A list of the top ten Victorian and Edwardian buildings most at risk in England and Wales has been published by the Victorian Society.
The list includes a boarded-up former orphanage in Liverpool designed by the celebrated Victorian architect, Alfred Waterhouse; a beautiful but now abandoned and derelict school in Sheffield; and a Grade II*-listed Edwardian office building in London, now threatened with demolition by the Government’s plans for the High Speed 2 rail link.
The list of ten was drawn up using nominations from members of the public following a nationwide appeal to find the country’s best and most threatened buildings. Of the ten buildings chosen seven are listed at Grade II*, placing them in the top 6% of all listed buildings.
“Once historic buildings like these are lost they cannot be replaced”, said Dr Ian Dungavell, Director of the Victorian Society. “Sadly these ten buildings are now seriously at risk, due to poor planning, stalled developments or simply neglect. Our heritage is a finite resource and even in tough economic times we must make sure that the best Victorian and Edwardian architecture is still there for future generations to enjoy.
We had a phenomenal response to our appeal this year and heard stories of countless endangered buildings in need of help. The threat varies but in many cases buildings are simply being boarded up and forgotten about. All too often water still seeps into the building, causing considerable damage.”
Dr Dungavell added: “it’s vital that new uses are found for these buildings, as the longer they lie empty the harder they are to save.”
This is the fourth year the Victorian Society has run the endangered buildings campaign, which aims to highlight the problems facing many of our historic buildings.
The Victorian Society’s Top Ten Endangered Buildings (in no particular order)
Hammerton School, Ouseburn Road, Darnall, Sheffield (1904, W.J.Hale, Grade II): W.J. Hale built only a handful of schools for the Sheffield School Board, but this is considered to be not only his best school, but arguably the best of all his buildings. Sadly it is now in an appalling state, made worse by the fact that for many years it was not protected by any form of fencing and was at the mercy of vandals – it has now been fenced off from the street. The building is owned by an educational charity called the Madni Trust but it is not clear what plans the trust has for the building which has now been empty for well over a decade. This attractive honey-coloured Arts and Crafts style school with its baroque touches is too good to lose.
The Grimsby Ice Factory, Gorton Street, The Docks, Grimsby (1900/1901, W.F. Cott, Grade II*): This vast factory produced ice for Grimsby’s fishing industry for 90 years. The building and its early 20th century ice machinery represent a key part of the town’s fishing heritage. It closed down in 1990 and is now a derelict industrial building marooned on private land owned by Associated British Ports. The company has no plans to demolish the Grade II* listed factory, but if the neglect continues it will eventually crumble. Ice was last made here in 1990 but the historic machinery which produced it is now open to the elements as the roof is no longer watertight. Local campaigners would like to see the Ice Factory brought back to life as part of a wider regeneration of the docks but there is still a long way to go.
Bradgate House Stables, Bradgate Hill, Groby, Leicestershire (1856, M. J. Dain, Grade II* ): Bradgate House was demolished in 1926 but its elaborate stable block still survives, albeit in a ruinous and dilapidated condition. It was built on a lavish scale (the bill is thought to have run to £30,000) for the Seventh Earl of Stamford when he was made Master of Quorn Hunt in 1856. The stables and the surrounding land are now owned by an aggregate company and the area isn’t open to the public but the now roofless stable block can be seen from the nearby A50. A Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England survey was done in 1992 and over the years several ideas have been put forward to rescue the building, but so far nothing has proved viable. The stables are now desperately in need of help or these outstanding reminders of Leicestershire’s equestrian heritage will be lost for good.
Royal Liverpool Seamen’s Orphanage, Newsham Park, Tuebrook, Liverpool (1871-74, Alfred Waterhouse, Grade II): Alfred Waterhouse was commissioned by the Liverpool Seamen’s Orphan Institution to provide a home for children who had lost their families at sea. It remained an orphanage until 1949, later becoming Newsham Park Hospital. It finally closed in 1988 and since then has become increasingly derelict. Boarding on the windows and an onsite caretaker deter vandals and urban explorers, but water is still seeping in and dry rot is thought to be widespread. An application to convert the hospital into flats and build in its grounds was submitted a few years ago, but later withdrawn. Now a community group called the Newsham Park Community Development Association want to see the building brought back into use as a community facility, but progress is unlikely to be swift and in the meantime this wonderful building continues to be at risk.
30 Euston Square, London (1906-8, Arthur Beresford Pite, Grade II*): The Euston Arch was lost last time Euston station was redeveloped back in the early 1960s. That decision is widely regretted and yet fifty years later we are in danger of seeing history repeat itself with Beresford Pite’s grand classical design at 30 Euston Square. The building is threatened by the Government’s plans for High Speed 2, the controversial high speed rail link that will reduce travel times between London and Birmingham, the North West and eventually Scotland. The Neo-Grecian building, built for the London, Edinburgh and Glasgow Assurance Company, is currently covered in scaffolding as its new owner, the Royal College of General Practitioners, has already started restoration work. The irony is that 30 Euston Square has been empty for years and now, just as it appears saved, the HS2 plans place it under threat once again.
The Unitarian Chapel, Upper Brook Street, Manchester (1837-9, Charles Barry, Grade II*): The former Unitarian Chapel, later known as the Welsh Baptist Chapel is owned by Manchester City Council. It is the first known example of a Gothic nonconformist chapel and believed to have been an early collaboration between Sir Charles Barry and AWN Pugin before they worked together on the Palace of Westminster. Yet despite its national significance, the chapel has been neglected for decades, resulting in 2005 in the removal of its roof. The chapel is now open to the elements and largely a ruin. Despite this there is a glimmer of hope; the City Council is working on finding a tenant who is prepared to take the building on. Suggestions for its future have included student accommodation or a restaurant, but progress needs to be made soon or the city will lose an important part of its architectural heritage.
Old Fire Station, Court Road, Barry, South Wales (1901, architect unknown, Grade II): Sadly after sitting empty for nearly 10 years this custom designed Edwardian fire station is now in an advanced state of decay; part of the slate roof is missing, there are floors missing and lead has been stripped from its remarkable square practice tower. Earlier this year permission was granted to convert the ground floor of the building into offices, and create seven flats in the upper floors of the fire station, sub-dividing the tower. Work has yet to start and the Vale of Glamorgan is currently trying to force the owner to improve the condition of the site. The clock is ticking for this attractive landmark building as the interior is already riddled with dry rot and work needs to be done to the fabric of the fire station before it is too late.
Former Wedgwood Institute, Queen Street, Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent (1869, G.B. Nichols, John Lockwood Kipling, Robert Edgar, Grade II*): Until recently the Wedgwood Institute was home to Burslem’s public library. In 2006 the council pledged money to restore this exceptional Grade II*-listed building but instead it closed down just two years later, without warning, due to structural problems. The library’s books have moved elsewhere and only small parts of the building are in temporary use. Outside its highly decorative façade is a homage to work; above the main entrance is a figure of Josiah Wedgwood and elsewhere terracotta panels depict the different processes in the manufacture of pottery – this is a building which is crying out for a real use. In the meantime the structural problems will only get worse if urgent repairs aren’t carried out.
Normansfield Hospital, Kingston Road, Teddington, Middlesex (1866, architect unknown, Grade II*): The state of the interior of this former private sanatorium for mentally handicapped children is appalling and clearly in a state of rapid decline. Fixtures such as fireplaces, switches and mouldings have been removed and graffiti and general destruction is visible throughout. Beyond that, the building is evidently suffering from an extreme case of damp and rot, making many of the floors unsafe. All this in a building listed at Grade II* because of its historic association with Dr Langdon-Down, and because of the intact survival of a rare private theatre. Normansfield hospital should have been developed in 2000 when permission was granted to convert the hospital into a hotel and restaurant and to build nearly 200 new homes in the grounds. The houses were built but the restoration of the historic hospital never happened. The hospital remains boarded up and a problem which gets harder to solve as its condition gets worse.
Former Moseley School of Art, Moseley Road, Birmingham (1898, W.H. Bidlake, Grade II*): This is an area of Birmingham where a remarkable number of distinguished Victorian and Edwardian buildings still survive, but like the Moseley Road Baths opposite the School of Art is crying out for investment and care. The school was built in the ‘Wrenaissance’ style to the designs of the exceptional Birmingham Arts and Crafts architect, W.H.Bidlake. It closed down in 1975 and the building now belongs to the British Association of Muslims. Its condition is steadily deteriorating and is a cause of great concern for local heritage campaigners. Action needs to be taken soon to ensure that this attractive and important building has a future.
Last year’s Top Ten (2009) were: Oldham Town Hall, Oldham, (1841, Joseph Butterworth, Grade II-listed). Defensible Barracks, Pembroke Dock, Wales, (c1844, Captain Farris of the Royal Engineers, Grade II*-listed). St Edmund’s Church, Rochdale, Manchester, (1873, Medland and Taylor, Grade II*-listed). Chapels at Pudsey Cemetery, Pudsey, Leeds, (1875, William Gay, unlisted). Former St Mark’s Infant School, Battersea, London, (1866, Benjamin Ferrey, Grade II-listed). St Ignatius of Antioch Church, Ordsall, Salford, (1903, Alfred Darbyshire, unlisted). Nocton Hall, Nocton, Lincolnshire, (1841, William Shearburn, Grade II-listed). Trimley Station building, Trimley, Suffolk, (1891, architect unknown, unlisted). The Waterloo Hotel and Grill, Smethwick, West Midlands, (1907, Wood and Kendrick, Grade II*-listed). Moseley Road Baths, Balsall Health, Birmingham, (1907, William Hale & Son, Grade II*-listed).
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