Liverpool (redirected from Socialist Republic of Scouseland)

Liverpool, city (1991 pop. 448,300), NW England, on the Mersey River near its mouth. It is one of Britain's largest cities. A large center for food processing (especially flour and sugar), Liverpool has a variety of industries, including the manufacture of electrical equipment, chemicals, and rubber. Liverpool was once famous for its pottery, and its textile industry was also prosperous; however, since World War II its cotton market has declined considerably. The city's first wet dock was completed by 1715; at their height, the docks were more than 7 mi (11.3 km) long. Once Britain's greatest port, Liverpool suffered extreme setbacks with the advent of container ships, which it could not handle, and the shift in Great Britain's trade focus from the United States to the European Union. Some of the docklands have been redeveloped as cultural and tourist attractions. The city is connected by tunnel with Birkenhead across the Mersey.

In 1207, King John granted Liverpool its first charter. In 1644, during the English Civil War, Liverpool surrendered to the royalists under Prince Rupert after several sieges. Air raids during World War II caused heavy damage and casualties. The statesman William Gladstone, the artist George Stubbs, and the members of the musical group the Beatles were born in Liverpool.

Liverpool Cathedral, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, was begun in 1904 and completed in 1978. A Roman Catholic cathedral was consecrated in 1967. St. George's Hall is an imposing building in a group that includes libraries and art galleries. The Walker Gallery has a fine collection of Italian and Flemish paintings, as well as more modern works. The Univ. of Liverpool was incorporated in 1903. There is a separate school of tropical medicine.

---

Liverpool

City (pop., 2001: 439,473), northwestern England, on the estuary of the River Mersey. It forms the nucleus of the metropolitan county of Merseyside in the historic county of Lancashire. King John granted its charter in 1207. Its growth was slow until the 18th century, when it expanded rapidly as a result of trade with the Americas and the West Indies, becoming Britain's most important port after London. The Liverpool and Manchester Railway (opened 1830) was the first in England to link two major cities. Heavily damaged in World War II, Liverpool declined in importance as a port and an industrial centre in the postwar era. The birthplace of the Beatles, it is also the seat of the University of Liverpool (1903). Liverpool's docklands and several areas of the historic centre of the city were collectively designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2004.