The Pier Head (properly, George's Pier Head[1][2]) is a riverside location in the city centre of Liverpool, England. It was part of the former Liverpool Maritime Mercantile CityUNESCOWorld Heritage Site, which was inscribed in 2004, but revoked in 2021.[3][4] As well as a collection of landmark buildings, recreational open space, and a number of memorials, the Pier Head was (and for some traffic still is) the landing site for passenger ships travelling to and from the city.
By the 1890s, the George's Dock, where the Pier Head now is, was essentially redundant. Built in 1771, it was the third dock built in Liverpool, and was too small and too shallow in depth for the commercial ships of the late 19th century.[5] Most of the site was owned by the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board, set up by Parliament in 1857; a small part of the site still was still held by the Corporation of the City of Liverpool.[5] The board and the corporation had differing priorities, and the former were not inclined to forgo any commercial advantage for the benefit of the latter.[5]
Liverpool Pier Head by night
In January 1896, the two bodies began discussions, with the corporation's team headed by Frederick, Lord Derby (who was then the city's Lord Mayor), and the Board's representatives led by Robert Gladstone, a member of the Liverpool family of which W.E. Gladstone was the best-known.[5] The Corporation sought to persuade the Board to accept its offer to buy the site, reserving a portion of it for new Board offices. After two years of negotiation this was agreed, and Parliamentary authority was obtained for the deal. The Corporation paid £277,399 for the site, from which the Board reserved about 13,500 square yards for its own building.[5]
The board pressed ahead with its new headquarters, and announced a competition, restricted to local architects, to be adjudicated by Alfred Waterhouse.[5] Despite some protests in national architectural journals about the exclusion of architects from beyond Liverpool, the local firm of Briggs, Wolstenholme, Hobbs and Thornley was appointed. A neo-baroque design was approved, with a central dome added at the last minute before the final plans were adopted in time for the start of building work in March 1903.[5] The building was opened in the summer of 1907.[5]
When it acquired the site, the corporation had been confident of finding tenants for the two remaining plots suitable for large-scale buildings, but no such prospective tenants came forward, and it was decided to offer the freehold of the sites for sale. However, at an auction of the sites in 1905 there were no bidders. The following year, the Royal Liver Friendly Society made an approach through Walter Aubrey Thomas, a local architect, successfully offering considerably less for a site than the corporation had hoped for: £70,000 instead of £95,000.[5] Gladstone and the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board expressed consternation at the height of the Royal Liver Society's proposed new headquarters, sometimes described as "England's first skyscraper",[5] but after much debate the corporation approved the plans.[5]
The last of the three Pier Head sites between the Liver Building and the Docks and Harbour Board offices was for some time intended to be developed on behalf of the corporation, partly to replace a nearby public baths and partly as offices for the city's new tram network.[5] This scheme fell through, and in the early years of the 20th century a combined public baths and customs house was proposed. After several years that scheme, too, came to nothing, and in 1913 the Cunard shipping line announced its intention to build a new headquarters in Liverpool. The Cunard Building was built of reinforced concrete, clad in Portland Stone, in a style intended to recall grand Italian palaces, described by the architectural historian Peter De Figueiredo as "a match for its more ostentatious neighbours in expressive power but greatly superior in refinement of detail and proportion."[5]
In 2002, the Pier Head, and the adjacent Mann Island, were subjected to an ill-fated development scheme known as the "Fourth Grace" project. This, with the winning entry, designed by Will Alsop and known as "the Cloud", was abandoned in 2004 after "fundamental changes" to the original waterfront plan left it unworkable.[6]
In 2007, work began on a new scheme, to re-house the Museum of Liverpool Life. The new museum, known as the Museum of Liverpool opened in 2011.[7] Work also started in 2007 to build a canal link between the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and the South Docks. The £22 million pound, 1.6-mile extension to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal was officially opened on 25 March 2009 and opened to boaters at the end of April 2009. It links the 127mi (204km) of the existing canal to the city's South Docks, passing the Pier Head and its landmark buildings.
Landmark buildings
The site encompasses a trio of landmarks, built on the site of the former George's Dock and referred to since at least 1998[8] as "The Three Graces":
The floating landing stage, Prince's Landing Stage, c.1930
Originally, the Prince's Landing Stage was situated at the Pier Head to serve the trans-Atlantic liner service. There were a number of these stages built during Liverpool's history, the most recent opened in the 1890s and was joined to the neighbouring George's Landing Stage, situated to the south. After further lengthening took place in the early twentieth century, the combined structure originally measured 2,478 feet, almost half a mile. Both were scrapped in 1973, following the termination of trans-Atlantic services from Liverpool.[9][pageneeded]
Only a few months after a new stage (to replace the previous combined structure) was opened on 13 July 1975, it had to be refloated, after sinking in freak weather.[9][pageneeded] Similar conditions, and an extremely low tide on 2 March 2006, caused it to sink again, probably because one of its girder's air pockets ruptured, and it could not be refloated.[10] A temporary landing stage was installed until early 2010, when work began on a new Mersey Ferries landing stage. Mersey Ferries services switched to the Cruise Terminal. Services to Liverpool had to be suspended on 14 occasions during the year when large cruise ships were visiting.[11]
A brand new dedicated landing stage for the ferry was towed into place in November 2011, with the linkspan bridge being craned into place shortly after.[12] The new landing stage was officially opened in January 2012, with services resuming on 9 January.[13]
Isle of Man Ferry
The Isle of Man Steam Packet ferry service also operates from Princes Landing Stage, at a berth adjacent to those used by the Mersey Ferries.
Land transport
In addition to the Mersey Ferries, the Pier Head previously served as a major tram and later businterchange.
The plaque on Canada Boulevard at the Pier HeadMerchant Navy memorial
The open space at the Pier Head has also seen several developments. In the 1960s the area was given over to a bus terminal; in 1963 the terminal building for the Mersey Ferry was refurbished to include an adjoining restaurant. In 1991 the ferry terminal itself was reconfigured to its present style.
Running the length of the plaza is the Canada Boulevard, a walkway containing memorial plaques in memory of Canadians who gave their life in the Battle of the Atlantic.
There are several recent additions to the memorials at the Pier Head. In 2013, memorials were unveiled to the Second World War convoy escort group commander Captain Johnnie Walker and to the RMS Lancastria.[14][15] The Chinese Merchant Seamen's Memorial, remembering the Chinese merchant seamen who served and died for Britain in both World Wars, was unveiled on 23 January 2006.[16][17]
Merseyside is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Welsh county of Flintshire across the Dee Estuary to the southwest, and the Irish Sea to the west. The largest settlement is the city of Liverpool.
The Mersey Ferry is a ferry service operating on the River Mersey in northwest England, between Liverpool to the east and Birkenhead and Wallasey on the Wirral Peninsula to the west. Ferries have been used on this route since at least the 12th century and continue to be popular for both local people and visitors.
The Royal Liver Building is a Grade I listed building in Liverpool, England. It is located at the Pier Head and along with the neighbouring Cunard Building and Port of Liverpool Building is one of Liverpool's Three Graces, which line the city's waterfront. It was also part of Liverpool's formerly UNESCO-designated World Heritage Maritime Mercantile City.
The Cunard Building is a Grade II* listed building in Liverpool, England. It is located at the Pier Head and along with the neighbouring Royal Liver Building and Port of Liverpool Building is one of Liverpool's Three Graces, which line the city's waterfront. It is also part of Liverpool's former UNESCO designated World Heritage, the Maritime Mercantile City.
The Port of Liverpool Building is a Grade II* listed building in Liverpool, England. It is located at the Pier Head and, along with the neighbouring Royal Liver Building and Cunard Building, is one of Liverpool's Three Graces, which line the city's waterfront. It is also part of Liverpool's formerly UNESCO-designated World Heritage Maritime Mercantile City.
Langton Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, England, and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the northern dock system in Bootle, connected to Alexandra Dock to the north and Brocklebank Dock to the south. Langton Dock locks provide a working connection to the river; one of the two remaining operational river entrances in the northern dock system.
Prince's Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, England, and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is the most southerly of the docks situated in the northern part of the Liverpool dock system, connected to Prince's Half-Tide Dock to the north. The dock is now in the buffer zone to one of Liverpool's World Heritage Sites.
The Port of Liverpool is the enclosed 7.5-mile (12.1 km) dock system that runs from Brunswick Dock in Liverpool to Seaforth Dock, Seaforth, on the east side of the River Mersey and the Birkenhead Docks between Birkenhead and Wallasey on the west side of the river.
The Mersey Docks and Harbour Company (MDHC), formerly the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board (MDHB), owns and administers the dock facilities of the Port of Liverpool, on the River Mersey, England. These include the operation of the enclosed northern dock system that runs from Prince's Dock to Seaforth Dock, in the city of Liverpool and the dock facilities built around the Great Float of the Wirral Peninsula, located on the west side of the river.
Chelsea Piers is a series of piers in Chelsea, on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located to the west of the West Side Highway and Hudson River Park and to the east of the Hudson River, they were originally a passenger ship terminal in the early 1900s that was used by the RMS Lusitania and was the destination of the RMS Carpathia after rescuing the survivors of the RMS Titanic. The piers replaced a variety of run-down waterfront structures with a row of grand buildings embellished with pink granite facades.
Belfast Harbour is a major maritime hub in Belfast, Northern Ireland, handling 67% of Northern Ireland's seaborne trade and about 25% of the maritime trade of the entire island of Ireland. It is a vital gateway for raw materials, exports and consumer goods, and is also Northern Ireland's leading logistics and distribution hub.
Woodside is an area of Birkenhead in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is situated opposite Liverpool Pier Head across the River Mersey.
Rock Ferry is an area of Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula, England. Administratively it is a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. Before local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974, it was part of the county of Cheshire. At the 2011 Census, the population was 14,298.
The Liverpool Canal Link is an English waterway link that connects the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, at the Liverpool Pier Head, to the city's South Docks. It cost £22m and was opened in March 2009. The new link adds 1.4 miles (2.3 km) of navigable waterway to the canal system.
Pier Head was a railway station on the Liverpool Overhead Railway. Opened on 6 March 1893 by the Marquis of Salisbury, it was located close to the landing stage of the Mersey Ferry, and next to the land on which the Royal Liver Building was built in 1911.
Liverpool in North West England, is a major British city with significant road, rail, and ferry networks, in addition to an international airport and a well-known dock system. As with most other major UK cities, Liverpool's transport infrastructure is centred on its road and rail networks. Public transport services within the city are controlled and run by Merseytravel.
The Liverpool Cruise Terminal is a 350-metre-long (1,150 ft) floating structure situated on the River Mersey enabling large cruise ships to visit without entering the enclosed dock system or berthing mid-river and tendering passengers ashore. The terminal was officially opened on 21 September 2007 by the Duke of Kent when the Queen Elizabeth 2 berthed at the terminal. The current terminal is composed mainly of a floating landing stage, with a small passenger terminal building, but a larger terminal is planned by the new operators Global Ports Holding.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Liverpool, England.
New Brighton Pier was a pleasure and fishing pier in New Brighton, Wallasey in England. It was built during the late 1860s at a length of 600 feet (180 m). During the 19th century, New Brighton had developed into a popular seaside resort for Liverpool's working class visitors.
SS Skirmisher was a steel tugboat and passenger tender of the Cunard Line built in 1884 for service in the Mersey at Liverpool. She was used in this role through the Cunard-White Star merger until 1941. She was sold for scrap in 1947.
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Cunard Line, 1875
Dominion Line, 1890s
Inman Line, 1870
Inman Line, 1876
Inman Line, 1877
White Star Line and White-Star Dominion Line, routes 1923
White Star Line 1910s
