Take a trip down memory lane with Liverpool’s oldest pubs

Liverpool is a city that is no stranger to regeneration and there have been big changes over the years in where we drink. Once a place with a pub on almost every corner, many of those drinking establishments are now gone. In the city centre, at least, there are a few surviving bastions of days gone by.

Ye Crack on Rice Street is a 19th-century pub, this tiny place may seem innocuous, but it's where John Lennon used to go when he was in art school nearby, even taking Cynthia, his first wife, there on their first date. Filled with Beatles memorabilia, it's a pilgrimage for fans of the Fab Four as well as a watering hole popular with locals.

The Bridewell has a long history. The building, once a prison, dates from the mid-19th century and has been lovingly converted into a pub, with the cells now used as seating areas. Charles Dickens was sworn in as a special constable for one night only in 1860 whilst researching one of his novels.

The Philharmonic Dining Rooms was built between 1898 and 1900 and no visit is complete without a trip to their famous gents' toilets – not a claim many pubs can make! The pub is also part of the city's rich musical history – Buddy Holly performed here, as did Paul McCartney. Locally known as The Phil.

The last pub still standing on Wapping, Baltic Fleet, is a Grade II-listed building near the Albert Dock. Once known as Sailor town, the area once contained a large number of pubs, catering to the vast number of seaman who moved through the area due to its vicinity to the thriving docks. The traditional pub now cuts a lonely figure. It's hard to imagine just how this area looked during the 18th and 19th centuries.

The British Beer and Pub Association are warning that two thousand of the nation's much-loved pubs are facing last orders. They're calling on Government intervention as data from Oxford Economics estimates on-trade beer sales will decline by 9% over the next year. This equates to one million fewer barrels of beer sold (288 million pints) and 25,000 potential job losses in pubs and the wider industry.

• Watch the video above for more about Liverpool’s iconic pubs and their history.