Return of Liverpool Sailors' Home Gateway

9/8/2011

Liverpool Sailors' Home Gateway was unveiled in Paradise Street on 18th August 2011 and dedicated to all merchant seamen who have passed through Liverpool.

Liverpool City Council worked with Gabriel Muies, a former merchant seaman, and other partners to bring the gateway back to the city.

The gateway is part of Liverpool World Heritage Site's outstanding universal value, and is not only a remarkable example of Liverpool's cast iron craftsmanship in the 19th century but it also bears witness to Liverpool's maritime heritage.

It has been repaired and repainted in its original green colour and, after an absence of over 50 years, stands as close as possible to its original location.

To mark the occasion, Mersey Heritage Trust staged sea shanties, re-enactments of mid-19th century scenes and raising of ensigns.

View the video of the event

The  gateway was designed by architect John Cunningham and foundry owner Henry Pooley Junior. It was made in Liverpool at Henry Pooley & Son's Albion Foundry for the Sailors' Home which stood in Canning Place.

It was removed from the Sailors' Home in 1951, dismantled and taken to their Soho Foundry in Smethwick, where it stood until 2010.

Liverpool City Council has:

• Secured listed building consent for the conservation and return of the gateway to Liverpool.

• Approved a planning application for erecting the gateway at the south end of Paradise Street.

• Negotiated ownership of the gateway.

• Commissioned the conservation and repair of the gateway.

• Commissioned the preparation of the plinth for the gateway.

• Secured agreement for the installation of the gateway in Liverpool One.

• Designed and installed an interpretation board.

For further information on the gateway, see www.pooleygates.co.uk and www.chesterwalls.info/gallery/sailorshome.html or visit the Museum of Liverpool.