Daily Post

The Glory of St George's Hall

A Fitting Tribute to City

IT is only fitting that the re-opening of one of Europe's greatest buildings should take place during Liverpool's 800th year. This jewel in our architectural crown has long been a symbol of the city as the pre-eminent port of the British Empire.

Open for Business in All Its Glory

THE restoration of St George's Hall will open up the building to the public more than ever before with the creation of a heritage centre. Historians have created tours around the building based on two themes, power and glory, which looks at the architectural importance of the building, and truth and justice, focusing on the courts.

Simply Splendid

IT is the finest neoclassical building in Europe. Yet just a few years ago there were calls for it to be demolished. But the future of St George's Hall is not only secure, the building is going to be thrown back into the centre of Liverpool's civic and community life once again. A pounds 23mrefurbishment programme will see this icon restored to its former glory and become more accessible to the public than ever before.

'The Word Heritage Was Still Waiting to Be Re-Invented for a Building Which Was the Epitome of Liverpool's 19th Century Prestige'

PEOPLE were sentenced to death here for piracy, poisoning and street shoot-outs. The building contains a priceless mosaic floor and a unique and massive concert organ. And for good measure there's a music-loving cat, Mr Jinx, buried in the basement. Whatever the subject, whatever the occasion, St George's Hall, it seems, will not be upstaged.

Great Legacy

HIS was a brief but brilliant life which left a shining legacy in the shape of St George's Hall. Harvey Lonsdale Elmes was not a Liverpudlian.

A Symbol for a City

ST GEORGE'S HALL, the finest neoclassical building in Europe, is the most magnificent standing symbol of Liverpool's powerhouse past.And yet, a little over 150 years ago, this grand old dame of Lime Street did not even exist. In the early 19th century Liverpool was at the height of its mercantile and economic powers. But save for the Town Hall, there was very little in the way of tangible civic magnificence to match this wealth and status.

The Secret Heart of the Great Hall

WHEN the unique Minton tiled floor was uncovered for public view to mark the hall's centenary in 1954, more than 100,000 people came to marvel. A decade later, in 1965, 25,000 flocked in just four days to catch a glimpse of the celebrated floor covering.

Behind the Scenes, the Hall Is a Network of Innovation and Style

BEHIND the gold leaf and porticoes, St George's Hall holds several architectural secrets. The first is in the great hall, the building's piece de resistance, which boasts a magnificent barrel vaulted ceiling.

It's Our Pride and Joy ; City Historian Steve Binns Takes Catherine Jones On a Tour of St George's Hall

IT is widely hailed as one of the finest neoclassical buildings in Europe. And Steve Binns himself describes St George's Hall as "a building that only a capital city might attempt". But in it he can also detect the exact statement Liverpool's merchants and businessmen wanted to make - look at Liverpool and what we have achieved. Steve, who gives tours of the hall, says: "The merchants wanted a powerful statement of trade, while Elmes determined to build a classical building. He loved Greece.

Witness to Every Emotion

IT IS Liverpool's most imposing and grandiose venue and its has been at heart of Liverpool's great events.Whether civic splendour inside or popular gatherings outside, the hall is at the centre of events. The plateau has been at the heart of almost every major event in the city's recent past.

Where Heroes Are Remembered

EVERY year the cenotaph at the plateau is the setting for a sombre occasion as armed forces veterans, civic leaders and members of the public gather around the monument to honour the war dead on Remembrance Sunday. Poignant tributes are paid to those who lost their lives with religious leaders of all faiths leading the ceremony.

33 Die As American College Gunman Goes On Rampage

Ultimate Insult ; Coroner Blasts Us for Hampering Inquiry Into North Wales Soldier's Iraq Death

Wales: Rhodri Outlines New Welsh Laws

RHODRI Morgan yesterday outlined nine new Welsh laws for his next Labour Assembly Government to hit the ground running after the election. Proposals to tackle child poverty, litter, fairer charging for home care, affordable housing, the Welsh language, and in education and the NHS would all feature in the first year's legislative programme under Labour, he said.

Wales: Campaigning Again After Cheeky Break in Canaries ...

IT was back to work for Lib Dem leader in Wales Lembit Opik yesterday after a break in Majorca with Cheeky Girl lover Gabriela Irimia. Mr Opik was on the Assembly election campaign trail in North Wales as pictures were published revealing his time playing table tennis poolside at the Hotel Taburiente Playa in La Palma with bikini-clad Miss Irimia, 24.

Wales: Lembit's Cash for Backing Caravans

WELSH Lib Dem leader Lembit Opik's love of caravanning earned him up to pounds 10,000 last year and a free weekend in a motor-home. The colourful MP, who was photographed frolicking on holiday with Cheeky Girls' singer Gabriela Irimia in the Canaries, was paid for his role as a parliamentary adviser to the Caravan Club of Great Britain.

Wales: 'He Knifed 56-Year-Old Lover Five Times After She Pestered Him for Sex' ; Couple Met As Patients in a Psychiatric Unit

A 22-YEAR-OLD man stabbed his older lover to death after becoming infuriated by her demands for sex, a court was told yesterday. Christopher Devine knifed 56-year-old Sandra Vincent five times with such ferocity the blade cut through her left kidney and plunged into her ribs, it was alleged at Caernarfon Crown Court.

Election 2007: We've Still to Bridge North-South Divide ; Election Profile: Alyn and Deeside

IN 1999 local primary school teacher Kirs ten Bell voted in favour of devolution. Kirsten and factory manager husband Gary live in Connah's Quay with their two young daughters.

Election 2007: Blue-Chip Industry in Red Heartland ; Election Profile: Alyn and Deeside in the Latest of Our Series Putting Each North Wales Assembly Seat in the Spotlight, Carl Butler Seeks Out the Key Issues in Alyn and Deeside

WITH a population of 79,300 the south east Flintshire constituency of Alyn and Deeside has always been regarded as a Labour stronghold. A predominantly industrial manufacturing area, it survived the loss of steel making, and with it Europe's biggest single redundancy, with the closure of British Steel on Deeside.