The River Mersey is a major river in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part of the boundary between the historic counties of Lancashire and Cheshire.
The River Mersey at Liverpool, looking towards the Royal Liver Building
The River Mersey empties into the Manchester Ship Canal at Irlam.
Aerial view of the Runcorn Gap
An aerial image of the estuary in 1962
Northumbria was an early medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom in what is now Northern England and south-east Scotland.
Page from the Lindisfarne Gospels, c. 700, featuring zoomorphic knot-work.
The colophon to the Gospel of Matthew from the Durham Gospel Fragment, featuring non-zoomorphic interlace patterns.
The Book of Kells, (folio 292r), c. 800, showing the lavishly decorated text that opens the Gospel of John
Sword pommel from the Bedale Hoard, inlaid with gold foil.