Thursday Doors: Liverpool (1)

I was back to my Merseyside roots a few weeks ago (armed only with an oldish iPhone rather than my ‘proper’ camera kit) and spent a nostalgic day wandering around the centre of Liverpool.

Of course, a lot of it has been modernised since it was my stamping-ground almost fifty years ago, but there are still plenty of doors that have been around far longer than I have, as I’ll be showing over the next couple of weeks.

To begin with, here is a selection from the area around the Philharmonic Hall and the Anglican cathedral. One of Liverpool’s ‘posher’ thoroughfares is Rodney Street, dating from Georgian times and now – as the local equivalent to London’s Harley Street – largely occupied by medical and dental practices.

Over a hunderd years ago, my grandmother was a domestic servant in one of these grand houses, although probably not this one, which, according to the plaque, was the birthplace (in 1809) of W. E . Gladstone, who was Queen Victoria’s Prime Minister on no less than four separate occasions.

Another impressive example from further along the street:

Nearby is Hope Place, with its Georgian terraces set back from the street:

Heading back downhill into the heart of the city, you pass this long-standing edifice, which is where football referees go to complete their training:

And finally for this week, by way of contrast, just opposite the entrance to the Mersey Tunnel is a small green space called St. John’s Gardens. If memory serves, these used to be the entrances to the Ladies and Gents public conveniences:

Thursday Doors 3 August 2017