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Reid's Farm Part 2

A popular subject for early railway artists?

The Liverpool & Manchester Railway (L&MR) opened in 1830 and Reid's Farm was an early stopping-place, first appearing in fare schedules in 1831. The first part of this post looked at how Reid's Farm got and lost its name, subsequently becoming known as Barton Moss (which I take to be a subset of Chat Moss in the context of . . .

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October 18, 2017

Reid's Farm Part 1

How an early railway station got and lost its name

Barton Moss map.png

As ever, there is a fair degree of conjecture in what follows. Basic background comes from standard texts by Thomas and Ferneyhough.

The evolution of intermediate stations

When the Liverpool & Manchester Railway (L&MR) opened in September 1830, there was no timetable for intermediate stopping places, . . .

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October 18, 2017

The Athenaeum

Library and newsroom on Church Street

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The 19th century saw Liverpool evolve from its mainly mercantile phase into a city with higher aspirations. That is not to say that convenient access to the latest news was without merit so it was natural that the Athenaeum evolved into a hybrid newsroom-cum-library. Hitherto the need for news had been furnished largely by provision . . .

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March 02, 2017

The Dispensary

Healthcare for the poor of Georgian Liverpool

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Role

The Dispensary was the place for the urban poor to go if in need of out-patient medical advice or treatment. It replaced and enhanced the service previously provided by the parish apothecary, the Dispensary having its own house apothecary plus medical staff.

While the service was free, patients had to be . . .

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February 26, 2017

Dale Street Redux

A large repository of C19th Liverpool sketches

British Museum FTW

It's always fun to find a new source, not least when it's a book written 200 years ago that triggers the search. Americal pioneer chemist and science educator Benjamin Silliman visited London in 1805 and was impressed by what he found at the British Museum (BM) if not by the rushed nature of the visit.

. . .

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February 22, 2017

William Bullock

A visit to Liverpool's first museum

An American in Liverpool

When the American pioneer chemist and educator Benjamin Silliman
arrives in Liverpool in 1805 he stays in the Liverpool Arms Hotel, presumably on Water Street at that time (it later moves to Castle Street).

He does a whirlwind tour of the cultural highlights of the city before travelling to . . .

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February 21, 2017

The Rotunda

Panorama paintings in Liverpool

The first virtual reality experience on Bold Street

Before Bold Street had a Diorama it had the Rotunda. By the time the mid-19th century guides were being written, all they could say was that the building had formerly been used to display panorama paintings. By the time the Diorama opened in 1823, the Rotunda had probably already . . .

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February 19, 2017

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