Liverpool

Located along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary and historically a part of Lancashire, the earliest documentation of this settlement are King John's letters patent of 1207, which announced the foundation of the borough of Liverpool.

The first few centuries there was slow progress in trade and population growth but by the start of the 19th century, 40% of the world's trade was passing through Liverpool and the urbanisation and expansion of Liverpool were broadly brought about by the city's status as a major port.

In the 1960`s Liverpool became a centre of youth culture. The "Merseybeat" sound which became synonymous with The Beatles and fellow Liverpudlian rock bands of the era catapulted the city to the front of the popular music scene.

Although from the mid-1970s onwards Liverpool's docks and traditional manufacturing industries went into sharp decline and in the early 1980`s unemployment rates in Liverpool were among the highest in the UK, at the end of the 20th century Liverpool was concentrating on regeneration, a process which still continues today.