A ferry across the River Mersey in north west England, between Liverpool and the Wirral Peninsula, from Seacombe, the narrowest crossing point of the river, is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086.

The Benedictine Priory at Birkenhead is established in 1150.

The monks begin to charge a small fare to row passengers across the river.

The Mersey at this time is considerably wider than it is today, with sand dunes and marshes to the north leading up to Ainsdale beach and sandstone cliffs and shorelines to the south near Otterspool.

The only suitable landing point for the ferry is in the Pool, near the site of the present Merseyside Police headquarters.

Weather often stops crossings and passengers are delayed for days, taking shelter at the priory.

For more than eight centuries, ferries will continue to be popular for both local people and visitors.

The Normans had earlier built a small motte and bailey castle at West Derby on the northeastern shore of the Mersey Estuary, but the origins of the city of Liverpool, located in northwestern England, are usually dated from August 28, 1207, when letters patent are issued by King John advertising the establishment of a new borough, "Livpul", and inviting settlers to come and take up holdings there.

The original street plan of Liverpool is said to have been designed by the king; The original seven streets are laid out in a H shape.

It is thought that the King had wanted a port in the district that was free from the control of the powerful Earls of Chester, who hold land all over England called 'the honour of Chester'.

They had by the late twelfth century established a position of power as rulers of Cheshire that is to form the basis of the later notion of the 'county palatine'.

Ranulf de Blondeville, Sixth Earl of Chester, had in 1200 cemented his power in Normandy by marrying Clemence of Fougère; she is the daughter of William of Fougères, widow of Alan de Dinant, and sister of Geoffrey of Fougères.

He had opposed John's attempted coup of 1193–4, and retained many contacts with partisans of his former stepson Arthur.

He had spent most of 1199–1204 in France and his continued loyalty had been bought by John with further patronage.

However, the King was suspicious of the Earl, perhaps with some reason.

Ranulf, suspected in the winter of 1204-5 of dealings with the rebellious Welsh and of contemplating revolt himself, had extensive estates temporarily confiscated by the king.

This episode had apparently convinced Ranulph to show loyalty in future.

The Old Dock, originally known as Thomas Steer's dock, is the world's first commercial wet dock, built on the River Mersey in Liverpool, England, starting in 1709 and completed in 1715, by enlarging a previous natural tidal creek which was the "Pool" after which Liverpool was named.

Thomas Steers is the engineer responsible; additional advice had been obtained from engineer George Sorocold.

Opening on  August 31, 1715, Old Dock, a tidal basin accessed directly from the river can accommodate up to one hundred ships.

The dock walls are constructed from brick laid directly on to sandstone bedrock.

The dock gates would have allowed as much as ten percent of the water out between high tides, resulting in a water level drop of several feet.

This may have been offset by water entering the dock from a stream.

Although Liverpool vessels had been involved in the slave trade before the dock opened, it will serve ships involved in the Africa-America trade, propelling Liverpool to world leader of this trade.

The dock leads to Liverpool's establishment as the leading European port and subsequent world trading port.

The Royal School for the Blind in Liverpool, England, is the oldest specialist school of its kind in the UK, having been founded in 1791.

Only the Paris school is older, but the Royal School for the Blind is the oldest school in the world in continuous operation, and the first in the world founded by a blind person, Edward Rushton, who is also an anti-slavery campaigner.

It is also the first school in the world to offer education and training to blind adults as well as children.

The first railway tunnel is built en route between Liverpool and ...

Cholera claims five thousand three hundred and eighty lives in the major port city of Liverpool, England, an embarkation point for immigrants to North America, and ...

Cholera hits Ireland in 1849 and kills many of the Irish Famine survivors, already weakened by starvation and fever.

The Cunard Line's seven hundred-ton wooden paddlewheel steamer RMS Britannia departs on the first steam transatlantic passenger mail service on July 4, 1840, from Liverpool, bound for Halifax, Nova Scotia,

The 1842 Grand Liverpool Steeplechase is the fourth official annual running of a steeplechase, later to become known as the Grand National Steeplechase, a horse race that takes place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool on March 2, 1842, and attracts fifteen runners.

Although recorded by the press at the time as the seventh running of the Grand Liverpool, which will be renamed the Grand National in 1847, the first three runnings are poorly organized affairs and are today regarded as unofficial.

The race is not run as a handicap chase and therefore all the runners are declared to carry twelve stone with the exception of the winner of the 1840 Cheltenham Steeplechase, who has to carry thirteen stone four pounds.

Gaylad, ridden by Tom Olliver, wins the race.

Cholera claims five thousand three hundred and eight lives in the major port city of Liverpool, England, an embarkation point for immigrants to North America, and ...