May 6th - Birthplace of Gladstone

General Election day, so I felt a trip to the birthplace of Prime Minister Gladstone was appropriate. This grand house in Rodney Street (Liverpool's version of Harley Street) gives some insight into Gladstone's not so humble beginnings. However, an ornate stone plaque next to the front door is all that remains to indicate he was ever there. William Ewart Gladstone was son of a wealthy Liverpool merchant and was educated out of the city at Eton and Oxford. Gladstone was four times Liberal Prime Minister of Britain and a prominent figure in Victorian politics. He campaigned on a wide range of issues, most notably home rule for Ireland (but not, to my wife's annoyance, the Women's Suffrage Movement...)

February 20th 2010 - Rodney Street

Liverpool's own Harley Street; the 'Georgian Quarter', with Grade 2 listed buildings and a number of blue plaques. Rodney Street is home to many of the city's law firms and private medical practices, not to mention the museum in the previous home of the renowned local photographer, E. Chambre Hardman. No matter how often I travel down this street I am always pleasantly surprised by the appearance of the Anglican Cathedral as I round the corner - seeming to spring from nowhere...here it peers over Rodney Street, with a watchful eye.