The leaving of Liverpool for the New World

[cessna152towser]

Liverpool's Albert Dock is a poignant place to visit for it was from here that an extimated nine million people left British soil for the last time as they set sail for emigration to the New World.

Descendants return to this spot from all over the world to be photographed with the Statue of the Emigrant family. On my mother's side my grandfather and great grandfather both had several brothers who emigrated and multiplied in the New World and thus I have common ancestry with many people in Canada, USA, and Australia, most of whom I have never met. I found this a very emotional spot on which to stand.

The family depicted in the statue look out towards the open sea and the Americas, though the ship which we see at the pier today is a local ferry which will make the short trip across the Mersey estuary to the town of Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula.

Union Kilt on the waterfront at Liverpool.

There is an interesting display of historic ships at the maritime museum at Albert Dock.

Around the dock the old warehouses have been preserved.

The old warehouses now contain bars, cafes and souvenir shops, known as The Colonnades. This is the touristy bit of Liverpool, the must see for visitors who have British ancestry.

[Warhoover]

Another emotional spot for many is the docks at Ellis Island. I got to tour the island during Fleet Week the year before I got out of the Navy. Many in our little group were very "reflective" when we boarded the motor launch to go back to the boat. Thanks for the photos, very interesting subject! Relates to many of us over on this side of the pond.

[cessna152towser]

A basement of The Colonnades contains a museum of The Beatles pop group, who came from Liverpool.

Another pop idol from Liverpool, Billy Fury.

The Liver Building, with the iconic Liver Birds on the tops of its towers.

In the background here we see Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral.

A final parting shot of today's modern vibrant city of Liverpool from the air.
The tall spindly tower in the foreground towards the left hand side of the picture is St.James' Tower, the centrepiece of the 1960's St. James Centre shopping mall. The ring at the top of the 400 feet high tower was originally a restaurant, which revolved full circle while you ate dinner with a panoramic view of the city; I recall having a meal there in 1981 - nowadays it is a radio station. Behind and slightly to the right of it the large cylindrical building is the modern Roman Catholic Cathedral, built to replace the original one destroyed by German bombing druring World War II.

[Phil]

[IMG]
The Liver Building, with the iconic Liver Birds on the tops of its towers.

What super photos. My dad worked in the Liver building in the 1950's and I remember him taking me up to the roof there. We used to get the steamer to Belfast in the docks and it was a bustling, thriving place then. I still remember that smell as you walked through the warehouse piled with cargo to board the ship. Thanks for bringing those memories back.

[McMurdo]

Nice shots again Alex, thanks for posting them.

[porrick]

9 million emigrants passing through Liverpool alone - I was not aware the number was that high; interesting.

Thanks for posting again, Alex

[Phil]

9 million emigrants passing through Liverpool alone - I was not aware the number was that high; interesting.

Thanks for posting again, Alex

And most of them were southern Irish coming over from Dublin before taking ship from Liverpool. The northern Irish mostly went to the Clyde and shipped out from there. The Protestants went much earlier to escape religious persecution and the remainder in the 19th century to escape the famine.You must be aware, however, that the potato famine affected the whole of Ireland and Catholic and Protestant alike. The country wasn't partitioned then and all poor subsistence farmers suffered the same fate. County Down, for instance, was one area badly affected as indeed was Scotland, all places where people relied on the potato. While Scots did not suffer to the same extent due to better famine relief than the earlier Irish famine, many were still forced to emigrate.

[demobud]

Thanks fo rthose photos, cessna152towser! My wife and I were there on a day trip from London during the bad heat wave a few years ago. Albert Docks is one of my favorite places (the Tate Liverpool was a nice museum to visit); is there still a small island shaped like the UK in the basin?

[Une]

What no Liverpool Football Club photos Alex!
Lovley photos though.

[CactusJack]

Those were just fantastic photo's I thank you for sharing..