Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North-West England consisting of 5 boroughs – city of Liverpool, Knowsley, St. Helens, Sefton, Wirral. It is centred around the lower reaches of the River Mersey estuary and historic port of the city of Liverpool.
Daedalian Glass Studios have delivered numerous glass installations on Merseyside. In this blog we will take a tour of Merseyside, explain the relevance of areas we visit, and illustrate each with the glass installations we have created within them.
The Waterfront and Docks
The first commercial wet dock was built in Liverpool in 1715. Trade through the docks caused Liverpool’s rapid growth over the following centuries and the docks have been the economic heart of the city.
Behind the docks and the warehouses lie the grand building commissioned as corporate headquarters – the Grade I listed Royal Liver Building and the Grade II listed Cunard and Port of Liverpool Buildings.
It is in one of these grand buildings – The Cunard Building – that Daedalian Glass Studios were commissioned to create custom glass signage. These replaced the previous paper signs that were in place previously. They were designed to add a subtle design feature to the hallway areas.
Bespoke glass signage in the Cunard Building
The Georgian Quarter
The Hope Street Hotel
The Georgian Quarter began to take shape in 1800. City surveyor John Foster Snr created the blueprint for a grid plan of housing in the Canning area of Liverpool and the elite of the city built luxurious residencies over the next century.
Hope Street is at the core of the Georgian Quarter. At the northern end lies the Roman Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King and the world’s second largest Anglican cathedral sits at the Southern end. The street is also home to the (RIBA Stirling Prize winning) Everyman Theatre, the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, and the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (founded by Sir Paul McCartney).
At the centre of Hope Street lies the cities original boutique hotel – The Hope Street Hotel – and the London Carriage Works Restaurant (named after the original company to occupy the building). The award-winning restaurant is Liverpool’s only holder of 2 AA Rosettes, was named one of the top ten restaurants outside London in the 2005 Hardens Guide, and won silver in the 2014 VisitEngland Awards.
Daedalian Glass Studios created a glass installation as a series of room dividers within this restaurant. Like shards of ice, textured glass panels appear from the ceiling and shoot down in to the floor.
Liverpool has 10 listed status parks and cemeteries (two grade I, five grade II*, and three grade II). These Victorian parks have been described by the English Heritage National Register of Historic Parks as the “most important in the country”.
Stanley Park is one of those with a Grade II* listing. It is the space that separates the cities two football institutions with Anfield (Liverpool FC) on its southern border and Goodison Park (Everton FC) on its northern border.
The Isla Gladstone Conservatory sits within Stanley Park and was originally built in 1870. Following a period where it fell into disrepair, this landmark was completely reconstructed and Daedalian Glass Studios were commissioned to create a series of decorative glass screens and windows.
Free standing etched glass balustrades at the Pine Cones in Formby.
Outside the city of Liverpool; Merseyside is made up of suburban, semi-rural, and rural locations. The Metropolitan Borough of Sefton clings to the coastline north of the city. Here affluent towns such as Crosby, Formby, and Maghull act as dormitory towns. Formby is especially known as a dormitory town for the sporting elite of Liverpool. A long list of current and past players and managers from both Liverpool and Everton football clubs have called this town home.
At a residence called the Pine Cones in Formby, Daedalian Glass Studios created a frameless glass balustrade installation. The house took its name from the National Trust woodlands that surround the town and this also inspired the balustrade design. Looking between the glass panels, the rough shape of a tree trunk appears and the etched glass
