Act now to save our crumbling heritage sites

Jul 14 2008 by Peter Elson, Liverpool Daily Post

IT COMES as a shock, to hear that, as a nation usually criticised for being obsessed with heritage, one in 12 such historic sites are at risk, as revealed in a new English Heritage survey, called – unsurprisingly – Heritage at Risk.

English Heritage’s chief executive Simon Thurley says: “The results of this first Heritage at Risk report show that everybody must live near, walk past or know of a heritage treasure at risk near them. This register should galvanise them.”

So, armed with this inspirational battle talk, are there any subjects for concern around us? In fact, where do we begin. In Liverpool, the problem seems as bad as ever.

Looking at Liverpool itself, we have those perennial cases limping along in the most notable form of the Wellington Assembly Rooms (ex-Irish Centre), built by public subscription in 1815 out of gratitude to the Iron Duke for making Europe safe for Liverpool’s mercantile fleet, from Napoleon’s forces.

Those subscriptions paid for a very solid building indeed as, in spite of major neglect, “the Welly” remains. English Heritage classes its condition as “very poor”, which is a scandalous indictment of a proud city keen to encourage visitors. The building occupies a prime site on Mount Pleasant, by the Metropolitan Cathedral. Why the hold-up, which has added tens of thousands of pounds to its refurbishment?

Another old chestnut is St Andrew’s Scottish Presbyterian Church, of 1823. In spite of being a burned-out shell with one tower missing and in a condition described by EH as “very bad”, it still looms magisterially over one end of Rodney Street. This has now been compulsorily purchased by Liverpool City Council, but is far from secure.

Prof Peter Toyne, when vice chancellor of John Moores University, planned to refurbish the church as a grand entrance to the campus. He had the new Aldham Robarts Resource Centre aligned so the two buildings could be conjoined. Is there anything to stop this happening at long last? Not only would it make a fabulous ceremonial entrance with upper floor exhibition space, but St Andrew’s revival would be a tribute to a great Liverpool architect, John Foster Jnr, whose output the city has recognised largely with annihilation.

St James’ Church, in St James Place, at the bottom of Parliament Street, suffers from being just too far outside the main visitor area. But this 1774 building was Liverpool’s first parish church for the black Christian population, and was an architectural pioneer in using cast-iron pillars to support its galleries. Owned by the Churches Conservation Trust, the big question is what can you do with a building like this which is both in the city but marooned on a site from the warp and weft of life?

The fabulous Royal Insurance Building, on North John Street, built in 1903, has at last, it seems, found a hotel partner who won’t walk away like all the others, but again its official EH condition status is “very poor”.

Moving farther afield, Stanley Dock North Warehouse, an 1848 property built by Jesse Hartley, whose docks more than anything made Liverpool, is deteriorating rapidly and half the eastern side is already demolished. Its condition, too, is poor.

Age is no protection against the ravages of neglect. The 14th-century Rainhill Hall, in Blundell’s Lane, Rainhill, looks to be in a state of near total collapse and its EH prognosis is very bad. The Chapel of St Thomas of Canterbury, at Windlehurst RC Cemetery, St Helens, once a celebrated local landmark on church walks, is now in a poor condition. On the Wirral, 17th-century Storeton Hall, at Bebington, is in poor condition and requires emergency work. Even that totemic New Brighton slab, Fort Perch Rock, is in need of general repair.

Prompted by EH’s London findings, Mayor Boris Johnson pledged £60m for the city’s 572 Buildings at Risk and in Birmingham, private individuals raised £35m to save the 1830s Town Hall. So there’s no reason not to follow suit here.

peter.elson@dailypost.co.uk