Bold Street is a street in
Liverpool,
England. It is known for its cafés and for the
Church of St Luke, which is situated at the top end. The bottom end leads into the area surrounding Clayton Square, which is part of the main retail district of central Liverpool. The bottom end contains more shops which are chain stores.
Liverpool Central, a major hub of the
Merseyrail rapid transit/
commuter rail network, can also be accessed via an entrance on Bold Street next to
The Lyceum, a post office which was Europe's first lending library. The middle area contains bars as it leads towards
Concert Square, a square containing clubs and bars, and the top end contains more independent shops and cafes. For the most part, Bold Street is pedestrianised and cars do not have access.
History
Bold Street was originally laid out as a
ropewalk; a long thin area of land used in the manufacture of rope (the area is now known as 'Rope Walks'). They used to measure the rope from the top of Bold Street to the bottom because it was the standard length needed for sailing ships.
It was laid out for residences around 1780 and named after
Jonas Bold
Jonas may refer to:
Geography
* Jonas, Netherlands, Netherlands
* Jonas, Pennsylvania, United States
* Jonas Ridge, North Carolina, United States
People with the name
* Jonas (name), people with the given name or surname Jonas
* Jonas, one of t ...
, a noted
sugar trader and
banker. In 1802 Bold became
Mayor of Liverpool.
Merchants that worked on the docks needed houses close by. Therefore, houses were constructed in Hanover Street first, followed by Duke Street and then Bold Street. The fields that were in the area earlier were also developed quickly into houses. Although there had been port-related industrial activity in the area, with roperies occupying the site of what is now Bold Street to supply the sailing ships, this intensified along with a demand for residential properties so that the merchants could be located close to their business interests.

Physician
Jonathan Binns
Jonathan Binns M.D (1747-1818) was an English Quaker and abolitionist notable for being one of only two signatories from Liverpool who signed a 1783 parliamentary petition calling for the abolition of Slavery.
Life
Binns was born in 1747 t ...
, an 18th-century abolitionist, was among those building a home on the street.
Notable buildings and places of interest
*
The Lyceum
*
Liverpool Social Forum
The Liverpool Social Forum (LSF) is a fortnightly meeting held in Liverpool, England. It is influenced by the alter-globalisation principles of the European Social Forum (ESF), and a number of Liverpudlians attended the 2004 ESF in London.
In 2005 ...
*
Concert Square
References in popular culture
The street is featured in a song of the same name by Liverpool-based singer-songwriter
Eugene McGuinness
Eugene Michael McGuinness (born 11 August 1985 in Leytonstone, London) is an English singer-songwriter and frontman of Eugene + the Lizards.
Music career
McGuinness's first release, ''The Early Learnings of Eugene McGuinness'', was released ...
, included on his debut EP, 'The Early Learnings of...', distributed by
Domino Records Domino Records may refer to:
* Domino Records (1916), American producer of early phonograph, from 1916 to 1917
*Domino Records (1924), American record label, from 1924 to 1933
* Domino Records (Canada), produced by the Compo Company in the 1920s a ...
in 2007.
See also
*
List of restaurant districts and streets
References
{{Authority control
Shopping streets in Liverpool
Restaurant districts and streets in England
Streets in Liverpool