1.
Liverpool
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Liverpool is a major city and metropolitan borough in North West England.24 million people in 2011. Liverpool historically lay within the ancient hundred of West Derby in the south west of the county of Lancashire and it became a borough from 1207 and a city from 1880. In 1889 it became a county borough independent of Lancashire, Liverpool sits on the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary and its growth as a major port is paralleled by the expansion of the city throughout the Industrial Revolution. Along with general cargo, freight, raw materials such as coal and cotton, the city was also directly involved in the Atlantic slave trade. Liverpool was home to both the Cunard and White Star Line, and was the port of registry of the ocean liner RMS Titanic and others such as the RMS Lusitania, Queen Mary, and Olympic. The city celebrated its 800th anniversary in 2007, and it held the European Capital of Culture title together with Stavanger, Norway, several areas of Liverpool city centre were granted World Heritage Site status by UNESCO in 2004. The Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City includes the Pier Head, Albert Dock, tourism forms a significant part of the citys economy. Liverpool is also the home of two Premier League football clubs, Liverpool and Everton, matches between the two being known as the Merseyside derby, the world-famous Grand National horse race takes place annually at Aintree Racecourse on the outskirts of the city. The city is home to the oldest Black African community in the country. Natives of Liverpool are referred to as Liverpudlians and colloquially as Scousers, a reference to scouse, the word Scouse has also become synonymous with the Liverpool accent and dialect. Pool is a place name element in England from the Brythonic word for a pond, inlet, or pit, cognate with the modern Welsh. The derivation of the first element remains uncertain, with the Welsh word Llif as the most plausible relative and this etymology is supported by its similarity to that of the archaic Welsh name for Liverpool Llynlleifiad. Other origins of the name have suggested, including elverpool. The name appeared in 1190 as Liuerpul, and it may be that the place appearing as Leyrpole, in a record of 1418. King Johns letters patent of 1207 announced the foundation of the borough of Liverpool, the original street plan of Liverpool is said to have been designed by King John near the same time it was granted a royal charter, making it a borough. The original seven streets were laid out in an H shape, Bank Street, Castle Street, Chapel Street, Dale Street, Juggler Street, Moor Street, in the 17th century there was slow progress in trade and population growth. Battles for the town were waged during the English Civil War, in 1699 Liverpool was made a parish by Act of Parliament, that same year its first slave ship, Liverpool Merchant, set sail for Africa. Since Roman times, the city of Chester on the River Dee had been the regions principal port on the Irish Sea
2.
George Anderson Lawson
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George Anderson Lawson was a British Victorian era sculptor who was associated with the New Sculpture movement. He was born at Edinburgh in 1832, the son of David Lawson and he was educated at George Heriots Hospital. He trained under Alexander Handyside Ritchie, and in the schools of the Royal Scottish Academy, Lawson travelled to study in Rome, becoming an admirer of John Gibson. Back in England, he lived initially in Liverpool, making work in terracotta and his reputation was established through the creation of statues of distinguished citizens. His first major work was the statue of the Duke of Wellington at the top of Wellingtons Column in the centre of Liverpool at the end of William Brown Street and he also created the relief sculpture depicting Wellingtons major victory at Waterloo. The monument was completed towards the end of 1865 when George Lawsons relief panel of the battle at Waterloo was fixed in place on the pedestal. He moved to London in 1866 and he later created the memorial to Robert Burns in Ayr, inaugurated in 1892. Other versions were circulated to Dublin, Melbourne, Montreal, Winnipeg, Halifax, other memorials include those to James Arthur, Joseph Pease, John Vaughan and John Biggs. In New Zealand, he commemorated William Sefton Moorhouse in Christchurch and he is also remembered for his classical friezes, especially reliefs for Glasgow City Chambers, George Square, and panels for the Municipal Buildings, Bath. The art critic Marion Spielmann described his work as strong, manly, Lawson was elected an Honorary Academician of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1884. He died at Richmond, Surrey, on 23 September 1904, on 28 August 1862, he married Jane Frier of Edinburgh. Lawson still has family connections to the Edinburgh area. George Anderson Lawson Joseph Pease statue S. E. Fryer, rev
3.
Listed building
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A listed building or listed structure, in the United Kingdom, is one that has been placed on the Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. The statutory bodies maintaining the list are Historic England in England, Cadw in Wales, Historic Scotland in Scotland, however, the preferred term in Ireland is protected structure. In England and Wales, an amenity society must be notified of any work to a listed building which involves any element of demolition. Owners of listed buildings are, in circumstances, compelled to repair and maintain them. When alterations are permitted, or when listed buildings are repaired or maintained, slightly different systems operate in each area of the United Kingdom, though the basic principles of the listing remain the same. It was the damage to caused by German bombing during World War II that prompted the first listing of buildings that were deemed to be of particular architectural merit. The listings were used as a means of determining whether a building should be rebuilt if it was damaged by bombing. Listing was first introduced into Northern Ireland under the Planning Order 1972, the listing process has since developed slightly differently in each part of the UK. In the UK, the process of protecting the historic environment is called ‘designation’. A heritage asset is a part of the environment that is valued because of its historic. Only some of these are judged to be important enough to have legal protection through designation. However, buildings that are not formally listed but still judged as being of heritage interest are still regarded as being a consideration in the planning process. Almost anything can be listed – it does not have to be a building, Buildings and structures of special historic interest come in a wide variety of forms and types, ranging from telephone boxes and road signs, to castles. Historic England has created twenty broad categories of structures, and published selection guides for each one to aid with assessing buildings and these include historical overviews and describe the special considerations for listing each category. Both Historic Scotland and Cadw produce guidance for owners, in England, to have a building considered for listing or delisting, the process is to apply to the secretary of state, this can be done by submitting an application form online to Historic England. The applicant does not need to be the owner of the building to apply for it to be listed, full information including application form guidance notes are on the Historic England website. Historic England assesses buildings put forward for listing or delisting and provides advice to the Secretary of State on the architectural, the Secretary of State, who may seek additional advice from others, then decides whether or not to list or delist the building. In England and Wales the authority for listing is granted to the Secretary of State by the Planning Act 1990, Listed buildings in danger of decay are listed on the Historic England Heritage at Risk Register
4.
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
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His defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 put him in the top rank of Britains military heroes. Wellesley was born in Dublin, belonging to the Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland and he was commissioned as an ensign in the British Army in 1787, serving in Ireland as aide-de-camp to two successive Lords Lieutenant of Ireland. He was also elected as a Member of Parliament in the Irish House of Commons and he was a colonel by 1796, and saw action in the Netherlands and in India, where he fought in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War at the Battle of Seringapatam. He was appointed governor of Seringapatam and Mysore in 1799 and, as a newly appointed major-general, following Napoleons exile in 1814, he served as the ambassador to France and was granted a dukedom. During the Hundred Days in 1815, he commanded the army which defeated Napoleon at Waterloo. Wellesleys battle record is exemplary, he participated in some 60 battles during the course of his military career. Wellington is famous for his defensive style of warfare, resulting in several victories against numerically superior forces while minimising his own losses. He is regarded as one of the greatest defensive commanders of all time, after ending his active military career, Wellington returned to politics. He was twice British prime minister as part of the Tory party, from 1828 to 1830 and he oversaw the passage of the Catholic Relief Act 1829, but opposed the Reform Act 1832. He continued as one of the figures in the House of Lords until his retirement. As such, he belonged to the Protestant Ascendancy and his biographers mostly follow the contemporary newspaper evidence in saying that he was born 1 May 1769, the day that he was baptised. He was most likely born at his parents townhouse,24 Upper Merrion Street, Dublin, but his mother Anne, Countess of Mornington, recalled in 1815 that he had been born at 6 Merrion Street, Dublin. He spent most of his childhood at his familys two homes, the first a house in Dublin and the second Dangan Castle,3 miles north of Summerhill on the Trim Road in County Meath. In 1781, Arthurs father died and his eldest brother Richard inherited his fathers earldom and he went to the diocesan school in Trim when at Dangan, Mr Whytes Academy when in Dublin, and Browns School in Chelsea when in London. He then enrolled at Eton, where he studied from 1781 to 1784, moreover, Eton had no playing fields at the time. In 1785, a lack of success at Eton, combined with a shortage of funds due to his fathers death, forced the young Wellesley. Until his early twenties, Arthur showed little sign of distinction and his mother grew concerned at his idleness, stating. A year later, Arthur enrolled in the French Royal Academy of Equitation in Angers, where he progressed significantly, becoming a good horseman and learning French, upon returning to England in late 1786, he astonished his mother with his improvement
5.
Britannia Adelphi Hotel
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The Britannia Adelphi Hotel is in Ranelagh Place, Liverpool city centre, Merseyside, England. The present building is the hotel on the site, and is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. The building is owned and managed by Britannia Hotels and it contains 402 en-suite bedrooms, conference and dining facilities, and a gymnasium. Food hygiene standards continue to be described by official inspectors as very bad, the first hotel on the site was built in 1826 for the hotelier James Radley by the conversion of two 18th Century town houses. It was built on the site of the former Ranelagh Gardens and this hotel was replaced by another hotel in 1876, which was bought in 1892 by the Midland Railway, being renamed the Midland Adelphi. The railway company replaced it between 1911 and 1914 with the present building, designed by Frank Atkinson, when opened, it was regarded as the most luxurious hotel outside London. The RMS Titanic was registered in Liverpool, and the Sefton Suite is said to be an replica of the ill-fated liners First Class Smoking Lounge. However, it is unclear why this claim is made as the room bears no resemblance to Titanics First Class Smoking Room or the First Class Lounge, guests at the hotel have included world leaders, such as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. Artistes appearing at the Empire Theatre, including Frank Sinatra, Laurel and Hardy, Judy Garland, Bob Dylan, Roy Rogers, contrary to the depiction in the film White Mischief, Sir Jock Delves Broughton actually committed suicide in the Adelphi Hotel in December 1942. The Britannia Adelphi Liverpool is constructed in Portland stone and it has seven stories, and its entrance front contains eleven bays. The central three bays of the ground floor comprise the entrance, which is enhanced by columns, the windows on the first floor are round-headed, the rest of the windows are rectangular. In the central three bays of the fourth and fifth floors is a balcony with Ionic columns. There are similar columns on floors in the second and tenth bays. Above the sixth floor is a cornice with a balustrade, the public rooms contain columns, marble panelling, and coffered arches. The Central Court is top-lit, and contains pink marble pilasters, glazed screens, beyond this is the Hypostyle Hall, containing Empire-style decoration and four Ionic columns. Beyond this is the Fountain Court, in Jules Vernes novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea Chapter 1.8, Professor Aronnax describes the interior of the submarine as similar to the Adelphi Hotel. The lounge was used in the 1981 TV series Brideshead Revisited as the interior of an ocean liner, in 1997 the hotel was used in the filming of The Lakes, in which the protagonist used the hotel toilets to steal from the guests. In 1997, the hotel was the subject of an eight-part BBC documentary series and this fly-on-the-wall documentary enabled viewers to look behind the scenes at the everyday running of the hotel
6.
Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville
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Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville PC FRSE was a Scottish advocate and Tory politician. He was the first Secretary of State for War and became, in 1806, although acquitted, he never held public office again. Dundas was born in Edinburgh on 28 April 1742 in the known as Bishops Land on the Royal Mile. He was the son of Robert Dundas of Arniston, Lord President of the Court of Session, by his second wife, Anne Gordon. While a student he was a member of the Edinburgh University Belles Lettres Society, participating in its meetings and his name appears in the 1776 minute book of the Poker Club. After holding subordinate offices under William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne and William Pitt the Younger, appointed Minister for War on the outbreak of the Wars of the French Revolution, he was Pitts closest advisor and planner for Britains military participation in the First Coalition. He is largely responsible for the lack of organization and confused planning in the Flanders Campaign. In November 1793, he provided support to Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Graham, from 1794 to 1801 he was War Secretary under Pitt, his great friend. From about 1798 on he pleaded frequently to be allowed to resign on grounds, but Pitt. In 1802 he was elevated to the Peerage of the United Kingdom as Viscount Melville and Baron Dunira, under Pitt in 1804 he again entered office as First Lord of the Admiralty, when he introduced numerous improvements in the details of the department. Suspicion had arisen, however, as to the management of the Admiralty. In 1802 a commission of inquiry was appointed, which reported in 1805, the result was the impeachment of Dundas in 1806, on the initiative of Samuel Whitbread, for the misappropriation of public money. Although the process ended in an acquittal, and nothing more than formal negligence lay against him and this was the last impeachment trial ever held in the House of Lords. Another reason for his retreat could have been Pitts death in 1806, an earldom was offered in 1809 but declined. Lord Melvilles first marriage was to Elizabeth, daughter of David Rannie, of Melville Castle, within days she had confessed by letter to her husband, and approximately a month later they were divorced. She never saw her again, dying in 1847, aged 97. Henry Dundas, as was the law of the time, kept all of the money, after this divorce he married again, to Lady Jane Hope, daughter of John Hope, 2nd Earl of Hopetoun, in 1793. He died in May 1811, aged 69, and was succeeded in his titles by his son from his first marriage, the Viscountess Melville later remarried and died in June 1829
7.
St Andrew Square, Edinburgh
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St Andrew Square is a city square in Edinburgh, Scotland located at the east end of George Street. The construction of St Andrew Square began in 1772, as the first part of the New Town, within six years of its completion St Andrew Square became one of the most desirable and most fashionable residential areas in the city. As the 19th century came to a close, St Andrew Square evolved into the centre of the city. Most of the rest of the square is made up of offices of banks and insurance companies. At one time, St Andrew Square could claim to be the richest area of its size in the whole of Scotland, dominating the centre of St Andrew Square is the fluted column of the Melville Monument, commemorating Henry Dundas, the first Viscount Melville. The Melville Monument is surrounded by St Andrew Square Gardens, recently redesigned and opened to the public, on the east side of the square stands the impressive mansion of Dundas House, built by Sir William Chambers for Sir Lawrence Dundas between 1772 and 1774. Once the intended site for St Andrews Church, Dundas House became the office of The Royal Bank of Scotland in 1825. A short distance from Dundas House, down George Street, is where St. Andrews Church was built in 1784, in 1806 the head office of the British Linen Bank moved to St. Andrew Square. The building is now a branch of the Bank of Scotland, St. Andrew Square was also home to the National Bank of Scotland, which was headquartered at No. 42, until it merged with the Royal Bank of Scotland in 1969, beneath the eastern streets of the square lies the long disused Scotland Street Tunnel, which continues under the New Town to Canonmills. The tunnel was built in 1847 as part of the Edinburgh, Leith and its southern end was demolished in the 1980s during the construction of the Waverley Market shopping centre. Many famous Scots occupied the residences of St Andrew Square, on the north side of the square, No.21 was the birthplace of Lord Henry Brougham in 1778. His family was one of the first families to take up residency in St Andrew Square, another resident was philosopher and economist David Hume, friend of architect Robert Adam. Hume chose a site on the southwest side of the square at the corner of Princes Street, also on the north side, No.26 was the home to architect Sir William Chambers. St Andrew Square has been used as a hub for a number of years. The former St Andrew Square Bus station was redeveloped in 2003 to incorporate a new luxury shopping street, Multrees Walk, Edinburgh Bus Station is located to the east of the square. It is served by long-distance bus & coach operators, such as Scottish Citylink, local bus services have stops to the north of the square and on North St David Street. The square acquired a stop on its eastern side in May 2014 when the new Edinburgh Trams came into operation
8.
Trajan's Column
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Trajans Column is a Roman triumphal column in Rome, Italy, that commemorates Roman emperor Trajans victory in the Dacian Wars. It was probably constructed under the supervision of the architect Apollodorus of Damascus at the order of the Roman Senate and it is located in Trajans Forum, built near the Quirinal Hill, north of the Roman Forum. Completed in AD113, the column is most famous for its spiral bas relief. Its design has inspired numerous victory columns, both ancient and modern, the structure is about 30 metres in height,35 metres including its large pedestal. The shaft is made from a series of 20 colossal Carrara marble drums, each weighing about 32 tons, the 190-metre frieze winds around the shaft 23 times. Inside the shaft, a staircase of 185 steps provides access to a viewing platform at the top. The capital block of Trajans Column weighs 53.3 tons, on December 4,1587, the top was crowned by Pope Sixtus V with a bronze figure of St. Peter, which remains to this day. The column was originally flanked by two libraries, which may have contained Trajans scroll-written despatches from his Roman-Dacian Wars, filippo Coarelli suggests that such scrolls are the basis both of the columns design and its spiraling, sculpted narrative. The column shows 2,662 figures, and 155 scenes, the continuous helical frieze winds twenty-three times from base to capital, and was in its time an architectural innovation. The design was adopted by later emperors such as Marcus Aurelius, the narrative band expands from about 1 metre at the base of the column to 1.2 metres at the top. Often a variety of different perspectives are used in the same scene, the relief portrays Trajans two victorious military campaigns against the Dacians, the lower half illustrating the first, and the top half illustrating the second. These campaigns were contemporary to the time of the Columns building, throughout, the frieze repeats standardized scenes of imperial address, sacrifice, and the army setting out on campaign. Scenes of battle are much an minority on the column, instead it emphasizes images of orderly soldiers carrying out ceremony. The war against Dacia was one of conquest and expansion, wartime violence in general seems to have been downplayed. The two sections are separated by a personification of Victory writing on a shield flanked on either side by Trophies, great care is taken to distinguish the men and women from both sides of the campaign as well as the ranks within these distinct groups. The scenes are crowded with sailors, soldiers, statesmen and priests and it also exists as a valuable source of information on Roman and barbaric arms and methods of warfare and costume. The relief shows details such as a ballista or catapult, the precise details of the depictions creates a reality effect for the viewer in which designers hope is that these images are taken for objective historical truth. The emperor Trajan is depicted realistically in the Veristic style, the focus on Trajan as the heroic protagonist is central
9.
Runcorn
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Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port in Cheshire, England, located within the Borough of Halton. In 2010, Runcorns population was estimated to be 61,000, the town is on the southern bank of the River Mersey, where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. Directly to the north across the River Mersey is the town of Widnes, upstream and 8 miles to the northeast is the town of Warrington, and downstream 16 miles to the west is the city of Liverpool. Runcorn railway station is on a branch of the West Coast Main Line and provides frequent services to the Liverpool Lime Street, Birmingham New Street, and London Euston stations. The A533 road passes through the town from the south, crossing the Runcorn Gap over the Silver Jubilee Bridge, Runcorn was a small, isolated village until the Industrial Revolution. It was a resort in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Towards the end of the 18th century, a port began to develop on the bank of the River Mersey. During the 19th century, industries developed the manufacture of soap and alkali, quarrying, shipbuilding, engineering, in the early 20th century, the prime industries were chemicals and tanning. The original village has grown to include what were outlying villages, the earliest written reference to the town is in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, where it is spelled Rumcofan, literally meaning a wide cove or bay. This word is derived from the Old English words rúm and cofa, other historical spellings of Runcorn include Rumcoven, Ronchestorn, Runckhorne, and Runcorne. Little is known about the history of the settlement but isolated findings of objects from the Stone, Bronze. The earliest recorded event in its history is the building by Ethelfleda of a fortification at Runcorn to protect the frontier of her kingdom of Mercia against the Vikings in 915. The fort was built on Castle Rock overlooking the River Mersey at Runcorn Gap, following the Norman conquest, Runcorn was not mentioned in the 1086 Domesday survey, although surrounding settlements were. William the Conqueror granted the earldom of Chester to Hugh dAvranches who granted the barony of Halton to Nigel and it is likely that Nigel erected a motte and bailey castle on Halton Hill in the 1070s. In 1115, Nigels son, William Fitznigel, founded an Augustinian Priory at Runcorn, in 1134 the priory was moved to Norton, about 3.5 miles away. In 1391 the priory was raised to the status of abbey. During the Civil War Halton Castle was held for the Royalists by John Savage, 2nd Earl Rivers and it fell twice to Parliamentarian Roundheads. The first siege was led by Sir William Brereton in 1643, following this, a Council of War was held in Warrington in 1646 at which it was decided that the castle should be slighted
