Lancashire port with longstanding military, administrative and commercial connections to the Isle of Man.

Liverpool appears repeatedly in Commonwealth records concerning the conquest of Mann in 1651. Charles Walley of Chester later petitioned the Protector describing his work shipping troops from Chester, Liverpool and the north-Welsh ports and managing expenditure connected with “the reducing the Isle of Man”.

During the political crisis preceding the Parliamentary expedition, Liverpool formed part of the mainland military network watching James Stanley. Prisoners taken during Royalist disturbances in Lancashire were sent to Lancaster Castle and Liverpool, while arms collected from potentially hostile inhabitants were ordered into the port.

Government accounts also record expenditure on messengers travelling to the Isle of Man. In October 1651 the Council instructed the Governor of Liverpool to deal with the two daughters of the Earl of Derby, who were then being held under restraint in the town.

The naval operation against Mann was organised within the same Irish Sea system. Colonel Robert Blake was appointed to command a squadron of twelve vessels intended for the Isle of Man and the eastern coast of Ireland, while ships already operating north of Ireland were ordered to keep a particular watch on the Island.

Liverpool later became one of the principal English ports trading with Mann and one of the main passenger routes between the Island and Britain.