In this latest instalment of Buried Treasure, John Maguire of ArtsGroupie CIC uncovers the wealth of history housed within Liverpool Central Library and Archives. Nestled between the World Museum and the Walker Art Gallery, this cultural jewel reveals fascinating stories, rare artefacts, and a vital opportunity for the public to learn how to preserve their own heritage through free home archiving workshops.
Perhaps one of the best examples of Buried Treasure in our City is a jewel that can be found in between the two other precious stones on William Brown Street, the World Museum and the Walker Art Gallery in the St George’s Quarter of Liverpool, Liverpool Central Library and Archives.
Established in 1860, Liverpool Central Library is the flagship building and hub of Liverpool Libraries and Information Services. The building was subject to a further £50 million rebuild and refurbishment and reopened in 2013 with a state-of-the-art repository archive which houses and protects the items within the Liverpool Record Office, the second busiest public archive in the UK. Internationally renowned, the Grade 2 listed heritage areas of the Picton Reading Room, the Oak Room and Hornby Library regularly attract visitors from all over the world, delighted by the opulent splendour of the Victorian and Edwardian architecture. The new building has also won several architectural awards.
This public resource offers a bounty of riches, there is the majestic Audubon, BIRDS OF AMERICA on display in the Oak room, which looks like it has been lifted straight from the bookcase of Roald Dahl’s BIG FRIENDLY GIANT. Watched over by the cyclops in the wood (if you know, you know).
But it is the behind the scenes resources that are thrilling. When researching my play articulating the life of local public health pioneer Kitty Wilkinson (Kitty: Queen of the Washhouse), I discovered in depth facts / figures from public records and other valuable assets. This helped build a picture of what exactly Liverpool was like during the Victorian period.
Newspapers reveal details of the day to day lives, through advertisements and stories that bring the past to life. As I began to interrogate the life of William Roscoe for another play (A Portrait of William Roscoe) I found myself able to climb into the man’s head through his daily journals and manuscripts. Shakespeare revealed his belief in the power of love, when he had his character Cleopatra warn her lover, “You must woo me to the grave.” A view adopted by Roscoe, for I laid my hands on primary sources (direct artifacts) articulating his passion for his wife, writing her daily poems, even when they were married and living together.
This month sees the last week of ArtsGroupie’s Lights Up On Liverpool: Theatre History exhibition, on display in the Hornby Library, Central Library. This project evolved from a heritage walking tour to celebrate World Theatre Day in 2022 at The Epstein Theatre. Initial research found us wanting to know more.
Each week, we dived into the ocean of boxed up content archived around the theatres of the past. Unsure what would be encountered. Play bills from the 1700’s, like Hamlet and Macbeth, countless photographs detailing the ups and downs of the locations, lots of fire damage to venues. The theatres often had a pattern of suffering from financial problems and flames at some point.
But the piece de resistance discovered that blew my mind, finding the official ROYAL SEAL that declared Liverpool to have its own theatre by Royal approval in 1772 (the theatre stood where the Liverpool Football shop stands now in Williamson Square). It may have been administered by King George III but never materialised into a document and physical object until the reign of Victoria. Administration back then, like now, takes time. Bureaucracy can be a slow boat.
One thing that came out of this research period, how important it is to ensure artefacts are looked after in the right way. A need to educate people in how to preserve things, archive programmes, tickets, documents in the proper fashion. For we encountered many archival injuries that had been done unknowingly by the general public. Like programmes scarred by Sellotape strips, tickets and newspaper clippings glued into books. The peril of rusted staples in paper booklets, discolouration and spotting of paper, creating brown or yellow spots, causing what is known as ‘foxing.’
This lack of knowledge gave an opportunity to develop a workshop to instruct people in how to create their own home mini- archive to then pass down through the generations. You can learn how to safeguard your precious memories and family treasures at our free Home Archiving Workshops in May and June.
These interactive sessions provide expert guidance on safely preserving your personal heirlooms, photographs, documents, and artifacts, in partnership with Liverpool Central Library and Liverpool Libraries and Information Services. You will leave equipped with skills and knowledge to keep your heritage safe for generations to come and even take-home materials to get you started on your first safe archive. Participants will learn practical, hands-on techniques using materials such as acid-free folders and specialist preservation methods. Sessions are limited capacity at Central library – Sat 17th May: 2- 4pm and Mon 19th May: 5:30- 7:30pm.
For dates and locations of all the other FREE workshops in the regional libraries – see the calendar on the home page artsgroupie.org or email artgroupie@outlook.com to reserve a place.
Disclaimer: We are unable to give direct advice of genealogy or accept donations to the Liverpool Records Archive.
Kindly supported, by The National Lottery Heritage Fund thanks to money raised by National Lottery players to offer free heritage activity in connection with the ‘Lights Up on Liverpool’ exhibition currently on display at Liverpool Central Library which launched in November 2024.