Water Street, Liverpool

Water Street is a road in Liverpool, England. Situated in the city centre, it runs from Dale Street to the Pier Head at the River Mersey.

Water Street

History

The street was one of the original seven streets that made up the medieval borough founded by King John in 1207, together with Castle Street, Old Hall Street, Chapel Street, High Street, Tithebarn Street and Dale Street.^[1] It was originally known as Bonk Street ('Bonk' being Lancastrian dilect for 'bank'), Bank Street and in the 1520s it was named Water Street.^[2][3]

Grade II Listed buildings

Water Street contains some of Liverpool's most renowned buildings, including:

• Cunard Building
• General Accident Building^[4]
• India Buildings
• Liver Building
• Martins Bank Building
• Midshires Building Society^[5]
• Oriel Chambers

In popular culture

Moby Dick

Water Street is mentioned in chapter 6 of Herman Melville's 1851 novel, Moby Dick.^[6] Melville had used William Scoresby's 1820s book An Account of the Arctic Regions as a factual source for Moby Dick.^[7] Scoresby's book details how the city of Liverpool was involved in whaling.

Filming

Liverpool's place as the second most filmed city in the UK has led to Water Street being used in many film and TV productions.^[8] Water Street has featured in such films as Florence Foster Jenkins, Fast and Furious 6, The 51st State and Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.^[9][10]

References

1. Bona, Emilia (3 November 2019). "How Liverpool went from seven streets to global superpower". Liverpool Echo. from the original on 28 December 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
2. "BBC - Liverpool Local History -". www.bbc.co.uk. from the original on 28 December 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
3. Grimsditch, Lee (7 August 2021). "12 original Liverpool street names and reasons why they changed". Liverpool Echo. from the original on 28 December 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
4. "7 Water Street and 3 Fenwick Street, Non Civil Parish - 1062579 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. from the original on 28 December 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
5. "MIDSHIRES BUILDING SOCIETY, Non Civil Parish - 1291937 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. from the original on 28 December 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
6. "Herman Melville – Moby-Dick (Chap. 6: The Street)". Genius. from the original on 28 December 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
7. Routledge, Chris (3 May 2013). "A history of whaling in Liverpool". BBC News. from the original on 28 December 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
8. "About Us". Liverpool Film Office. from the original on 28 December 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
9. Grimsditch, Lee (12 September 2020). "10 Hollywood movies you may not realise were filmed in Liverpool". Liverpool Echo. from the original on 28 December 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
10. Kirwin, Ellen; Rice, Elle May (23 March 2018). "You guide to the famous filming locations across Liverpool". Liverpool Echo. from the original on 28 December 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2023.