50 Fun Facts About Liverpool

Whose letters patent of 1207 founded the borough of Liverpool?

The 1207 document spelt the place 'Liuerpul', and the settlement stayed a minor port for centuries before the Atlantic trade transformed it.

Liverpool sits on the eastern side of which river's estuary?

The estuary separates the city from the Wirral Peninsula, and the Kingsway and Queensway tunnels run beneath it to Birkenhead and Wallasey.

The nickname 'Scouser' for a Liverpool native comes from what?

Scouse is short for lobscouse, a Scandinavian-rooted stew that sailors brought through the port; the word became the dominant demonym only in the mid-20th century.

Who designed the two copper Liver Birds that top the Royal Liver Building?

Each bird is 18 feet tall and stands on one of the building's clock towers; they were built by the Bromsgrove Guild of Applied Arts.

The Liver Bird on Liverpool's coat of arms is normally depicted as which real bird?

It carries a sprig of laver seaweed in its beak, a visual pun on the city's name; by the 17th century nobody remembered what the original bird was meant to be.

According to local legend, what happens if the two Liver Birds mate and fly away?

The two birds face away from each other, which the legend explains as a deliberate precaution; another version says they are chained down.

In which year was the Royal Liver Building officially opened?

Lord Sheffield opened it as the purpose-built home of Royal Liver Assurance; it is one of the Three Graces on the Pier Head with the Cunard and Port of Liverpool buildings.

What global distinction did the Albert Dock's brick, stone and cast-iron buildings claim on opening in 1846?

Jesse Hartley and Philip Hardwick built the whole complex from cast iron, brick and stone with no structural wood, and the five warehouses are now the UK's biggest group of Grade I listed buildings.

In which year was the Albert Dock granted a royal charter and renamed the Royal Albert Dock?

The charter was handed over at Tate Liverpool, which shares the dock with the Merseyside Maritime Museum and The Beatles Story.

Which Liverpool MP was killed by a locomotive on the opening day of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway?

He had stepped down to greet the Duke of Wellington and fell between the tracks; he became the world's first widely reported railway passenger fatality.

Which locomotive won the 1829 Rainhill Trials to haul trains on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway?

Ten engines were entered but only five turned up, and the Stephensons' machine was the only one to complete the course, so their company won the contract.

How old was Giles Gilbert Scott when his design for Liverpool's Anglican cathedral was chosen in 1903?

He was still an articled pupil with no buildings to his name and told the assessors his only major work so far had been a pipe-rack; the cathedral took until 1978 to finish.

Which size record does Liverpool's Anglican place of worship hold?

Its external length is 621 feet including the Lady Chapel, and it is also the largest cathedral and religious building in Britain.

What is the local nickname of Liverpool's Roman Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral?

The circular 1967 building is also called the Mersey Funnel; it sits on a crypt from Edwin Lutyens's abandoned 1930s design, which would have been the second-largest church in the world.

Which architect won the worldwide competition to design the present Metropolitan Cathedral?

Construction ran from 1962 to 1967 and the altar sits at the centre so the whole congregation faces it; the lantern glass is by John Piper and Patrick Reyntiens.

In which year did UNESCO strip Liverpool of its World Heritage Site status?

The Maritime Mercantile City had been inscribed in 2004; it became only the third site ever struck from the list, after developments at the docks including a new football stadium.

Which Liverpool-based shipping company operated the Titanic?

White Star and Cunard both had their offices in the city, and out of respect ships continued to be registered there until the early 1960s.

Which horse won the Grand National at Aintree in 1973, 1974 and 1977?

Trainer Ginger McCain, a Southport car dealer, worked him on the beach; he is buried at the Aintree winning post.

Which 100/1 outsider won the 1967 Grand National after a pile-up at the 23rd fence?

The horse was so far behind that jockey John Buckingham could steer around the chaos; his owner had such little faith he went to Worcester races instead.

When the Cavern Club opened on Mathew Street in 1957, what kind of music was it for?

Founder Alan Sytner modelled it on the cellar clubs of Paris; the original was filled in during Merseyrail construction in 1973.

How many times did the Beatles play the Cavern Club between 1961 and 1963?

Their last show there was on 3 August 1963, a month after recording 'She Loves You'; Brian Epstein first saw them at the club in November 1961.

Liverpool is home to the oldest community in Europe of people from which country?

The first residents arrived as seamen in the 19th century, and the ceremonial gateway in Chinatown is the largest of its kind outside China.

Since 1952 Liverpool has been twinned with which German city?

Both cities were heavily bombed in the Second World War, which prompted the link.

In which year was Liverpool the European Capital of Culture?

The year reportedly generated more than £800 million for the local economy and is credited with reversing decades of decline.

Who ran the earliest ferry across the river from Birkenhead Priory to Liverpool?

The monks charged a small fare to row passengers over, and the service lasted until Henry VIII's troops destroyed the priory in 1536.

Liverpool's airport was the first in Britain named after an individual. Who?

A giant Yellow Submarine sculpture, previously displayed at the Albert Dock, now sits on a traffic island at the airport entrance.

Which brewer and Anfield landowner founded Liverpool FC in 1892 after Everton left the ground?

The FA refused to let him keep the Everton name, so the new club was recognised three months later as Liverpool; he was chairman until 1904.

Liverpool's first team, which beat Rotherham 7-1 in 1892, was made up entirely of players from where?

Players who came south to play in England at the time were known as the Scotch Professors.

Anfield's Kop stand is named after a hill in which country?

Spion Kop was the site of an 1900 Boer War battle in which a local regiment suffered heavy losses; the stand got the name in 1906.

Ernest Edwards, who coined 'Spion Kop' for the Anfield stand in 1906, was sports editor of which newspaper?

Other British grounds copied the name, but Anfield's became the most famous; BBC Sport has called it one of the most famous ends in world football.

Which club did Bill Shankly leave to become Liverpool manager in December 1959?

He was frustrated by a board that sold his best players; on arrival he released 24 players and turned a boot store into the famous Boot Room.

Before becoming Liverpool manager in 1974, Bob Paisley had served the club in which backroom role?

Self-taught, he was said to be able to diagnose a player's injury just by looking at him; he then won 20 trophies in nine seasons as manager.

From which club did Liverpool sign Kenny Dalglish for a British record fee in 1977?

The £440,000 signing replaced Kevin Keegan and scored on his Anfield debut against Newcastle three days after his league debut.

Who is Liverpool's all-time record goalscorer, with 346 goals in all competitions?

He also holds the records for most goals in the League Cup and in FA Cup finals, and had a short spell at Juventus in between two Anfield stints.

Which company's logo did Liverpool carry in 1979 as the first English club with a shirt sponsor?

The other three all sponsored the shirt later, with Carlsberg's deal running through the 1990s and 2000s.

The 1989 Hillsborough disaster happened during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and which club?

Ninety-seven people died in the crush at the Leppings Lane end; the Taylor Report that followed led to all-seater stadiums in England's top two divisions.

'You'll Never Walk Alone' was originally written for which 1945 Broadway musical?

Fans of a Glasgow club and a German club adopted it too, and the words are worked into the Shankly Gates outside Anfield.

Whose 1963 version of 'You'll Never Walk Alone' is played at Anfield before every home game?

Singer Gerry Marsden, a lifelong Liverpool fan, recalled hearing the Kop sing it for the first time and thinking they were singing his song.

Which Liverpool goalkeeper saved Shevchenko's penalty to win the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul?

Liverpool had trailed 3-0 at half-time before three goals in six minutes; the comeback became known as the Miracle of Istanbul.

Which Milan captain scored inside the first minute of the 2005 Champions League final?

He volleyed in a Pirlo free kick, and Hernán Crespo added two more before half-time; it was his fifth final and Milan were heavy favourites.

What privilege did Liverpool earn by winning the European Cup for a fifth time in 2005?

Winners normally hand the trophy back after ten months; Liverpool were given the trophy every winner had lifted since 1995 and the right to wear a multiple-winner badge.

Who scored Liverpool's second goal in the 2019 Champions League final win over Tottenham in Madrid?

The substitute struck after 87 minutes to seal a 2-0 win, following Mohamed Salah's penalty after just 106 seconds; he had also scored twice in the semi-final comeback against Barcelona.

With how many games to spare did Liverpool clinch the 2019-20 Premier League, a record?

It was the club's first top-flight title in 30 years; they finished with a club-record 99 points and equalled the record of 32 wins in a season.

What did Jürgen Klopp jokingly call himself at his first Liverpool press conference?

It was a parody of José Mourinho's 'The Special One' line from 2004; Klopp's pressing style was later dubbed 'heavy metal' football.

Jürgen Klopp arrived at Liverpool after managing which German club from 2008 to 2015?

He won the Bundesliga there in 2010-11 and the club's first domestic double the following year; Mainz was where he played and first managed.

Who succeeded Jürgen Klopp as Liverpool manager in 2024?

Klopp led the Anfield crowd in chanting the new man's name at his farewell, and the Dutchman won a record-equalling 20th league title in his first season.

From which club did Liverpool sign Mohamed Salah in 2017 for a then club-record £36.9 million?

He had left Chelsea after limited playing time and loans in Italy; at Anfield he became the Premier League's all-time top foreign goalscorer.

Steven Gerrard's injury-time 35-yard equaliser in the 2006 FA Cup final came against which club?

He scored twice in the match and Liverpool won on penalties, a year after he had been Man of the Match in the Istanbul final.

With so many families split between the clubs, what was the Everton–Liverpool derby called?

It was one of the few derbies without full fan segregation, though since the mid-1980s it has produced more red cards than any other Premier League fixture.

Anfield and Everton's old Goodison ground stood on either side of which green space?

Liverpool once had planning permission for a new stadium in the park itself, but after Fenway Sports Group bought the club in 2010 they expanded Anfield instead.