The
Liverpool Guide.
The town of Liverpool is situated on the eastern bank of the River Mersey, is in the county of Lancaster, and hundred of West Derby. It is 205 miles from London; 220 from Glasgow; 80 by sea, and 105 by land, from Holyhead; 120 from Dublin; and 75 from the Isle of Man. It contains about 200,000 inhabitants. It is not our intention to enter into any of the etymological quibbles respecting its cognomen which, with its original orthography, appears involved in much obscurity. Suffice it to say, that the most popular conjecture respecting the former is, that the town was originally situated on a pool, or estuary of the Mersey, which pool was the resort of a waterfowl, designated "the Liver;" from thence the word Liverpool appears a natural derivation: even this is, however, quite hypothetical, for we in vain search the chronicles of the naturalist for a history of this fowl, the existence of which, therefore, appears as problematical as that of the phœnix. However, as the corporate signet bears this device, we shall adopt the hypothesis. With respect to the orthography. Leland, in his Itinerary, spells it Lyrpole, and Lyrpoole. Dr. Enfield, in his "History of Liverpool," speaks of it as having been spelt Lerpoole, and
