The station was opened in 1874 by the Great Eastern Railway. It was designed by the Great Eastern's chief engineer, Edward Wilson and was built a site which had been occupied by Bethlem Royal Hospital from the 13th century to the 17th century. A Corporation of London plaque commemorating the station's construction hangs on the wall of the adjoining former Great Eastern Hotel, which was designed by Charles Barry (junior) (son of Sir Charles Barry) and his brother Edward Middleton Barry. The station was named after the street on which it stands, which in turn was named in honour of British Prime Minister Lord Liverpool, having been built as part of an extension of the City of London towards the end of his term in office.
The station was the first place in London to be hit by German Gotha bomber aircraft during World War I. The May 1917 bombing, which saw the station take a direct hit from 1000 pounds of bombs, killed 162 people.
The station was extensively modified between 1985 and 1992, including bringing all the platforms in the main shed up to the same end point and constructing a new underground booking office, but its facade, steam age iron pillars and the honour roll for Great Eastern Railway employees that died in the Great War were retained. It was officially re-opened by Queen Elizabeth in 1991.
Liverpool Street serves destinations in eastern England including Stansted Airport, Cambridge, Lowestoft, Great Yarmouth, Norwich, Ipswich, Chelmsford, Colchester, Braintree, and the port of Harwich, as well as many suburban stations in north-eastern London. It is one of the busiest commuter stations in London.
The connected London Underground station has sub-surface platforms (opened in 1875) on the Circle, Metropolitan and Hammersmith & City lines.
Below the main line and sub-suface station complex are deep level tube platforms for east and westbound Central Line services. The Central Line platforms opened on 28 July 1912, at which time it was the eastern end of what was then known as the Central London Railway.
In the years following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States, two fictional docu-drama portrayed how a terrorist organisation might seek to attack London, chosing Liverpool Street station as the specific target. The programmes turned out to have a degree of truth following the attacks of 7 July 2005.