Liverpool honours birth of Gladstone
Liverpool is to celebrate the bicentenary of the birth of William Gladstone, four-time British Prime Minister, with a special exhibition celebrating his life.
The FREE exhibition, to launch on Tuesday, December 29th – 200 years exactly to the day of his birth - will be held at St George’s Hall in Liverpool, less than a mile from his birthplace at 92 Rodney Street.
The three month long exhibition, which ends on March 27 2010, will be situated in the Gladstone Gallery in the Grade 1 listed hall and will feature items such as records, diaries and books from his career, Gladstone merchandise such as pottery and ceramics, newspaper cuttings of the day and a bust donated by John Moores University.
As part for the celebrations, launched by Liverpool’s Deputy Lord Mayor, Councillor Hazel Williams, a series of talks will be held on the day by local historians exploring the different stages of his life from Gladstone’s childhood in Liverpool, his political career to the world in which he operated.
Councillor Gary Millar, Executive Member for Enterprise and Tourism, said: "William Gladstone was a true colossus of British politics, his influence and beliefs can still be felt today and continue to inspire many to take an interest in politics.
"Liverpool is fortunate and honoured to have him as a son and I’m delighted the city is celebrating his fascinating life on this landmark anniversary. St George’s Hall is a living history lesson of the legacies of the Victorian age and with a room and statue dedicate the Grand Old Man himself, I can’t think of a better venue for this exhibition. I’m sure everyone who has an interest in the man and his time will find this exhibition of great interest."
One of the outstanding statesmen of the 19th century, Gladstone was instrumental in shaping modern-day democracy in Britain from reforming voting rights and meritocracy in the army, to free education and advocating Irish Home Rule.
An MP for more than 50 years, the son of a Scottish merchant also served as Chancellor of the Exchequer where he passed a bill cutting publishing duties paving the way for cheaper newspapers and more publications.
Steve Binns, MBE, Community Historian of Liverpool City Council, is one of the UK’s leading authorities on William Gladstone. He has dedicated 30 years to studying his life, has read over 5,000 of his letters and is attempting to transcribe his 12 volume personal diary – the biggest book in the English language - into Braille.
Steve said: ‘’Gladstone is my hero because of his journey from opposing any change to championing the right of the people to be at the heart of the government. He arguably invented modern politics from public speaking and public campaigns to the secret ballot – all of which was centred on the revolutionary idea of persuading people to vote and to trust them to do so.
"His attitude to life is fascinating and in my opinion he is probably Liverpool’s greatest son. He famously said he always backed the masses against the classes and made so many comebacks that the remark ‘you could take Gladstone out of Liverpool but not Liverpool out of Gladstone’ always proved accurate."
Cited by Winston Churchill, who also represented both the Liberal and Conservative Party, as one of his greatest inspirations, Gladstone was equally famous for his frosty relationship with Queen Victoria and his political rivalry with Benjamin Disraeli, who like Gladstone is also honoured with a statue at St George’s Hall.
In 1895, at the age of 85, Gladstone bequeathed £40,000 (equivalent to approximately £3.31 million today) and much of his library to found St Deiniol's Library in Hawarden, Wales, the only residential library in Britain. Despite his advanced age, he himself hauled most of his 32,000 books a quarter of a mile to their new home, using his wheelbarrow.
In 1896, in his last noteworthy speech, he denounced Armenian massacres by Ottomans in a talk delivered at Liverpool to 7,000 people at the now-gone Henglers Circus near West Derby Road.
Gladstone died on 19 May 1898 at Hawarden Castle, Hawarden, Flintshire aged 88. His coffin was transported on the London Underground before his state funeral at Westminster Abbey, at which the Prince of Wales (the future Edward VII) and the Duke of York (the future George V) acted as pallbearers.
