Temple Building, Liverpool

The Temple is located on Dale Street, a main thoroughfare in the commercial heart of the city. It sits alongside many other fine examples of Victorian architecture, including the Municipal Buildings. The Temple, like the nearby Hargreaves Building, was built by Sir James Picton at the request of local banker and philanthropist Sir William Brown. Picton and Brown are two of the city’s most famous figures from its Victorian heyday. Picton designed buildings across Liverpool, and lends his name to the Picton Reading Room, amongst others. Brown commissioned a number of the city’s finest Victorian buildings, and has a street named after him in the city centre.

The Temple combines modern features with the flourish of classical architecture. Fitted with a lead roof and a functional granite basement, it carries the Italian influence of many of the city’s greatest Victorian buildings. Constructed in 1865, it is notable for its distinctive curved bay window on one corner, and Tuscan colonnade on the ground floor. Look out for the unusual carving above the main entrance – it shows four hands, clasped together, with the motto ‘Harmony Becomes Brothers’ inscribed underneath. It reflects the fraternal spirit that helped establish the city as a global trade centre, and for which the local people are renowned.