IN the beginning, King John said let there be seven streets and this was done. Now they could play a leading role in Liverpool's cultural future. David Charters reports
by David Charters, Liverpool Daily Post
LEATHER-BOUND volumes, lording it on their shelves, cast a scholarly mood across the room, where doughty historians had gathered to discuss how Liverpool's seven original streets should be promoted during this important period in the city's history.
They were anxious to sustain the momentum begun earlier in the day when a website had been dedicated to the streets, supported by a new committee, as part of a campaign by heritage organisations to ensure that they are highlighted on all future tourism trails.
They were, after all, built on the instructions of King John, becoming the roots which spread into one of the world's greatest ports.
However, the coffee was still warm in the pot when someone casually mentioned that, on August 28, Liverpool would be celebrating the 800th anniversary of its Royal Charter being granted by John.
For the shaving of a second, there was silence.
It was the lull before the storm, the peace before the explosion, the gentle descent of a balloon on to a pin.
The eruption came from the chair occupied by Christina Clarke, an eminent local historian.
"It is not a-a-a bllloo...dd...y...ch-ch-char... uh-uh ... I don't want to hear that word," she said, blustering, her indignation rising like the steam from a marathon-runner's blister pad.
"It was not a charter! Will everybody stop using this word! I want the council to stop using this word!
"They use it in every book. Could you make sure that it's a Letters Patent. Liverpool did not get a charter until Henry III's time. It's a Letters Patent!"
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