"university of liverpool history" blog posts

130 Years of the Victoria Building

Posted on: 13 December 2022 | Category: 2022

The Victoria Building officially opened on 13th December 1892 and this year we celebrate our 130th anniversary. Although the building has always been a part of the University of Liverpool it has had many different uses over the years and in this blog we will look at the history of a few locations located on the ground, first and second floors. By using 20th century photographs held in Special Collections and Archives and 21st century technology from the Mobile and UI team, these historical areas of our building will come to life.

The Slate Above the Tate

Posted on: 3 October 2022 | Category: 2022

New Slate waiting to be attached to Tate Roof

You may have noticed that our museum is temporarily closed. In this blog we take a look at the history of the Tate Hall Museum and also the current project to renovate the roof.

A Victorian Valentine – Balconies and Beau’s

Posted on: 14 February 2022 | Category: 2022

First floor balcony rail showing wear and tear to some of the original Waterhouse tiles.

It’s the month of February and love is all around! If you look at our tiles, the majority are still in pristine condition after almost 130 years but there’s one particular section of the building where some worn tiles can tell us a Victorian love story.

From Asylum to Academia

Posted on: 17 September 2021 | Category: 2021

The University of Liverpool Quadrangle with Victoria and Ashton Buildings

If you stand behind the Victoria Gallery & Museum in the university quadrangle you may not realise that the foundations of the first building on this site lie beneath your feet. An asylum was erected here in 1829 and served until 1881 where it was repurposed and converted for the use of University College Liverpool. In this blog post we take a closer look at this buildings history.

The New Woman at University College Liverpool

Posted on: 25 June 2021 | Category: 2021

Performance photographs from the 1895 fundraiser shows that the poses from both the male and female students mimic one another with wagging fingers.

This week we celebrate #InternationalWomenInEngineeringDay and in our ‘A New Beauty’ exhibition we explore the evolving ways that physical attractiveness was depicted from the late 1800s and while women were being depicted as delicate and otherworldly creatures in art, real women were beginning to demand emancipation and equal voting rights. The press labelled them as the ‘New Woman’ from 1894 onwards and a year later satirical performances based on the occupations of women were performed in the Victoria Building and this blog looks at two of them in more detail.