He took an active part in the СНАР. Leyland. But to return to Mr. Leyland. town's affairs, having served the that of chief magistrate three times a very unusual occurrence- Thomas in 1798, 1814, and 1820. In 1816, when Mr. Canning was atputed President of the Board of Control, and had to be reelected, Mr. Leyland was, sorely against his will, put forward as a candidate, and polled 738 votes against his opponent's 1280. In 1820 he was again nominated, without his consent. About the year 1804 he purchased Walton Hall, about three males from Liverpool, formerly the seat of the Athertons, where Le resided until his death, in 1828. With all his great wealth, he is traditionally reported to have been a man of extremely parsimonious, not to say penurious habits. His fortune passed to his nephews, Messrs. Richard and Christopher Bullin; and in default of issue from them to the Naylors, represented by Richard Naylor, Esq., of Hooton Hall, Cheshire, and John Naylor, Esq., of Layton Hall, near Welshpool, and Hafod, Montgomeryshire. Before terminating this peregrination a few words may be said about the Revenue Buidings and the Sailors' Home. Soon after the great improvements in the town under the Act of 1825, the Corporation, in an evil hour, determined to demolish the Old Dock, the cradle of Liverpool commerce, and to erect on its site a large building for the Custom-house, Excise-office, CustomPost ‹ffice, and Dock-office. The reason for this strange prohouse, etc. eeeding it would be useless now to speculate on. As to locality nothing could have been more suitable for a dock; and as to the nature of the site, nothing could have been more unsuitable for the erection of a large building. On August 12, 1828, the first stone was laid by the mayor, Thomas Colley Porter, Esq. The architect was Mr. John Foster, at that time town surveyor. In size the Custom-house is one of the three great buildings of the town, the Exchange, including the Town-hall, and St. George's Hall, being the two others. Area and bulk are powerful elements in architectural design, but they are only the platform on which other and higher qualities should be displayed; and in proportion as the baser or nobler ones prevail, mere bulk adds either deformity or dignity to the structure. The first view of the building conveys to the mind a general impression of heaviness, which it requires some consideration to account for, since the proportions of the order employed-the Ilyssus Ionic-are by no means the heaviest of those in general СНАР. VL Customhouse, etc. (轟 use. Every part is severely classical. Each moulding has been accurately measured, and the minutest details are no doubt strictly en règle; yet life is wanting-sadness and gloom predominate to an almost painful degree. May not the principal reason for this be, that in the three principal fronts the desire to be strictly classical has choked and stifled the least manifestation of original thought? Each front, except the one on NATĂ the sun principally shines, has an advanced portico, with a pediment. Each wing has a recessed portico. Pilasters or antæ break round the angles; and these arrangements, with windows few and far between, constitute the design. There are no indications, such as are stamped on every line in St. George's Hall, of careful study and creative power. The only portion of the exterior which bears anything like a cheerful expression is the south façade, which, being considered the back of the building, was not thought worthy of the severe classical diguity of the other fronts. The simple ranges of arched windows, with the breadth of rusticated wall associated with them, and the depth of the masonry above crowned by a bold entablature, without either portico or pilasters, give a noble simplicity ard unity of effect, combined with that pleasing play of lines which a range of arches in perspective always produces. Another cause of the heaviness of this building is the bareness with which it is carried out, and the material with which it is built. A Greek temple, constructed of white marble, glistening under the blue sky of Athens, its mouldings encrusted with carving, its frieze adorned with sculpture, and probably glowing with brilliant colour, would present a very different aspect from the most slavish copy of the same building in the murky and mest atmosphere of Liverpool, built with dingy sandstone, with the omission of all the sculpture which gave it life and character. The dome has been severely criticised for its nakedness at-1 poverty; but in justice to the architect it should be statesi that the original design had a ring of columns round the tan.lur, which would have produced a fine effect, but which were omitted for economy's sake. The interior presents the same character of gloom indicated by the exterior. The long room, could it be lighted from above, is capable of some grandeur of effect. The staircases, which in buildings of this class are worthy of the most careful study, and may form magnificent features in the design, are paltry in the extreme, and utterly unworthy of a building of any preten VI. Home. The Sailors' Home occupies a position very near the site of CHAP. the old Custom-house. The first stone was laid by Prince Albert, on July 31, 1846. The style is Elizabethan or Jacobean, Sailors' which, from its admission of numerous subdivisions, both vertical. and horizontal, is well adapted for the peculiar arrangements required. The plan is irregular, having had to be accommodated to the trapezoidal form of the land. It may be described as consisting of a central hall, extending from the ground-floor to the top of the structure, surrounded by lofty buildings, partly occupied by day-rooms and offices, and partly divided into numerous storeys, laid out in sleeping cabins for the inmates. A lofty square turret is carried up at each angle. The building as a whole is well adapted for its purpose. The architect was Mr. John Cunningham, of Liverpool. VOL. II. CHAP. Original town. CHAPTER VIL CHURCH STREET AND ITS VICINITY. OUR surveys hitherto have been confined to what may be called the intramural portion of the borough, the triangular space contained between the Pool and the river, which was fortified at the time of the siege, and which, nearly to the close of the seventeenth century, comprised the whole of the town. The agreement with Lord Molyneux, detailed above, threw open the lands across the Pool to building enterprise, which was sn taken advantage of. Previous to this time one solitary building existed on the east side of the stream, at the corner of what is now Whitechapel and Church Street; but the site of which, owing to recent improvements, has been altogether obliterated. The tide originally flowed up the little burn as far as the corner of Dale Street, rendering the stream pretty broad at high water A boat was, therefore, necessary to cross at such times. A bat required a man to attend to it and a house to shelter him. Pool House. Hence arose what was called the Pool House, then the “ Ultima Thule" of the town, on the margin of the wide and des late moor. It is said to have been erected by Alderman Richard Corbet, in 1556,2 When the Act of the 43d Elizabeth was passed (A.D. 1601), requiring each township to provide for its own paupers, this Pool House was hired for the purpose of their accommodation. This probably arose from the circumstance of its having been previously used in times of the plague for the isolation of infected patients. As a poor house it continued in occupation until the year 1723. The building remained until about 1804, when it was taken down for the erection of “ Bullock's Museum." This was a collection of specimens of natural history, Bullock's 1 Vol. i. p. 117. In excavating the ground for the erection of shops, corner of Paraiso Street, in 1570, the remains of a quay wall and paling were laid bare. CHAP. sculptures, curiosities, and antiquities, very creditable for the period, brought together by Mr. William Bullock, originally a jeweller and china dealer in Lord Street. It was continued in Church Street to the year 1809, when it was removed to London, probably from want of encouragement here.. A feeble imitation of it was kept up on the same premises for many years subsequently, under the name of "Kind's Museum," which was a Kind's sort of general bazaar. Museum. Dansie's The first house erected on the east side of the Pool brook Mr. was at the south-east corner of School Lane and Manesty's Lane, house. by Mr. Dansie, in 1680. It was a tolerably large mansion, with a recessed fore-court, surrounded by a low wall. It has been taken down within the last few years, and the printing othices of Messrs. Wilmer aud Smith and the Mercury office eres ted on the site. This house was occupied at different periods by Mr. Ralph Earle, mayor in 1769; Mr. Peter Baker, mayor in 1795; and by Dr. Joseph Brandreth, a physician of considerable celebrity at the end of last and the beginning of this century,1 Before proceeding eastward let us take a glance at Paradise Paradise Street. This was originally called the "Common Shore," from Street. the expanse of sand or mud left bare on the banks at low water. The stream was not navigable except at high water, and we have seen that the original scheme for the accommodation of shipping was to form a canal along the line of the present street. When this was abandoned and the Old Dock constructed, the brook was covered and the street formed under its present name, in the early part of the eighteenth century. In 1725 very little billing had been erected, except at the south end, behind the Custom-house. As trade increased, Paradise Street, being near the dock, became by the middle of the century a thriving thoroughfare. Some of the leading merchants resided there; amongst others Mr. Nicholas Ashton, high sheriff in 1770, who afterwards Nicholas resided at Woolton Hall. The Ashton family are of considerable Ashton. antiquity and standing in the town. George Ashton filled the etfice of bailiff in 1558-1561. In the latter year, by a spirited defence of the town's rights, he incurred the displeasure of the Earl of Derby, who forbade him the use of Toxteth Park as a pasturage for his cattle. John Ashton, merchant, the father of 1 Dr. Brandreth came from Ormskirk, and succeeded in Liverpool to the practice of Dr. Matthew Dobson who retired to Bath about 1776. |