From a drawing by G. and C. Pyney in the Mayer Papers in the Liverpool Free Public Library.
THIS street is named after John Colquitt, the Town Clerk, who resided in Wood Street and owned the land in the neighbourhood. The street was then on the outskirts of the town, and the houses still remaining there attest to the opulence of the residents in the early days. The street will always be regarded with pride by Liverpool people, because of its connexion with literature, science, and art, for in this street, in the house of Thomas Parr, which was purchased for the purpose, was established an Institute to promote the increase and diffusion of literature, science, and art. The Institute wras founded in 1814, and incorporated by Royal Charter 1822; the cost of the house and alterations being about £14,000, which was defrayed by subscriptions of £50 and £100 each. The building was opened on November 25, 1817, on which occasion Mr. William Roscoe delivered an address “on the origin and vicissitudes of literature, science, and art."
On the ground floor the Literary and Philosophical Society met, with Mr. William Roscoe as President. There was a room for the use of the Liverpool Academy, and another for the paintings purchased at the sale of William Roscoe’s effects. That excellent boys’ school, the “Royal Institution,” was established to give more than the ordinary education, and many of the leading families in Liverpool sent their sons there. The head master, Mr. Dawson William Turner, is still remembered in Liverpool with affection.
The drawing from which this plate is reproduced was made in the year 1823.
Links to Related Material
Bibliography
Muir, Ramsay, et al. Bygone Liverpool. Liverpool: Young, 1913. Internet Archive online version of a copy in the University of Toronto Library. Web. 29 September 2022.
Last modified 29 September 2022