Remembering Liverpool Structures - The Athenaeum

 

The old entrance in Church Street before demolition

During the last decade of the 18th Century, England was embroiled in a long and costly war with France and as the major port on the western seaboard of England, Liverpool played a key role in this war. If Liverpool’s merchants and other professionals were to carry on trade and assist the port’s growth, they were in vital need of commercial and political information. Information of this nature was almost exclusively gleaned from newspapers and periodicals but the usual way to read these was in coffee houses, which were frequently overcrowded and noisy. The need for a congenial environment in which to read the papers was obvious, thus, a number of the leading citizens conceived the idea of establishing such a setting, and so the principle of the founding of a club was born. In 1797, those citizens circulated a document entitled 'Outlines of a plan for a library and newsroom' to potential subscribers which proposed “to procure a regular supply of newspapers, both town and country; all the periodicals of any value, and all the pamphlets that have reference to subjects of local or general polity or commerce”. The writers of the prospectus went further: the institution was to provide books for the acquisition of general knowledge and for entertainment. The existing Liverpool Library, founded in 1758, was deemed to be failing in this respect by the writers of the prospectus. With typical late 18th Century directness, the first sentence read: "It has often been a matter of surprise to many inhabitants of this place, and still more to strangers, that in a town of such commercial and national importance as Liverpool, the conveniences and accommodation for the acquisition of knowledge, both local and general, both ancient and modern, should be so imperfect as they most confessedly are." The proposal came at a time of spectacular growth in the importance of Liverpool as a port and trading centre as by 1792, Liverpool had 17% of all trade through English ports and by the end of the 18th Century, the town supported not only ship owners, merchants, and manufacturers, but also a burgeoning professional class including lawyers, doctors, and clerics.

The idea of such an institution seems to have originated in the provinces and not in London. Existing London clubs were political in nature, or founded with gambling as their main activity. The more serious London clubs, like the London Athenaeum and Garrick, postdate the Liverpool Athenaeum by some years. The premises were originally in Church Street, opposite Clayton Square and near to St. Peter’s Church. The name 'Athenaeum', chosen by the founders for the new institution, comes from the Greek goddess of wisdom, Athene; the diphthong in the name reflects the fact that 'Athene' can be spelt ending with an 'a' or an 'e'.On the 1st of January 1799, the building had advanced to the point that the newsroom could open with the library opening on the 1st of May 1800.

The old Newsroom looking out to Parker Street

Having remained on its original site for nearly 150 years, the Athenaeum was faced in the late 1920s with a local authority which needed to widen Church Street to accommodate the large volume of vehicular traffic. This would involve the demolition of St. Peter’s church and the Athenaeum building. The Committee of the Athenaeum, after long negotiation with the local authority, was able to secure a long lease on a newly built and empty building in Church Alley. They commissioned an architect to design the interior to reflect that of the old building, and so in 1928 the Athenaeum moved to its present site. A brass cross set in the pavement of Church Street marks the position of the altar of the church, and the Athenaeum building is on its graveyard.

Today the Athenaeum continues to function in the elegant building erected near the famous Bluecoat Chambers in Church Alley. In addition to its newsroom, the most splendid room of its kind in Liverpool, the Athenaeum has a justly renowned Library, a very attractive dining room and a smaller meeting room. The heart of the Athenaeum is its library, one of the greatest proprietary libraries in the United Kingdom. In 1848 Washington Irving wrote, "One of the first places to which a stranger is taken in Liverpool is the Athenaeum; it contains a good library and a spacious reading room and is the great literary resource of the place." In addition to its Newsroom, the most splendid room of its kind in Liverpool, the Athenaeum has a justly renowned library, an attractive dining room, and two smaller meeting rooms. The library, with its vast collection of books and splendid Doric columns was once described as 'one of the finest rooms of the 20th century in this country if not the whole of Europe'. It contains 60,000 books, maps and pamphlets which can be used by members and can be available for researchers. Of all the Athenaeum’s many venerable members past and present, pride of place must go to William Roscoe, a banker, writer and book lover who was a leading opponent of the slave trade. In 1815 Roscoe became bankrupt but fellow club members - many would probably themselves have been in banking or shipping - bought a collection of his favourite books which he had been forced to sell and donated them to the Athenaeum where he was still able to enjoy them. The distinguished list of members, or Proprietors as they are referred to within the Athenaeum, are drawn from every walk of life from across the City of Liverpool and beyond, including the distinguished broadcaster Roger Phillips, Chair of the Governing Board. Previously members have been, The Rt. Revd Francis Chavasse, the second Bishop of Liverpool, William Duncan, the first Medical Officer for Health in Britain and the local architect Sir James Picton. However 90 out of the original 250 shareholders (36 per cent) had direct ties to the slave trade including members of elite slave-trading families like the Aspinalls, Earles, Gregsons, Heywoods, and Gladstones. The members are currently working with Liverpool University to explore these links with this abhorrent economy and its impact on the wider industrial revolution of the city and region. In addition they are looking forward to working closely with the International Slavery Museum, ensuring their own library and archive may become a resource for study and research, to support a clear understanding of Liverpool’s role in the slave economy.

see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2022/01/remembering-liverpool-structures-grand.html