10 Fun Facts About Liverpool You Never Knew

Liverpool is a city well known for its culture and history… particularly music and football!

The city saw immense growth during the Industrial Revolution and used to be one of the world’s biggest ports.

It has now become a dynamic and vibrant top UK tourist attraction.

In this article, you will discover 10 fun facts about Liverpool that you probably didn’t know.

1. City of Pop

Liverpool is well known as being the birthplace of The Beatles and home to the famous Cavern Club. Its pop and rock music scene has been influential in the development of many bands and artists over the last several decades.

So far, around 53 number one hit singles have been produced in Liverpool.

In honour of this, it gained the title “City of Pop” from the Guinness World Records in 2001.

2. Liverpool was founded by King John

A fun fact for literature lovers! Liverpool was founded in 1207 by the King of England, King John.

Perhaps best known as being the villain in Robin Hood– King John founded Liverpool to avoid paying tax. Whenever King John wanted to sail to attack the Irish, he was expected to pay a tax to the Earl of Chester

3. The Liver Birds are called Bella and Bertie – but were actually meant to be eagles.

Did you know that the two famous Liver Birds in Liverpool were actually meant to be eagles? King John originally asked for the eagle to be the symbol of Liverpool in 1207.

The only problem was, nobody in Liverpool knew what an eagle looked like!

Instead, they designed the Liver Bird which looks like a cross between a duck and a seagull. According to legend, the two Liver Birds must never face each other, otherwise Liverpool will be destroyed and crumble into the sea.

Bella faces the ocean to protect the sailors, and Bertie faces the city to protect the families but they never face each other.

4. Liverpool has the most Museums outside of London

Liverpool has more museums and art galleries than any other city in the UK, outside of London. The museums and art galleries in Liverpool are bursting with brilliant pieces of history and culture.

Liverpool’s World Museum was actually the most visited museum in England (outside of London) in 2018 with over one million visitors.

The International Slavery Museum is also the only slavery museum in the world.

5. Liverpool was named European Capital of Culture in 2008

We are halfway through our list of fun facts that you may not have known about Liverpool!

Fact number five is that in 2008 Liverpool was given the title of ‘European Capital of Culture’.

Liverpool became a popular tourist destination, rich in culture and history. Tourist attractions in Liverpool include everything from fashion to music to history. The city has thrived over the last several years, and has even outperformed some of the larger cities such as London

6. Charles Dickens became a temporary Police Officer in Liverpool

As part of his research, author Charles Dickens was sworn in as a special constable police officer in Victorian Liverpool for just a few days.

Liverpool was a source of inspiration for many of his books, including A Christmas Carol, which had its premier reading St George’s Hall.

7. Liverpool actually means ‘Muddy Pool’

There have been many theories on how the city of Liverpool got its name. The most common theory is that Liverpool means Muddy Pool in old English. A name describing the local geography at the time… How appealing!

8. Many films have been shot in Liverpool

Did you know Liverpool is a very popular filming location. Both old and new film classics have been shot in Liverpool, including Fantastic Beasts and Harry Potter.

The winding staircases you see in Hogwarts are known to be inspired by the stairs in Central Library Liverpool.

9. Liverpool One is the largest open air shopping centre in Europe

One for the shopaholics… Liverpool One boasts more than 170 shops and restaurants, making it one of Europe’s best shopping destinations.

It was actually designed to be so big that you can stand anywhere in Liverpool One and be able to see one of Liverpool’s Landmarks. 

10. St George’s Hall was the first air conditioned building

St George’s Hall was the first UK public building to have an air conditioning system set up inside.

Dr David Boswell was responsible for the design of the air conditioning system. He also designed an air conditioning system for the House of Commons.

This blog was written by Aqueous Digital.  We are an award-winning, family-run digital marketing agency.  We specialise in organic and paid internet search, SEO, website content strategy and reputation management for high and ultra-high-net-worth individuals. Find out more about Aqueous Digital and how we support Liverpool businesses.