77 Interesting Facts About Liverpool

Interesting and fun facts about Liverpool, UK

Liverpool is home to the legendary Beatles and Liverpool Football Club. Wondering what else Liverpool is famous for? Find out with these fun facts about Liverpool.

General Liverpool Facts

  • Liverpool is located in Northwest England, 50 km (31 mi) west of Manchester and 270 km (168 mi) northwest of London.
  • Liverpool is the largest city in the county of Merseyside, which was named after the River Mersey, and once belonged to the ceremonial county of Lancashire.
  • Liverpool is located at the point where the River Mersey reaches the Irish Sea. The River Mersey becomes a wide estuary further inland, then narrows again at Liverpool before reaching the sea.
  • Liverpool was one of the most significant ports that enabled English and Irish people to emigrate to North America and was also an important slave trading port. Today, numerous cruises depart from Liverpool, plus there’s a new terminal expected to open in 2023.
  • Liverpool has a population of about 500,000, making it the 10th largest city in England.
  • The city’s metropolitan area has a population of 2.24 million, which is the 5th largest in England after London, Birmingham, Manchester, and Leeds. The metropolitan area includes suburbs and nearby towns/cities such as Birkenhead, Wigan/Ashton, Warrington, Wigan/Ashton, Chester, and more.
  • Liverpool artists have more #1 hit songs than any city in the world (56 in total), making it a pop culture hub.
Statue of the band The Beatles with some Liverpool architecture in the background
Beatles statue at Pier Head in Liverpool
  • Liverpool is also famous for its football team and for blessing the world with The Beatles.
  • Some has 9 twin/sister cities, including Dublin (Ireland), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), and Birmingham (USA).
  • Over half of the residents of Liverpool speak a language other than English, with Arabic being the top one.
  • The name Liverpool comes from the Old English liver, which means thick or muddy, and pol, meaning pool or creek, referring to an old inlet that flowed into the River Mersey. The name Liuerpul was first used in 1190.

Random Facts about Liverpool

  • Liverpool was the port of registry of the RMS Titanic, RMS Queen Mary, and other major ocean liners, although the Titanic sailed off from Southampton on that fateful journey.
  • The Beatles played their first show at The Cavern Club on Matthew Street in Liverpool on February 9, 1961. The venue was reopened on a different site in 1973, then demolished for construction of an Underground line. The current Cavern Club dates to 1984 and is a popular stop on many a traveller’s Liverpool itinerary.
Interior of the Cavern Club Liverpool, with some souvenirs for sale
Inside the Cavern Club, named after the original venue where the Beatles played their first show
  • Tourism spawned by the Beatles has become a significant part of Liverpool’s economy.
  • Liverpool has an airport named after a Beatle, the John Lennon Airport, which operates low-cost airlines.
  • Liverpool was also known for its poets in the early 1960s. They were influenced by beat poetry in the US, and were part of the same cultural movement that gave rise to the Beatles.
  • Besides the Beatles, other famous bands from Liverpool include Gerry and the Pacemakers, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, A Flock of Seagulls, Echo & The Bunnymen, and Ladytron.
A sign for Penny Lane in Liverpool
Penny Lane, a song by the Beatles, is an actual street in Liverpool.
  • Elvis Costello formed his first band in Birkenhead, across the river from Liverpool.
  • Melanie C of the Spice Girls was born in Whiston, near Liverpool.
  • The hilarious Mike Myers and beautiful Halle Berry both have parents who are from Liverpool.
  • Other famous people from Liverpool include actor Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter), actress Kim Cattrall (Sex and the City), novelist Beryl Bainbridge, and former Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone.
  • The famous Egyptian poet Constantine P. Cavafy lived in Liverpool for a few years in the early 1870s.
View of the harbour in Liverpool, with Tate Liverpool Gallery on the left
Tate Liverpool Gallery (left) on Royal Albert Dock
  • There are over 2,500 listed buildings in Liverpool; 27 are Grade I and 85 are Grade II.
The Three Graces buildings in Liverpool
The “Three Graces” on the riverfront
  • Liverpool’s Pier Head is home to “The Three Graces,” three iconic riverfront buildings dating to the 1900s. They are the Cunard Building, the Royal Liver Building, and the Port of Liverpool Building.
  • Speke Hall, which is a Tudor house, is the city’s oldest standing building.
  • The Royal Albert Dock has the single largest collection of Grade I listed buildings anywhere in Britain.
Merseyside Maritime Museum on the waterfront in Liverpool
The Merseyside Maritime Museum is a testament to the city’s port history.
A bowl of Scouse, a famous Liverpool dish
Scouse is the dish most commonly associated with Liverpool.
  • The most famous dish in Liverpool, scouse, was actually brought over from Norway by sailors, and people who ate it were called Scousers.
  • Liverpool’s Chinatown is home to Europe’s oldest Chinese community.

Historical Liverpool Facts

  • The Calder Stones, found around Liverpool, are though to be even older than Stonehenge.
  • In the Iron Age, there were only a few farmsteads in the area around Liverpool.
Remains of Liverpool Castle
The ruins of Liverpool Castle
  • During the Roman period, the Romans built a fortress across the river from Liverpool in Chester.
  • Liverpool was founded as an official borough in 1207 through a letter by King John, who Robin Hood and his gang referred to as the “Phony King of England.”
  • Liverpool Castle was built in 1235, but demolished in 1726, with some of its ruins remaining today.
  • The Church of St. Nicholas dates to 1815, but sits on a site of worship going back to 1257. It was the tallest building in the city in the 1800s. The city’s oldest church building is All Saints’ Church, dating to the 1300s.
  • Despite these construction works, the town remained small, with less than 1000 inhabitants and only 7 streets.
Exterior of Church of St. Nicholas in Liverpool.
The Church of St. Nicholas has been a site of worship since Medieval times.
  • The Liverpool Merchant was the first slave ship documented in the area.
  • In 1571, the people of Liverpool wrote a letter asking Queen Elizabeth to help “her majesty’s poor decayed town of Liverpool.”
  • The splitting of the River Dee was one of the main factors that sped up Liverpool’s growth as a port in the area as cities and ports such as Chester merged with it. Its first commercial wet dock was then built in 1715.
  • As it grew into a major center of trade, there were periods in the 1800s when Liverpool was wealthier than London.
  • More and more immigrants from around Europe came to Liverpool, and by the early 1850s, it was dubbed as the “New York City of Europe.” At the time, 25% of the city was Irish-born, and there were over 50 Welsh chapels.
A red ship docked in Liverpool
Liverpool’s docks are central to the city’s history.
  • As Liverpool’s port grew in importance, so did its connections to the cotton industry, and it was a major supporter of the Confederate state in the US Civil War.
  • Liverpool built the world’s first integrated sewer system starting in 1848 and first electric overhead railway in 1893.
  • Liverpool became an official city in 1880 and a county borough independent of Lancashire County in 1889. Its university was also established in 1881.
  • The Leeds to Liverpool Canal was completed in 1816, while the Manchester to Liverpool Ship Canal was completed in 1894.
A canal in Liverpool
Liverpool Canal Link, which connects the Leeds and Liverpool Canal to the city’s docks
  • The city’s strategic location was highly acknowledged in World War ll by both Churchill and Hitler. Among its memorable milestones during that period was the ‘Battle of the Atlantic,’ which took place and was won in Liverpool.
  • From the 1970s, Liverpool’s docks and manufacturing industries went into decline, as container ships took over, and unemployment continued to increase into the 1980s.
  • In 1974, Liverpool became a district of the newly created Merseyside county.
  • In 1981, police used teargas against civilians in the Toxteth riots.
  • Since the late 1980s, the city has been undergoing renewal, which continues to this day. Economic growth is higher, and crime levels are lower, than most cities in the UK.
Architecture in the Cultural Quarter of Liverpool
Walker Art Gallery and County Session House in the Cultural Quarter
  • In 1999, English Heritage awarded Liverpool with a blue plaque in recognition of its contributions and developments by the city’s pioneers in every field.
  • Liverpool was named the European Capital of Culture in 2008.
  • In 2019, the first black Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Anna Rothery, was appointed.
  • In April 2021, a venue in Liverpool was chosen to trial the first indoor musical event since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • In 2022, Liverpool served as the backdrop for Gotham City in the new Batman film.

Liverpool Football Facts

  • Liverpool F.C. is one of England’s most successful sports teams. It has won 19 League titles, 7 FA Cups, 8 League Cups, and the most European Cups, with its latest victory in 2019.
Fans watching a Liverpool football game at Anheim stadium
A Liverpool game at Anheim Stadium
  • The club was first founded in 1892.
  • The club rose to prominence in the 1970s and 80s, led by players like Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan, and Kenny Dalglish.
  • Kenny Dalglish, or King Kenny, became the first ever player-manager of a British team in 1985.
  • Ian Rush is the team’s highest ever scorer, earning a total of 346 goals.
  • At the 1985 European Cup Final in Brussels, 39 Liverpool fans died when a wall collapsed.

Suggested Read: 35 Interesting Facts About Brussels: Europe’s Capital

Liverpool F.C.'s logo and uniform
Liverpool F.C.’s logo and uniform
  • On April 15, 1989, another 96 Liverpool F.C. fans died due to overcrowding at the Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield. It was the deadliest sporting disaster in UK history.
  • Anfield Stadium, the home stadium of Liverpool F.C., used to be the home stadiumg of Everton F.C., until there was a rent dispute.
  • Liverpool has longstanding rivalries with Everton and Manchester.
  • Liverpools home colors are all red and their anthem is “You’ll Never Walk Alone”. The chant can be heard on Pink Floyd’s song Fearless.
  • There’s a friendly derby between Liverpool and Everton that sparks competitiveness called the Merseyside Derby.
Artist's rendition of the Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium
The proposed new stadium on Bramley-Moore Dock for Everton F.C.
  • The City of Liverpool F.C. was formed in 2015. Despite the name, it is based in Cheshire county, to the southeast of Liverpool.
  • Liverpool F.C is the current home of Mo Salah (Mohamed Salah), who Liverpool supporters have named “The Egyptian King.” He is the city’s first Egyptian player and holds the record for most goals scored in a Premier League season.
  • Mo Salah’s popularity led to an over 10% decrease in hate crimes against Islam in the city.

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