THE PICTURE OF LIVERPOOL. Where MERSEY's ftream, long winding o'er the plain, LIVERPOOL is fituated in the county palatine of Lancafter, N. W. of London, diftant 204 measured miles, in lat. 53° 22' N. long. 2° 30′ W. from Greenwich, on the eastern banks of the river Mersey. Several writers have attempted, but with little fuccefs, to elucidate the antiquity of the place, or the etymology of its name; but as their refearches do not afford many materials calculated to entertain the curious, it is unneceffary to detain the reader in pursuit of doubtful facts, or to in fult his understanding with conjectures which are ultimately involved in fpeculative uncertainty. The firft authentic document we find, of the spot whereon the town now ftands, is a record of the eftates in Dooms-day-book, containing a furvey of the lands in England, and their owners taken by order of WILLIAM the CONQUEROR, and is preferved in the exchequer. It is there stated, that all the land between the rivers Ribble and Merfey belonged to ROGERS of POICTIERS; but from this it does not appear that there existed either a town or village; the record proves nothing more than that a grant of land from the Conqueror was made to ROGERS, one of his followers, who, according to CAMBDEN, was Lord of the manor of Lancafter, and built a caftle here, * the command of which he bestowed on Vivian de Molyneaux another Frenchman, in whofe family it continued fo late as the 30th year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Cambden, Leland and Morery agree respecting the castle, but it is impoffible to discover when or by whom it was erected, for neither history nor tradition have determined it. At prefent Liverpool does not pretend to any other building of antiquity than a Tower near the lower end of Water-street, the remains of which have long been used as a prison. The antiquities of Liverpool are fo much clogged with uncertainty, that it is not even known when this Tower was erected. The firft notice we find of it is in Seacomb's Memoirs of the houfe of Stanley, in which he ftates that in the reign of Edward III. about the year, 1360, the * Morcry in his Dictionary, fays that the Caftle was built by King John, but he does not give his authority for this affertion Tower. Tower in question was the property of Sir Thomas Latham of Latham, who prefented it along with feveral other houses and certain lands in the town, to Sir John Stanley, Knight, who had married Ifabel his only daughter and heiress of Latham. Here a chafm again occurs, for we are left to conjecture in what manner the caftle and lands devolved on the houfe of Latham. Sir John Stanley during his government in Ireland, built a spacious house and obtained leave from Henry IV. to fortify it with embattled walls, according to the custom of the times. The area of this fortification was 650 yards, but as to the external figure of it we are yet in doubt; the only veftige remaining is the prefent goal in Water-ftreet, and a ftone eliptic arch, which forms the entrance to Tower-garden yet ftanding. There is fcarcely any thing more of antiquity relating to Liverpool known, except an old cross which formerly ftood at the corner of Pinfold-lane, oppofite the Flashes.-Tradition reports it to have been placed there in commemoration of St. Patrick, who it is faid refted here on his way to Ireland. Enfield, upon what authority we know not, fays a charter was granted to this town by Henry I. in 1129 *. It is however certain that another was granted by King John in. 1203, but it was a borough by prefcription long before the latter was granted which confirms in fome degree the charter of Henry the ft. Henry the 3d however confirmed the town a corporation and a free borough for ever, A. D. 1227, for a fine of ten marks, from whence it may be inferred that about this time it was beginning to emerge from obfcurity. The corporation have nothing on record, relative to the antiquities of the town, prior to the year 1555, nor is * Vide Enfield's effay towards a history of Liverpool. there |