UK Museums: Liverpool Museums & Art Galleries
Museums in Liverpool, North West England
Liverpool is an historic port and melting pot in the north west of England, west of Manchester.
Outside London, Liverpool has some of the finest museums and galleries in Britain. Many of them are in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Liverpool Mercantile Marine City of Albert Dock.
See a listing of museums in and around Liverpool.
Liverpool Museum
The Liverpool Museum is devoted to the history and people of Liverpool and is housed in a striking, modern building on the waterfront between Pier Head and Albert Dock.
Opened in 2011 to replace the former Museum of Liverpool Life, the Museum of Liverpool is a member of National Museums Liverpool.
This grouping comprises nine museums and art galleries. including World Museum, Walker Art Gallery, Merseyside Maritime Museum, and the International Slavery Museum, and like all museums in the group, entrance is completely free.
The 8,000 square foot interior, spread over three floors, hosts permanent and also changing displays divided into four themes: The Great Port, Global City, People's Republic, and Wondrous Place.
At either end are huge windows which frame great views of the harbour and the "Three Graces" of the Royal Liver Building, the Cunard Building, and the Port of Liverpool Building.
Tate Liverpool
Tate Liverpool is a huge museum and gallery displaying modern and contemporary art. It is the most visited art gallery and museum in the UK outside of London.
Tate Liverpool opened in 1988 and was the second of what is now four museums that collectively are known as Tate.
The original museum is now called Tate Britain and is located on Millbank in London. Established in 1897 as the National Gallery of British Art.
The name Tate came from the sugar magnate who funded the building of the original museum and also contributed much of his art collection.
In 1993 another provincial offshoot opened in Cornwall, Tate St. Ives in St. Ives, focused primarily on modern British art from the St. Ives School, and also operating the Barbara Hepworth Museum nearby.
Finally, the latest that opened in the former power station on Bankside in London, Tate Modern, is now the most well-known of the four.
International Slavery Museum
The International Slavery Museum is located in the same building as the Merseyside Maritime Museum in the museum quarter around Albert Dock. It opened in 2007 after the success of a slavery exhibition at the Maritime Museum convinced the operators that a stand-alone museum was justified.
It focuses primarily, but not exclusively, on the transatlantic slave trade and the part played in it by the port of Liverpool.
There are three main galleries, with the first showcasing Life in West Africa, displaying culture and peoples life-ways including a recreation of an Igbo compound and examples of artifacts from the time before European invasion. There is an emphasis on masks, musical instruments, and other things that have influenced world cultures.
Merseyside Maritime Museum
The Merseyside Maritime Museum has a wide range of exhibits on the maritime heritage of Liverpool.
As well as boats there are models and a big collections of paintings. Also included are items from shipwrecks and the basement is a museum for the UK Border Service with displays on seized items.
Life in the merchant marine is a major theme and the role of Liverpool during the Battle for the Atlantic is covered. A major exhibit is on the Titanic which was registered at Liverpool but never actually visited.
Open Eye Gallery
The Open Eye Gallery is the only dedicated photography gallery in the northwest of England. It is also one of the top photography galleries in the whole of the UK.
Located in the waterfront area of Liverpool, close to Tate Liverpool and the Museum of Liverpool, the gallery has been open since 1977 and as a non-profit organization. Entry to its exhibitions of outstanding international photography has always been free.
Their brief has been to show photographic art that is relevant to everyone and the gallery is also home to a growing archive of historical photos.
Beatles Story
Beatles Story museum at Albert Dock on the waterfront in Liverpool is dedicated to the four local lads who took the world by storm in the 1960’s.
Together for only 8 years, The Beatles - John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison have left a lasting legacy on the world of popular music and attract fans from all over the world.
The Beatles Museum offers a nostalgic insight into the life, times, culture and music of the quartet, with films, songs, lyrics, exclusive photos and genuine artifacts from their time at the top. The headset tour is narrated by John Lennon’s sister, Julia.
The Beatles Story has a full-size replica of the Cavern Club in Liverpool and Abbey Road studio in west London, along with the white piano from John Lennon’s Imagine and George Harrison’s first guitar.
The Beatles Story is split between the Albert Dock site and the nearby Pier Head site which has the Fab4D theater.
Dazzle Ships
In 2014 as part of a project by the Imperial War Museum in conjunction with the Liverpool Biennial and Tate Liverpool, a pair of ships were painted by artists to commemorate dazzle. Invented in the UK, dazzle involved painting vessels in striking geometric shapes with contrasting tones and colours. The idea was not to hide the ship but to confuse the enemy. One is on display in a dry dock in front of the Liverpool Maritime Museum. The other is a working Mersey ferry.
U-boat Story
The U-534 is a German submarine on display at U-boat Story at Woodside Ferry Terminal in Birkenhead near Liverpool. The U-boat was sunk by the RAF in May 1945 off the Danish coast. 49 submariners of the crew of 53 managed to escape alive. The vessel was salvaged in 1993 as there were rumours of Nazi gold aboard the ship as she was sailing after a ceasefire had been declared. The vessel was transported in a complex operation from its initial display site at at Birkenhead Docks to its present location. It is one of only four intact U-boats on display in the world.
Liverpool Beatles Museum
The Liverpool Beatles Museum in the Cavern Quarter of the city exhibits over 1,000 pieces of Fab Four memorabilia over three floors. Indeed, the museum has one of the largest Beatles collections anywhere in the world. It opened in 2018 and is run by Roag Best - son of The Beatles' road manager Neil Aspinall and half brother of original drummer Pete Best.
Related
Liverpool has a wide choice of accommodation. Recommended places to stay include Hampton By Hilton Liverpool City Centre, Titanic Hotel Liverpool, as well as the four-star Jurys Inn Liverpool.
Hotels in the North West of England
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