History of Liverpool from 1207 to the 20th century. A guided walk through the streets where the city was built — trade, migration, architecture and the people who shaped the Pool.
This historical walking tour of Liverpool lasts approximately two hours and is on foot around the city centre. It explores the footprints left on the port, town and then city by the people who lived, moved through, built, traded and died here.
The walk connects with Liverpool's over 800-year-old past, from early medieval England through to the early 21st century — including the city's role in the world wars. Themes include love, loyalty, heroism, creativity, risk and wealth, as well as exploitation, crime, disease, poverty and war.
Andrew Holt — known as Paddy — leads the tour himself. He is a history teacher who has lived in the Liverpool City Region for over 35 years. The tour is conducted in English.
Themes on this tour
The walk can take in these themes from Liverpool’s history.
- Liverpool in medieval times
- Liverpool in Tudor times
- Liverpool and the English Civil War
- Liverpool and the Atlantic slave trade and its abolition
- Liverpool, the Industrial Revolution and the development of trade
- Liverpool and the development of the railways
- Liverpool and emigration
- Liverpool’s connections to the USA
- Liverpool and the American Civil War
- Liverpool’s connection to Ireland
- Liverpool as the second city port of the British Empire
- Liverpool, “the black spot on the Mersey” — crime and punishment
- Liverpool’s poor in the 19th century
- Liverpool’s Three Graces at the Pier Head
- Liverpool and the Blitz
- Liverpool and the Battle of the Atlantic, 1939–1945
Recommended reading for these topics.
These tours do not cover the Beatles or Liverpool football. Other operators offer those subjects.
The tours have public liability insurance.
Places on this walk
- Liverpool city centre
- the historic port
- streets of the Pool