-Look Up, Look Down Challenge, Week 67

Every Thursday, I publish a post containing photo(s) taken from above or below, and invite you to join in the challenge by posting your own photos with an up or down perspective.

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The clock towers of the Royal Liver Building and the two twig-bearing birds atop them are an important symbol of the city of Liverpool.

The building opened in 1911 and was one of the first buildings in the world to be built from reinforced concrete.  Stands 90 metres tall, it was the tallest storeyed building in Europe until 1932 and the tallest in the UK until 1961.  The building was purpose built as the headquarters of the Royal Liver Assurance group which had been set up in the city in 1850 to provide locals people with assistance in the event of losing a wage-earning relative.

It is a Grade I listed building  and together with its neighbours, the Cunard Building and the Port of Liverpool Building, is one of Liverpool’s Three Graces, forming part of the city’s UNESCO designated World Heritage Maritime Mercantile City.

The famous liver birds were designed by Carl Bernard Bartels and constructed by the Bromsgrove Guild.  The exact species of the birds has long been the subject of discussion and controversy, but the College of Arms refers to them as cormorants, adding that the sprig in the mouth is laver, a type of seaweed, suggesting thereby that the bird’s common name comes from the sprig.

Many prefer to believe that these are mythical birds that once haunted the local shoreline. According to popular legend (there are many but this is my favourite), they are a male and female pair, the female looking out to sea, watching for the seamen to return safely home, and the male looking towards the city, ensuring that the pubs are open!

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The Challenge

Click here to enter the challenge

Welcome to week 67 and a huge thank you for last week‘s entries.   I can never resist a good lamp so a spacial mention goes to Jackie at Junkboat Travels for her beautifully intricate “Moroccan” lamps.  You can see the entries from this and previous weeks on my Pinterest board if you have missed any (or at least you can see most of them – I’m having trouble with my Pin It button and some of this month’s are missing).

All are welcome; do please share your up or down perspective with us.  Simply create your own post as normal, create a link to this challenge and click above to enter your link and view other entries.  If you have any difficulties with the linky, please just leave your link in a comment below and I will upload your thumbnail.

Finally, please don’t forget to go and visit the other challengers and pass on your views and encouragement.

To find out more about how to enter, click here.  The linky list will open each Thursday at 00:01 GMT (or a bit before) and will be open for a week.

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