Samuel Holme-an autobiography

Samuel Holme was born in 1801 in the centre of Liverpool to parents of limited means. He followed his father as a bricklayer and showed considerable initiative and enterprise in developing a contracting and civil engineering business which at one stage was the biggest employer in Liverpool. Samuel became the main contractor for the building of St. George’s Hall in Liverpool but wrote that he could ‘never look at St. George’s Hall with any pleasure’ owing to all the problems it brought him. He was elected mayor of Liverpool in 1852. This autobiography reveals a fascinating story, not only of family origins but also descriptions of Liverpool in 1809 and revealing details of the schools of the day. He describes building, banking and election practices in the early part of the nineteenth century. Particularly revealing is his description of a journey through France and Italy in 1823, only a decade after the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo.