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| The
show outside St George's Hall in Liverpool. |
"When
he arrived in Liverpool, around 1860, he approached the council
who decided it would be quite a novel thing to have the Punch and
Judy show in the city centre.
"Eventually
they decided to site it in a place called the Quadrant which was
a piece of land between the railway station and the market place.
The workmen made a circular stone stage on which to put the puppet
show.
"Of course it was quite an enviable site because it was a focal
point.
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| Punch
& Judy against the backdrop of the Northwestern hotel. |
"You
would get the people coming out of the market place, clashing with
the people coming out of the railway station.
 |
| Enthralled
fans of Mr Punch. |
"It
stood there from the 19th century up until 1957 when they decided
to make a huge traffic roundabout which went around St George鈥檚
Hall, the show was literally in the way.
"There
was a big hoohaa about retaining it, but of course the authorities
won in the end and suggested an alternative site, which was St George鈥檚
Plateau.
It
wasn鈥檛 a very good site because of course people had to climb steps
to see it. But it was retained there until about three years later
when they started to do the new loop line in Liverpool that was
literally in the way.
"The
show was then sited in Williamson Square and eventually we had a
request to go to the Museum of Liverpool Life, which is where it
is today."
听
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