason and builder at Chorley, Lancashire, and he himself began his engineering educatio ...
Elmes died in 1847 and the work was continued by John Weightman, Corporation Surveyor, and Robert Rawlinson
Sir Robert Rawlinson KCB (28 February 1810 – 31 May 1898) was an English engineer and sanitarian.
Early life
He was born at Bristol. His father was a mason and builder at Chorley, Lancashire, and he himself began his engineering educatio ...
, structural engineer, until in 1851 Charles Cockerell was appointed architect. Cockerell was largely responsible for the decoration of the interiors. The eventual cost of the building exceeded £300,000 (roughly equivalent to £33,000,000 in 2019). During the 2000s a major restoration of the hall took place costing £23m and it was officially reopened on 23 April 2007 by Prince Charles
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...
.[ The magnificent sculpture of the exterior was by ]William Grinsell Nicholl
William Grinsell Nicholl (London 1796–1871) was a British 19th-century architectural and monumental sculptor.
Life
He was born in Marylebone, London in 1796. In 1822 he attended the Royal Academy Schools.
He exhibited in the Royal A ...
.
Structure
Plan
The Great Hall (also known as the Concert Hall) is the largest room, rectangular in shape, and occupies the centre of the building with an organ on its north wall. Two long corridors flank the east and west walls of the Great Hall. To the north of the Concert Hall is the Civil Court and beyond this is the North Entrance Hall; above this, reached by two staircases, is the elliptical Small Concert Room. To the south of the Great Hall is the Crown Court, beyond this is the South Entrance Hall above which reached by two staircases is the Grand Jury Room. In the middle of the west front is the Law Library, to the north of this is the Vice-Chancellor's Court, to the south of the Law Library is the Sheriff's Court. The floor below consists of a cavernous basement with cells for prisoners along the west wall.
Exterior
The main entrance is in the centre of the east façade and is approached by a wide flight of steps. On the steps is a statue of Benjamin Disraeli
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation o ...
by Charles Bell Birch
Charles Bell Birch (28 September 1832 – 16 October 1893) was a British sculptor.
Biography
Birch was born at Brixton in south London, the son of the author and translator Jonathan Birch (1783–1847) and his wife Esther (née Brooke). As a ...
, moved here to make way for Liverpool's cenotaph. At the south-east corner is a bronze statue of Major-General William Earle by the same sculptor. This front has a central portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...
of 16 Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to:
*Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible:
**First Epistle to the Corinthians
**Second Epistle to the Corinthians
**Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox)
*A demonym relating to ...
columns flanked on each side by series of square, unfluted columns, between which are relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
s that were added between 1882 and 1901 by Thomas Stirling Lee
Thomas Stirling Lee (London, 16 March 1857 – 29 June 1916, London) was an English sculptor, specialising in reliefs and portrait heads.
Early life
Lee was born in Lambeth, London on 16 March 1857, the son of John Swanwick Lee, a surveyor. ...
, C. J. Allen and Conrad Dressler
Conrad Dressler (22 May 1856 – 3 August 1940) was an English sculptor and potter.
Dressler was born in London and studied sculpture at the Royal College of Art. He was later influenced by the Arts & Crafts Movement. In the 1880s, he worked at ...
. The west front has a projecting central part with square columns supporting a large entablature
An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...
. The north front has a semicircular apse
In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...
with columns and three doorways that are flanked by statues of nereids
In Greek mythology, the Nereids or Nereides ( ; grc, Νηρηΐδες, Nērēḯdes; , also Νημερτές) are sea nymphs (female spirits of sea waters), the 50 daughters of the 'Old Man of the Sea' Nereus and the Oceanid Doris, sisters ...
or tritons bearing a cornucopia
In classical antiquity, the cornucopia (), from Latin ''cornu'' (horn) and ''copia'' (abundance), also called the horn of plenty, was a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers ...
with lamps attached, the central doors on the south and east fronts have similar statues, and were sculpted by William Nicholl.
The south front has an octastyle portico (eight columns wide), two columns deep, on steps above a rusticated podium. On the south portico entablature is a classical Latin inscription using V where U would now be used, that reads ‘ARTIBVS LEGIBVS CONSILIIS LOCVM MVNICIPES CONSTITVERVNT ANNO DOMINI MDCCCXLI’ (For Arts, Law and Counsel the townspeople built this place in 1841). The tympanum in the pediment above the south portico once contained sculptures of Britannia enthroned at the centre protecting agriculture and the arts and offering an olive branch to the four quarters of the globe, carved by William Nicholl; these were removed for safety's sake in 1950 (the sculptures having become unsafe due to erosion by atmospheric pollution), and subsequently lost, reputedly turned into hardcore.
File:Lions (S), St George's Plateau.jpg, Two of the four lions designed by Cockerell, sculpted 1856 by W.G. Nicholl (moved to present position in 1864)
File:lampholder1.JPG, Lampholder, eastern elevation, in the form of a Triton
Triton commonly refers to:
* Triton (mythology), a Greek god
* Triton (moon), a satellite of Neptune
Triton may also refer to:
Biology
* Triton cockatoo, a parrot
* Triton (gastropod), a group of sea snails
* ''Triton'', a synonym of ''Triturus' ...
holding a Cornucopia
In classical antiquity, the cornucopia (), from Latin ''cornu'' (horn) and ''copia'' (abundance), also called the horn of plenty, was a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers ...
, sculpted by W.G. Nicholl
File:lampholder2.JPG, Lampholder, eastern elevation, in the form of a Nereid
In Greek mythology, the Nereids or Nereides ( ; grc, Νηρηΐδες, Nērēḯdes; , also Νημερτές) are sea nymphs (female spirits of sea waters), the 50 daughters of the 'Old Man of the Sea' Nereus and the Oceanids, Oceanid Doris ...
holding a Cornucopia, sculpted by W.G. Nicholl
File:External door, St George's Hall, Liverpool.jpg, The door beneath the south portico
Interior
The main entrance crosses a corridor and leads into the Great Hall. This measures by and is high. The inspiration for the Great Hall are the Baths of Caracalla
The Baths of Caracalla ( it, Terme di Caracalla) in Rome, Italy, were the city's second largest Ancient Rome, Roman public baths, or ''thermae'', after the Baths of Diocletian. The baths were likely built between AD 212 (or 211) and 216/217, durin ...
. The roof is a tunnel vault
A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault, wagon vault or wagonhead vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. The curves are ...
, built of hollow brick was designed by Robert Rawlinson
Sir Robert Rawlinson KCB (28 February 1810 – 31 May 1898) was an English engineer and sanitarian.
Early life
He was born at Bristol. His father was a mason and builder at Chorley, Lancashire, and he himself began his engineering educatio ...
completed 1849, it is carried on eight columns, 18 feet in height, of polished red Cairngall granite, these reduce the span to 65 feet, the spandrel
A spandrel is a roughly triangular space, usually found in pairs, between the top of an arch and a rectangular frame; between the tops of two adjacent arches or one of the four spaces between a circle within a square. They are frequently fill ...
s contain allegorical
As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory th ...
plaster work angel
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...
s, twelve in total, designed by Cockerell, representing fortitude, prudence, science, art, justice and temperance etc. The vault also decorated with plaster work by Cockerell, contains coffer
A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault.
A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, also ...
ing, the centres of the main coffers have coat of arms of Liverpool, or the coats of arms of Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
or St George and the dragon, in the centre of the vault are the Royal Arms used by Queen Victoria this is above a matching coat of arms in the Minton floor. The walls have niches for statues. The highly decorated floor consists of Minton encaustic tile
Encaustic tiles are ceramic tiles in which the pattern or figure on the surface is not a product of the glaze but of different colors of clay. They are usually of two colours but a tile may be composed of as many as six. The pattern appears inla ...
and it is usually covered by a removable floor to protect it.[ It contains over 30,000 tiles.][ The doors are ]bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
and have openwork panels which incorporate the letters SPQL (the Senate and the People of Liverpool) making an association with the SPQR
SPQR, an abbreviation for (; en, "The Roman Senate and People"; or more freely "The Senate and People of Rome"), is an emblematic abbreviated phrase referring to the government of the ancient Roman Republic. It appears on Roman currency, at ...
badge of ancient Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
. The ten brass and bronze chandeliers in the Great Hall, designed by Cockerell, originally powered by town gas
Coal gas is a flammable gaseous fuel made from coal and supplied to the user via a piped distribution system. It is produced when coal is heated strongly in the absence of air. Town gas is a more general term referring to manufactured gaseous ...
weigh 15 cwt, are decorated with prows of ships, heads of Neptune and Liver Bird
The liver bird is a mythical creature which is the symbol of the English city of Liverpool. It is normally represented as a cormorant, and appears as such on the city's arms, in which it bears a branch of laver seaweed in its beak as a furth ...
s.
File:St George's Hall Liverpool England.jpg, Interior view looking north of Great Hall, the floor, designed by Cockerell, executed by Mintons
Mintons was a major company in Staffordshire pottery, "Europe's leading ceramic factory during the Victorian era", an independent business from 1793 to 1968. It was a leader in ceramic design, working in a number of different ceramic bodies, ...
has about 30,000 tiles
File:SPQL.JPG, Senatus Populusque Liverpoliensis
File:Internal door st. george's hall.JPG, Bronze doors, designed by Cockerell, 12 feet 8 inches high by 6 feet 4 inches wide and weighs 74 cwt, there are three on each side of the hall, also three similar doors at the south end lead to the Crown Court and a smaller one is beneath the organ.
File:Goddess St George's Hall.JPG, Head of Mercury
Mercury commonly refers to:
* Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun
* Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg
* Mercury (mythology), a Roman god
Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to:
Companies
* Merc ...
on door
File:ceiling st. george's hall.JPG, Completed 1849, at 65 feet the Widest barrel-vaulted ceiling in the UK, it is 82 feet high (the room is 77 feet wide but the columns account for the difference) it is 169 feet in length, engineer Robert Rawlinson
Sir Robert Rawlinson KCB (28 February 1810 – 31 May 1898) was an English engineer and sanitarian.
Early life
He was born at Bristol. His father was a mason and builder at Chorley, Lancashire, and he himself began his engineering educatio ...
, plasterwork designed by Cockerell
File:St George's Hall, Liverpool - geograph.org.uk - 500196.jpg, South lunette
A lunette (French ''lunette'', "little moon") is a half-moon shaped architectural space, variously filled with sculpture, painted, glazed, filled with recessed masonry, or void.
A lunette may also be segmental, and the arch may be an arc take ...
stained-glass window of St. George slaying the dragon, (1883–84) by Forrest and Sons of Liverpool
File:Neptune window, St George's Hall.jpg, North lunette stained-glass window of coat of arms of Liverpool, flanked by Neptune and a triton, (1883–84) by Forrest and Sons of Liverpool
File:Saint George's Hall Liverpool chandeliers.jpg, One of the ten chandeliers, brass
Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...
and bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
, decorated with prows of ships, heads of Neptune
Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 times ...
and Liver Bird
The liver bird is a mythical creature which is the symbol of the English city of Liverpool. It is normally represented as a cormorant, and appears as such on the city's arms, in which it bears a branch of laver seaweed in its beak as a furth ...
s, by Cockerell
File:minton floor st george's hall.JPG, Minton Floor, show Liverpool's coat of arms, surrounded by the symbols of England, Scotland and Ireland, the rose, thistle (only one visible in photo) and shamrock.
File:Minton floor, St George's Hall 2.jpg, Minton floor, showing frieze designed by Alfred Stevens, it consists of Neptune
Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 times ...
, tritons, nerids and boys on dolphin
A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the ...
s.
File:Minton floor, St George's Hall 8.jpg, Minton floor, coat of arms of Liverpool,'Deus Nobis Haec Otia Fecit' is from Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...
, translates as 'God has given to us this leisure'.
File:St George's Hall, Liverpool (4).jpg, Minton floor, central roundel
A roundel is a circular disc used as a symbol. The term is used in heraldry, but also commonly used to refer to a type of national insignia used on military aircraft, generally circular in shape and usually comprising concentric rings of differ ...
, this contains The Royal Coat of Arms used by Queen Victoria
The organ is at the north end and at the south end is a round arch supporting an entablature between whose columns is a gate leading directly into the Crown Court. The niches contain the statues of William Roscoe
William Roscoe (8 March 175330 June 1831) was an English banker, lawyer, and briefly a Member of Parliament. He is best known as one of England's first abolitionists, and as the author of the poem for children '' The Butterfly's Ball, and the ...
by Chantrey, Sir William Brown by Patrick MacDowell
Patrick MacDowell (12 August 1799 – 9 December 1870) was a Belfast-born British sculptor operating through the 19th century.
Life
MacDowell was born in Belfast in 1799. His father died whilst he was young and the family lived in relativ ...
, Robert Peel
Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ...
by Matthew Noble
Matthew Noble (23 March 1817 – 23 June 1876) was a leading British portrait sculptor. Carver of numerous monumental figures and busts including work memorializing Victorian era royalty and statesmen displayed in locations such as Westminster Ab ...
, George Stephenson
George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was a British civil engineer and mechanical engineer. Renowned as the "Father of Railways", Stephenson was considered by the Victorians a great example of diligent application and thirst for ...
by John Gibson, Hugh Boyd M‘Neile
Hugh Boyd M‘Neile (18 July 1795 – 28 January 1879) was a well-connected and controversial Irish-born Calvinist Anglican of Scottish descent.
Fiercely anti- Tractarian and anti-Roman Catholic (and, even more so, anti-Anglo-Catholic) and an ...
by George Gamon Adams, Edward Whitley by A. Bruce Joy, S. R. Graves by G. G. Fontana, Rev Jonathan Brookes by B. E. Spence, William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...
by John Adams-Acton, the 14th Earl of Derby by William Theed the Younger, the 16th Earl of Derby by F. W. Pomeroy, and Joseph Mayer by Fontana.[ In 2012 a statue of ]Kitty Wilkinson
Catherine Wilkinson (1786–1860) was an Irish migrant, "wife of a labourer", who became known as the ''Saint of the Slums''. In 1832, during a cholera epidemic, she had the only boiler in her neighbourhood, so she invited those with infected ...
by Simon Smith was unveiled, the first in 101 years, and the first of a woman. The stained glass in the semicircular windows at each end of the hall was added in 1883–84 by Forrest and Son of Liverpool. Sharples and Pollard regard this as "one of the greatest Victorian interiors".
The Crown Court has a tunnel vault on red granite columns and the Civil Court a coved ceiling on grey granite columns. The South Entrance Hall is approached through the portico, is low and has Ionic columns. Below this is a larger vaulted space which was adapted to form a new entrance in 2003–05. The North Entrance Hall has Doric Doric may refer to:
* Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece
** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians
* Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture
* Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode
* Doric dialect (Scotland)
* Doric ...
columns on its landing and a Doric ambulatory
The ambulatory ( la, ambulatorium, ‘walking place’) is the covered passage around a cloister or the processional way around the east end of a cathedral or large church and behind the high altar. The first ambulatory was in France in the 11th ...
around the apse
In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...
with two bronze Torchère
A torchère ( ; french: torchère ; also variously spelled "torchèr", "torchière", "torchièr", "torchiere" and "torchier" with various interpretative pronunciations), also known as a torch lamp or floor lamp, is a lamp with a tall stand of wo ...
s by Messengers of Birmingham decorated with allegorical scenes, the apse contains stairs, unlike the other main entrances where the stairs are external. A copy in plaster of part of the Parthenon frieze
The Parthenon frieze is the high-relief Pentelic marble sculpture created to adorn the upper part of the Parthenon’s naos. It was sculpted between c. 443 and 437 BC, most likely under the direction of Pheidias. Of the 160 meters (524 ft) ...
runs round its walls. In the centre of the south wall is a marble statue of Henry Booth
Henry Booth (4 April 1788 – 28 March 1869) was a British corn merchant, businessman and engineer particularly known as one of the key people behind the construction and management of the pioneering Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&M), the ...
shown standing up, carved 1874 by William Theed the Younger, placed here in 1877, flanking the statue are sculptures of caryatids.
File:Statue of Robert Peel, St George's Hall 2.jpg, Sir Robert Peel
Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ...
, sculpted 1854 by Matthew Noble
Matthew Noble (23 March 1817 – 23 June 1876) was a leading British portrait sculptor. Carver of numerous monumental figures and busts including work memorializing Victorian era royalty and statesmen displayed in locations such as Westminster Ab ...
File:Statue of William Roscoe, St George's Hall 2.jpg, William Roscoe
William Roscoe (8 March 175330 June 1831) was an English banker, lawyer, and briefly a Member of Parliament. He is best known as one of England's first abolitionists, and as the author of the poem for children '' The Butterfly's Ball, and the ...
, moved to the Hall from The Royal Institution, sculpted 1841 by Francis Leggatt Chantrey
Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey (7 April 1781 – 25 November 1841) was an English sculptor. He became the leading portrait sculptor in Regency era Britain, producing busts and statues of many notable figures of the time. Chantrey's most notable w ...
File:Statue of William Brown, St George's Hall 2.jpg, William Brown, sculpted 1860 by Patrick MacDowell
Patrick MacDowell (12 August 1799 – 9 December 1870) was a Belfast-born British sculptor operating through the 19th century.
Life
MacDowell was born in Belfast in 1799. His father died whilst he was young and the family lived in relativ ...
File:Statue of Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby 1.jpg, 14th Earl of Derby
Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, (29 March 1799 – 23 October 1869, known before 1834 as Edward Stanley, and from 1834 to 1851 as Lord Stanley) was a British statesman, three-time Prime Minister of the United Kingdom ...
, sculpted 1869 by William Theed
William Theed, also known as William Theed the younger (1804 – 9 September 1891), was a British sculptor, the son of the sculptor and painter William Theed the elder (1764–1817). Although versatile and eclectic in his works, he specialised ...
File:Statue of William Gladstone, St George's Hall 2.jpg, William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...
, sculpted 1869, by John Adams-Acton
File:Statue of Samuel Robert Graves, St George's Hall 1.jpg, Samuel Robert Graves, sculpted 1875 by Giovanni Fontana
File:St George's Hall, Liverpool internal statue (2).jpg, Edward Whitley, sculpted 1895 by Albert Bruce-Joy
Albert Bruce-Joy (21 August 1842 – 22 July 1924) was an Irish sculptor working in England. His original surname was Joy but he became known under his hyphenated name Bruce-Joy later in life.
He was the brother of the painter George W. Joy.
...
File:Statue of Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby, St George's Hall.jpg, 16th Earl of Derby sculpted 1911 by F. W. Pomeroy
Frederick William Pomeroy (9 October 1856 – 26 May 1924) was a prolific British sculptor of architectural and monumental works. He became a leading sculptor in the New Sculpture movement, a group distinguished by a stylistic turn towards Natu ...
File:St George's Hall, Liverpool internal statue (4).jpg, Rev. Jonathan Brooks sculpted 1858-59 by Benjamin Edward Spence
File:Statue of George Stephenson, St George's Hall 1.jpg, George Stephenson
George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was a British civil engineer and mechanical engineer. Renowned as the "Father of Railways", Stephenson was considered by the Victorians a great example of diligent application and thirst for ...
, sculpted 1854 by John Gibson
File:Statue of Hugh McNeile, St George's Hall 1.jpg, Hugh M‘Neile
Hugh Boyd M‘Neile (18 July 1795 – 28 January 1879) was a well-connected and controversial Irish-born Calvinist Anglican of Scottish descent.
Fiercely anti- Tractarian and anti-Roman Catholic (and, even more so, anti-Anglo-Catholic) and an ...
, sculpted 1871 by George Gammon Adams
George Gammon Adams (1821–1898; sometimes spelled George Gamon Adams or George Gannon Adams) was an English portrait sculptor and medallist,
File:Statue of Joseph Mayer, St George's Hall 2.jpg, Joseph Mayer, sculpted 1869 by Giovanni Fontana
File:Statue of Catherine Wilkinson, St George's Hall 1.jpg, Kitty Wilkinson
Catherine Wilkinson (1786–1860) was an Irish migrant, "wife of a labourer", who became known as the ''Saint of the Slums''. In 1832, during a cholera epidemic, she had the only boiler in her neighbourhood, so she invited those with infected ...
, sculpted 2012 by Simon Smith
The Small Concert Room designed by Charles Robert Cockerell and completed in 1856, is elliptical measuring 72 by 77 feet, when built it had a capacity for 1,100 people, the stage is 30 by 12 feet, and is lavishly decorated. In the past it was known as the Golden Concert Room. A balcony supported by caryatid
A caryatid ( or or ; grc, Καρυᾶτις, pl. ) is a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support taking the place of a column or a pillar supporting an entablature on her head. The Greek term ''karyatides'' literally means "ma ...
s runs round the room. At the back of the platform are attached columns, decorated with arabesque
The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foli ...
s, supporting a frieze
In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...
with griffin
The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late Latin, Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail ...
s and between the columns are mirrors.[ The concert room was refurbished between 2000 and 2007. This included making alterations to comply with the ]Disability Discrimination Act
In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, a number of countries have passed laws aimed at reducing discrimination against people with disabilities. These laws have begun to appear as the notion of civil rights has become more influential globally ...
, restoring the historical painting scheme and restoring the chandelier
A chandelier (; also known as girandole, candelabra lamp, or least commonly suspended lights) is a branched ornamental light fixture designed to be mounted on ceilings or walls. Chandeliers are often ornate, and normally use incandescent li ...
, which consists of 2,824 crystal pieces. It has seating for an audience of 480.
Ventilation and heating of the building
In the basement is part of a unique heating and ventilation system devised by Dr Boswell Reid.[ This was the first attempt at providing air conditioning in a public building in the United Kingdom, its aim being to warm and ventilate the building without draughts. Air drawn in via two shafts at either end of the eastern portico was warmed by five hot water pipes, that were heated by two coke-fired boilers and two steam boilers, these latter two were only used in extremely cold weather. The air was circulated by four fans wide driven by a 10 ]horsepower
Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are the ...
steam engine. In hot weather the air was cooled using cold mains water, small fountains in the air shafts cooling the incoming air. The air from the system entered the Great Hall via grilles at the back of the sculpture niches and in the risers of the seating tiers in the Small Concert Hall, stale air was drawn out through grilles in the ceilings. The air flow was controlled by a large number of workers opening and closing a series of canvas flaps via ropes and pulleys, though the court rooms had valves beneath the benches that could be controlled by the occupants. The system treated different parts of the building as zones allowing separate heating.[Knowles (1988), pp26-27] In 2005 the Heritage Group of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers
The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE; pronounced 'sib-see') is an international professional engineering association based in London, England that represents building services engineers. It is a full member of the Co ...
awarded its first Blue Plaque to St George's Hall recognising it as the World's First Air Conditioned Building.
File:Ventilation Handle, 1851, at St. George's Hall, Liverpool, full.jpg, Ventilation Handle
File:Central heating, St George's Hall.jpg, Part of the original central heating system
File:Ventilation boiler, St Georges Hall.JPG, One of the Victorian boilers in the basement
Assizes
Until 1984 the Liverpool Assizes
The courts of assize, or assizes (), were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes e ...
(later the Crown Court
The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all Indictable offence, indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals lied to it by the Magistrates' court, magistrates' court ...
) were held in the courtroom at the southern end of St George's Hall. Notable cases heard include those of Florence Maybrick
Florence Elizabeth Chandler Maybrick (3 September 1862 – 23 October 1941) was an American woman convicted in the United Kingdom of murdering her husband, cotton merchant James Maybrick.
Early life
Florence Maybrick was born Florence Elizabet ...
in 1889 and William Herbert Wallace
William Herbert Wallace (29 August 1878 – 26 February 1933) was an Englishman convicted in 1931 of the murder of his wife, Julia, in their home in Wolverton Street in Liverpool's Anfield district. Wallace's conviction was later overturned by the ...
in 1931. The court now often doubles for the Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...
in film and TV dramas.
File:St Georges Hall Court Room.jpg, General view of Crown Court
File:St George's Hall Interior 21 Dec 2009 (13).jpg, View of Crown Court from Judges point of view
File:JUDGES QUARTERS AT ST GEORGES HALL CROWN COURT LIVERPOOL JAN 2013 (9615338593).jpg, Judge's chamber for Crown Court, entered from the door behind the judge's seat in the Crown Court
Events held at the building
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
and Prince Albert visited St George's hall on 9 October 1851, although complete externally work was still underway internally. The inaugural event opened by the mayor and borough council and was started on 18 September 1854, and was a three-day festival of music, followed on 22 September, with the British Association for the Advancement of Science
The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chie ...
holding the first of many meetings at the Hall. On 15 April 1857 a banquet for 800 people was held in honour of William Brown benefactor of Liverpool's museum and library. On 23 April 1864 a Fancy Dress
A costume party (American English) or fancy dress party (other varieties of English) is a type of party, common in contemporary Western culture, in which many of the guests are dressed in costume, usually depicting a fictional or stock char ...
ball was held in aid of St Ann 's Dispensary. The Small Concert Room it was regularly host to Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
, who held many of his readings there.[ Prior to Dickens sailing to America a banquet was hosted in the Great Hall for him on 10 April 1869. A cross section of activities in the 1880s include 24 March 1886, evening concert in a aid of District Cotton Porters and Dock Labourers; 1 November 1886 Large Hall, benevolent fund Liverpool Operative Platerworkers' Association; 5 April 1887 'Special' Grand Jury Room. To exhibit the new and improved method of applying gas to high class cookery; 22 December 1888, Large Hall, People's concert, ]Messiah
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; ,
; ,
; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of ''mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach'' ...
.
During the 1911 Liverpool general transport strike, many meetings were held there, including the rally which sparked the 'Bloody Sunday' attacks, when police baton charge
A baton charge is a coordinated tactic for dispersing crowds of people, usually used by police or military in response to public disorder. In South Asia, a long bamboo stick, called ''lathi'' in Hindi, is used for crowd control, and the expres ...
d thousands of people who had gathered to hear the syndicalist
Syndicalism is a revolutionary current within the left-wing of the labor movement that seeks to unionize workers according to industry and advance their demands through strikes with the eventual goal of gaining control over the means of pr ...
Tom Mann
Thomas Mann (15 April 1856 – 13 March 1941), was an English trade unionist and is widely recognised as a leading, pioneering figure for the early labour movement in Britain. Largely self-educated, Mann became a successful organiser and a ...
speak.
On 15 March 1915 Lord Kitchener inspect 12,000 soldiers of the Liverpool Pals
The Liverpool Pals were Pals battalions formed during the First World War as part of the King's (Liverpool) Regiment. They, along with the Manchester Pals, are commemorated at a small memorial in France.
Recruitment
The volunteers were initial ...
on St George's Plateau, by September 1914, more than 30,000 men had enlisted at St George's Hall. The Plateau has been associated with public rallies and gatherings, including events following the deaths of the Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...
members John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
and George Harrison
George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...
, and the homecomings of Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
and Everton football teams after Cup Final victories.
The opening of the European Capital of Culture celebrations in 2008 saw Ringo Starr
Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...
play on the roof of the building to over 50,000 people. The Weeping Window sculpture was displayed at St George's Hall from 7 November 2015 to 17 January 2016, it was made from ceramic poppies from Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red
''Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red'' was a public art installation created in the moat of the Tower of London, England, between July and November 2014. It commemorated the centenary of the outbreak of World War I and consisted of 888,246 ceramic ...
. The commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster
The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal human crush during a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989. It occurred during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in the ...
saw from 13 April 2019 nine banners hung from the front of St George's Hall, featuring the images of the 96 who lost their lives, along with the powerful words ‘Never Forgotten’ on the Monday morning 15 April 96 lanterns were lit on the steps of the Hall, and members of the public paid their respects and left tributes.
Organ and organists
The organ was built by Henry Willis
Henry Willis (27 April 1821 – 11 February 1901), also known as "Father" Willis, was an English organ player and builder, who is regarded as the foremost organ builder of the Victorian era. His company Henry Willis & Sons remains in busin ...
and completed in 1855 with 100 speaking stops
Stop may refer to:
Places
*Stop, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the United States
* Stop (Rogatica), a village in Rogatica, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Facilities
* Bus stop
* Truck stop, a type of rest stop for truck dri ...
across four manual divisions (of non-standard compass, 63 notes GG to a) and pedals (30 notes). It comprised a total of 119 ranks of pipes, plus 10 couplers
Coupler may refer to:
Engineering Mechanical
* Railway coupler, a mechanism for connecting rolling stock in a train device
** Janney coupler
** SA3 coupler
** Scharfenberg coupler for multiple unit passenger cars
* Quick coupler, used in constru ...
, 10 composition pedals, and 36 pistons to set combinations of stops. It was initially tuned to meantone temperament
Meantone temperament is a musical temperament, that is a tuning system, obtained by narrowing the fifths so that their ratio is slightly less than 3:2 (making them ''narrower'' than a perfect fifth), in order to push the thirds closer to pure. M ...
to the specification of S. S. Wesley but in 1867 W. T. Best, city organist, had it retuned to equal temperament
An equal temperament is a musical temperament or tuning system, which approximates just intervals by dividing an octave (or other interval) into equal steps. This means the ratio of the frequencies of any adjacent pair of notes is the same, wh ...
. The organ was rebuilt in 1896 when the key action was changed from the Willis-Barker lever assisted tracker (i.e. pneumatic assisted mechanical) action to pneumatic action. Also the manual compass was changed to the now standard CC to c, 61 notes, making the bottom 5 pipes on every manual stop redundant.[
]
In 1931 the organ was reconstructed by Henry Willis III when the number of stops was increased to 120 and electro-pneumatic action
The electro-pneumatic action is a control system by the mean of air pressure for pipe organs, whereby air pressure, controlled by an electric current and operated by the keys of an organ console, opens and closes valves within wind chests, allowing ...
introduced for the combination systems and some of the key action. Its power source was still the Rockingham electric blowing plant which had replaced the two steam engines (one of 1855 and a second which had been added in about 1877 to run the increased pressure required since 1867 for some reed stops. In the interim this higher pressure had been hand blown!) The 1924 electric blowers remained in use until 2000 when the present new low and high pressure blowers were fitted by David Wells.
In 1979 it was given a general clean and overhaul by Henry Willis IV. The total number of registers, including 24 couplers, is 144. With 7,737 pipes, it was the largest organ in the country until a larger one was built at the Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...
in 1871, after which an organ even larger than the one at the Royal Albert Hall was constructed at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral
Liverpool Cathedral is the Cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool, built on St James's Mount in Liverpool, and the seat of the Bishop of Liverpool. It may be referred to as the Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool (as recorded in the ...
, using over 10,000 pipes. Repairs were made to the organ as part of the restoration of the hall in 2000–2007, including replacement of the bellows
A bellows or pair of bellows is a device constructed to furnish a strong blast of air. The simplest type consists of a flexible bag comprising a pair of rigid boards with handles joined by flexible leather sides enclosing an approximately airtigh ...
leather. The organ is maintained by David Wells, Organ Builders.
The first organist was W. T. Best (1826–97) who was appointed in 1855 and served until 1894. He was succeeded in 1896 by Dr Albert Lister Peace (1844–1912) who continued in the post until the year of his death. In 1913 Herbert Frederick Ellingford (1876–1966) was appointed organist. On 21 December 1940 the hall and its organ were damaged in an air-raid. It was not possible to obtain sufficient money to rebuild the organ until the 1950s. In 1954 Henry Willis & Sons were asked to undertake this project and Dr Caleb E. Jarvis (1903–1980) was its consultant. Dr Jarvis was appointed organist in 1957 and on his death in 1980 he was succeeded by Noel Rawsthorne
Christopher Noel Rawsthorne (24 December 1929 – 28 January 2019) was a British liturgical and concert organist and composer of music for his own instrument, as well as choral music.
Biography
Rawsthorne was born in Birkenhead. At the age of e ...
(1929–2019), who had just retired as organist to the Anglican Cathedral. Noel Rawsthorne served as organist to the hall for four years. Following his retirement in 1984, Professor Ian Tracey
Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a popular name in Sc ...
, who is also Organist Titulaire of the Anglican Cathedral, was appointed to the post.
St George's Plateau
This is the flat space between the hall and the railway station and contains statues of four lions by Nicholl and cast iron
Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...
lamp standards with dolphin bases. Also on the plateau are monuments, including equestrian
The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse".
Horseback riding (or Riding in British English)
Examples of this are:
* Equestrian sports
*Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...
bronzes of Prince Albert and Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
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 ...
, and a monument to Major-General William Earle by Birch. Between the equestrian statues is the Grade I
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
Liverpool Cenotaph which was unveiled in 1930, designed by L. B. Budden and sculpted by H. Tyson Smith. It consists of a simple horizontal block with a bronze relief measuring over on each side. Sharples and Pollard regard it as one of the most remarkable war memorials in the country.[
In 2017 ]Liverpool City Council
Liverpool City Council is the governing body for the city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. It consists of 90 councillors, three for each of the city's 30 wards.
The council is currently controlled by the Labour Party and is led by Mayor ...
announced
£45m programme to re-design several major streets in the city centre
including Lime Street which would involve expanding the plateau. The work is timetabled to be completed by winter 2021.
Restoration
Following the restoration leading to the reopening of the hall in April 2007 it was granted a Civic Trust Award. It included the creation of a Heritage Centre which gives an introduction to the hall and its history. Guided tours, a programme of exhibitions and talks are arranged. Over the Christmas periods of 2007 and 2008 an artificial skating rink was installed in the Concert Hall. In January 2008 Liverpool started its tenure as European Capital of Culture with the People's Opening at St George's Hall with a performance which included the Beatles' drummer Ringo Starr
Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...
playing on its roof. The building has since been regularly used as a stage and backdrop for major civic and cultural events, from the city's Christmas Markets to the World War 1 tribut
Weeping Window
in 2015 and th
Liverpool Giants
in 2014 and 2018.
As a filming location
The exterior of St George's Hall has been used a filming location for several films and television series, including the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
series ''
Peaky Blinders
The Peaky Blinders were a street gang based in Birmingham, England, which operated from the 1880s until the 1910s. The group consisted largely of young criminals from lower- to middle-class backgrounds. They engaged in robbery, violence, racke ...
'' and ''
The War of the Worlds
''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by ''Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan (magazine), Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appear ...
'',
the 1993 film ''
In the Name of the Father
IN, In or in may refer to:
Places
* India (country code IN)
* Indiana, United States (postal code IN)
* Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN)
* In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast
Businesses and organizations
* Indepen ...
'',
and the 2022 film ''
The Batman
Batman is a fictional superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics.
Batman or The Batman may also refer to:
Art, entertainment, and media
Characters
* Batman (Terry McGinnis)
* Batman (Thomas Wayne)
* Batman (Earth-Two)
* Batma ...
''.
A 1987 advertisement for
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...
was filmed inside the building.
St George's Hall was the main hub for the paranormal investigation show "Most Haunted Live" which based their January 2009 "Search for Evil" live event from the hall. The live events ran for a full week, running from Saturday 10 January 2009 until Friday 16 January 2009. The Most Haunted Live team investigated the alleged paranormal activities in the hall, as well as other locations across the north west. The hall was the main studio hub and interactive hub for this special live event which aired on the satellite/cable channel Living TV.
[https://www.higgypop.com/most-haunted/live/]
Quotes about St George's Hall
"This magnificent edifice will be a perennial monument of the energy and public spirit, in the nineteenth century, of the people of Liverpool; a place which of all the cities and towns in the British Empire is surpassed only by the metropolis in magnitude, wealth and importance; and which in the quick yet solid growth of its commercial greatness surpasses even the metropolis itself".
The Illustrated London News
''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication in ...
23 September 1854
[Knowles (1988), p4]
"The combination of a magnificent interior with an even grander exterior, is an achievement of which ancient Rome itself could offer no parallel, for however splendid and well organised were the interiors of the great thermae, basilicas and other structures, we have nothing to show that the exteriors of their buildings ever reached the same level of coherence and dignity. Indeed, all the remains point in the other direction. Hence the real greatness of Elmes' achievement".
Charles Herbert Reilly[Hemm (1949), p46]
"The south end of St. George's Hall is quite conventional and rather resembles
Donaldson's
Donaldson's, previously known as The L. S. Donaldson Company, Minneapolis, Minnesota is a defunct department store company.
History
Scottish immigrant William Donaldson opened a small store in Minneapolis in 1881, located at 310 Nicollet Avenue. ...
project for the
Royal Exchange. Except for the superior proportions and the splendid pile of steps at the base (by Cockerell) - which rise however, much too abruptly from an exiguous terrace along St. John's Lane- this porticoed and pedimented facade is, in fact not very different from
Tite's at the Exchange. The north end is not identical but has a semicircular projection housing the Concert Room in the first storey. The different treatment of the two ends hardly ever seen at once either from the east or west. The extreme severity of the rounded north end is quite out of accord with the new visual tastes of the Victorian Age for sharpened accents and complex rhythms. The podium below is barely broken by the simple frames of the two entrance doors (this is an error there are three doors at the north end); the parapet above is absolutely continuous and unornamented. Thus there is no central focus of interest and nothing to distract attention from the even half-circle of giant Corinthian columns.
The unbroken length of the east portico is surmounted by an equally unbroken attic masking the vault of the main hall. Thus the effect is even more severe. Ranges of square pilasters, for two-thirds of their height, are used here along the side wings. Such pilasters also rise like an open screen in the projecting middle section of the west front. These novel members provide a very interesting kind of structural articulation recalling the more original aspects of
Schinkel's Classicism as much as the long east portico does that of his more conventional
Altes Museum
The Altes Museum (English: ''Old Museum'') is a listed building on the Museum Island in the Mitte (locality), historic centre of Berlin. Built from 1825 to 1830 by order of King Frederick William III of Prussia according to plans by Karl Friedrich ...
. Though the tremendous scale of the composition is new to Britain, the spirit is still that of the classical rationalism which dominated the end of the 18th century. The great scale and general severity reflect the dreams of French architects like
Ledoux Ledoux or LeDoux is a surname, and may refer to:
* Claude Nicolas Ledoux (1736–1806), French architect.
* Abraham Ledoux (1784-1842) and Antoine Ledoux (1779 - 1849), two French brothers born in Québec, who became trappers and settled in Mora ...
and
Boulée in the Revolutionary epoch, dreams that were codified by
Durand in his ''Précis des leçons d'architecture données à l'École royale polytechnique'' (1802–05) and thus transmitted to a later generation. Behind and between the columnar and pseudo-columnar elements which dominate the facades the wall surfaces are rather flat. The relief of the various panels articulating these surfaces and that of the rare window frames is very low. Windows are completely suppressed on the south and the east fronts; the
mouldings throughout, though large in size because of the tremendous scale, are extremely refined, cold and quite unornamented."
Henry-Russell Hitchcock
Henry-Russell Hitchcock (1903–1987) was an American architectural historian, and for many years a professor at Smith College and New York University. His writings helped to define the characteristics of modernist architecture.
Early life
He ...
[Hitchcock (1954), pp311-312]
The following is about the Small Concert Hall:
"Exquisite in color and covered with most elegant decoration in low relief, this room is above all a masterly exercise in the use of those 'shams'
Camdenians most abominated. The balconies are of cast iron designed to look like some sort of woven wickerwork; of iron also are the pierced ventilating grilles along the front of the stage and in the ceiling panels around the central skylight. The delicate
arabesques
The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foli ...
of the
pilaster
In classical architecture
Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...
s and friezes are
papier-mâché
upright=1.3, Mardi Gras papier-mâché masks, Haiti
upright=1.3, Papier-mâché Catrinas, traditional figures for day of the dead celebrations in Mexico
Papier-mâché (, ; , literally "chewed paper") is a composite material consisting of p ...
. The graceful caryatids, seemingly sustaining the balcony on their fingertips, must be of iron or some synthetic composition; they were certainly never carved in stone. Whether these are themselves supports or whether the balcony is cantilevered on iron beams, the real construction is concealed. The wall panels not of wood but of plaster, supebly [sic] grained and varnished. Only the mirrors between the columns on the stage are what they seem; yet by a final paradox they create a faery unreality by their repeated reflection."
Henry-Russell Hitchcock
Henry-Russell Hitchcock (1903–1987) was an American architectural historian, and for many years a professor at Smith College and New York University. His writings helped to define the characteristics of modernist architecture.
Early life
He ...
[Hitchcock (1954), 336]
"Judging from his numerous perspective sketches, Elmes had the ability to rapidly design a building in perspective; not only did he prepare numerous sketches of the exterior, but also perspective views of the interior of the great loggia, and various other features. His full-size details, although Classic in spirit, are essentially modern in character; every suite of mouldings received due consideration as to its placing, and its ultimate relation to the scheme as a whole. Nothing could surpass the beauty of the Neo-Grec ornament selected for terminating the dominating attic. The whole building fulfils the highest canons of the academic style, and is unsurpassed by any other modern building in Europe.
Albert Richardson
Sir Albert Edward Richardson (London, 19 May 1880 – 3 February 1964) was a leading English architect, teacher and writer about architecture during the first half of the 20th century. He was Professor of Architecture at University College Lon ...
[Richardson (1914), p86]
See also
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Grade I listed buildings in Liverpool
There are over 2500 listed buildings in Liverpool, England. A listed building is one considered to be of special architectural, historical or cultural significance, which is protected from being demolished, extended or altered, unless special ...
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Architecture of Liverpool
The architecture of Liverpool is rooted in the city's development into a major port of the British Empire.Hughes (1999), p10 It encompasses a variety of architectural styles of the past 300 years, while next to nothing remains of its medieval ...
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List of public art in Liverpool
The city of Liverpool has a greater number of public sculptures than any other location in the United Kingdom aside from Westminster. Early examples include works by George Frampton, Goscombe John, Thomas Thornycroft, Charles Bell Birch, Richard ...
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Baths of Caracalla
The Baths of Caracalla ( it, Terme di Caracalla) in Rome, Italy, were the city's second largest Ancient Rome, Roman public baths, or ''thermae'', after the Baths of Diocletian. The baths were likely built between AD 212 (or 211) and 216/217, durin ...
References
Citations
Sources
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External links
St George's Hall SiteConservation of reliefs*
ttps://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/content/panoramas/stgeorgeshall_mainroom_360.shtml Panoramic images of the hall from the BBC websitebr>
Photographs (47) from Art and Architecture
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Georges Hall, Liverpool
Liverpool, St George's Hall
Grade I listed buildings in Liverpool
Liverpool, St George's Hall
Liverpool, St George's Hall
Grade I listed museum buildings
Tourist attractions in Liverpool
Museums in Liverpool
Prison museums in the United Kingdom
History museums in Merseyside
Neoclassical architecture in Liverpool
Greek Revival architecture in the United Kingdom
Government buildings completed in 1854
1854 establishments in England