Bold Street, Liverpool

Bold Street

The bottom of Bold Street
Location Liverpool
Postal code L1

Bold Street is a street in Liverpool, England. It is known for its cafés and for the Church of St Luke, which is situated at the top end. The bottom end leads into the area surrounding Clayton Square, which is part of the main retail district of central Liverpool. The bottom end contains more shops which are chain stores. Liverpool Central, one of Liverpool's main stations after Liverpool Lime Street, can also be accessed via an entrance on Bold Street next to The Lyceum, a post office which was Europe's first lending library. The middle area contains bars as it leads towards Concert Square, a square containing clubs and bars, and the top end contains more independent shops and cafes. For the most part, Bold Street is pedestrianised and cars do not have access.

History

Bold Street was originally laid out as a ropewalk; a long thin area of land used in the manufacture of rope (the area is now known as 'Rope Walks'). They used to measure the rope from the top of Bold Street to the bottom because it was the standard length needed for sailing ships.[1] It was laid out for residences around 1780 and named after Jonas Bold, a noted slave merchant, sugar trader and banker. In 1802 Bold became Mayor of Liverpool.[2] It was also known as "the Bond Street of the North."

Merchants that worked on the docks needed houses close by. Therefore, houses were constructed in Hanover Street first, followed by Duke Street and then Bold Street. The fields that were in the area earlier were also developed quickly into houses. Although there had been port-related industrial activity in the area, with roperies occupying the site of what is now Bold Street to supply the sailing ships, this intensified along with a demand for residential properties so that the merchants could be located close to their business interests.[3]

Bold Street Festival

Pavement Art from the Bold Street Festival

Bold Street has held a festival for the past 3 years. In 2010, this took place on Sunday 26 September.[4] The festival celebrates Liverpool's alternative shopping area. Sarah Newton said 'Cities all over are under pressure to homogenize more, to look more like one another, but Bold Street just looks like Liverpool and I think it's really important that we highlight this.'.[4] The festival included pavement art, dance workshops, a parade from Liverpool samba group, street performers and a ceremonial street clean .[4][5] The festival also hosted the world's smallest nightclub, Rumours, with an entrance fee of only 50 pence.[6]

Notable buildings and places of interest

References in popular culture

The street is featured in a song of the same name by Liverpool-based singer-songwriter Eugene McGuinness, included on his debut EP, 'The Early Learnings of...', distributed by Domino Records in 2007.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Bold Street Special". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 2010-09-26.
  2. ↑ "Liverpool Slavery History Trail, Accessible Version". Liverpool museums. Retrieved 2010-09-25.
  3. ↑ "Duke Street Area, Accessible Version". Liverpool World Heritage City. Archived from the original on 26 June 2009. Retrieved 2010-09-26.
  4. 1 2 3 "Road closure for street festival", BBC News, 24 September 2010
  5. ↑ Road closure for street festival
  6. ↑ Third Bold Street Festival shines in late September sun

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bold Street, Liverpool.

Coordinates: 53°24′10″N 2°58′40″W / 53.40278°N 2.97778°W / 53.40278; -2.97778

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