Photo credit: Ian Wells

Griff Rhys Jones, Victorian Society President, said: ‘Any hospital must have room for a place of repose and meditation. Especially one that historically had such charm and distinction and such a beautiful interior. I urge the authorities to look again and see this chapel anew. We must work to recognise, preserve and restore its outstanding history for the future.’

This remarkable Arts and Crafts chapel was built as part of the Bagthorpe Workhouse, for the use of inmates and staff. Later the workhouse infirmary became the City Hospital. Until the mid-1980s the chapel was opened daily for private use by patients, staff and visitors. It was decided to close the chapel in 1988 when a new chapel on the main corridor of the City Hospital was opened. It has been used subsequently by the hospital as a store.

Almost lost on this vast site, this chapel is dedicated to St Luke, the apostle who was a physician. It is a beautiful, idiosyncratic building, but now overlooked amidst the sprawl and flurry of a major city hospital. Paradoxically, within 100 metres is the splendid – and equally idiosyncratic – contemporary Maggie’s Centre, designed by Piers Gough. The chapel interior was intact as recently as 2009 and featured a Baroque-style pulpit and baluster-stemmed lectern. The white altar rails had turned balusters, and there was a font towards the rear. In addition, there used to be a painting on the west wall by L. Pompignali of Florence, who copied a 16th-century triptych of the crucifixion by Pietro Perugino.

Since 2009 the interior has been largely stripped of its furnishings. Photographs of the interior prior to the removal of its fixtures and fittings can be viewed here. We encourage the hospital to bring St Luke’s – a glorious purpose-built space – back for its intended use. Alternatively, a sympathetic new use that ensures the long-term use and maintenance of the building is required.

James Hughes, Director of the Victorian Society, said: ‘This must be one of the most extraordinary hospital chapels anywhere. And it is used – as far as it is used – as a store. The longer the building goes without a sustainable purpose, the higher the cost of securing its fabric, and the greater the eventual burden will be on the NHS. Doing nothing is not an option. A building this remarkable deserves a proper use.’

The full Top Ten list 2024 can be read here and includes a requisitioned school where author Vera Brittain nursed during WWI, the last of one of the world’s first purpose-built amusement parks, a banqueting hall for the workers, one of the first tennis pavilions in the world, and a building where the first £1m cheque was signed. The listed buildings include a Scheduled Monument and two Grade II*- listed buildings

The list is based on public nominations from across England and Wales, and the buildings selected represent industrial, religious, domestic, and civic architecture from across the nation with unique historical and community significance and value. Nominated buildings must be dated between 1837 and 1914. The Victorian Society has announced its list of Top Ten Endangered buildings fourteen times.

The post Arts and Crafts Nottingham Hospital Chapel features on Victorian Society’s Top Ten Endangered Buildings list 2024 appeared first on The Victorian Society.

Photo credit: N J Cole

Griff Rhys Jones, the Victorian Society President has launched the Victorian Society’s Top Ten Endangered Buildings list 2024. This year he has a building from his youth on the list.

Griff Rhys Jones said: ‘I love the Kursaal. It was part of my childhood. It’s an exhilarating building. An entertaining building. It is the history of Southend. It has more embedded value, commercially and collectively and as a great entertainment complex than it could ever have as a derelict site. There are problems but loads of enthusiasm. It’s time for the stakeholders to try a new approach.’’

The Kursaal Palace’s iconic tower, featured on a 2011 postage stamp, makes it an East Anglian landmark. Believed to be the world’s first purpose-built amusement park with a circus, ballroom, arcade, dining hall, billiard room, a zoo, and an ice rink. Later it housed a casino, bowling alley, and hosted a number of major bands, including AC/DC. Now only a Tesco Express occupies a small part of the building. The locals have fond memories of the Kursaal. They, and the Council, want the leasehold back so it can revert to use for concerts, markets and community events.

The Kursaal, built between 1898-99, is George Sherrin’s major work outside London. He is notable for having finished the dome of the remarkable Oratory church in South Kensington, after which the dome of the Kursaal is the only one he subsequently designed. In its official listing for the building, Historic England describes the Kursaal as “the principal architectural monument to Southend’s Edwardian boom period.” The striking, monumental treatment of the dome and its glazed tower makes a bold statement both from the esplanade and from out at sea. The building is currently boarded up and its future is far from clear.

The Victorian Society’s key figures have had to intercede in Southend-on-Sea before to help save the city’s heritage. Poet Laureate, Sir John Betjeman, one of our first chairmen and a founder and first chairman of The Pier Society, a figurehead in the campaigns to protect heritage in the 1970s and 1980s, led the successful campaign to Save the Pier. Sir John’s intervention, with the memorable words “Southend is the pier, the pier is Southend”, was not forgotten by the people of Southend, and one of the trains on the revived pier train service was named in his honour. Once again another of Southend’s defining historic structures is at risk.

The German word Kursaal, meaning “cure hall” refers to the main banquet hall of a spa town. Southend’s Kursaal was the largest fairground in the south of England. When it opened in 1901 as an amusement park, to rival Blackpool, the large outdoor space beside the main landmark building hosted Southend United football games, greyhound races, and, most notably, amusement rides. The Kursaal’s Wall of Death motorcycle rides were the first such spectacle in Britain. The outdoor land was eventually sold off for housing in 1986, but the main building evolved throughout the later part of the 20th century. The Kursaal’s ballroom hosted the big dance bands of the 1920s and the 1940s and was a major heavy and then glam rock music venue, where Queen, Mott the Hoople, Ozzy Osborne and Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy, Dr Feelgood, John Cale + The Boys, Sweet, Sparks and Cockney Rebel all appeared. AC/DC paid the venue the ultimate tribute by putting a shot by rock photographer Keith Morris from their 19th March 1977 gig at the Kursaal ballroom on the cover of the international version of their 1977 album, Let There Be Rock. They were one of the last bands to play the ballroom. Despite the Save The Kursaal Campaign, the whole complex finally closed its doors in 1986. Sadly, the decaying ballroom was demolished that year. Following years of dereliction some restoration as part of a multi-million-pound redevelopment occurred, and in 1998 The Kursaal reopened. A small function suite on the site of the venue did occasionally host live bands, though that has long ceased.

Most recently the building housed a McDonald’s, a bowling alley and a casino, but these departed in 2008, 2019 and 2020 respectively, leaving a Tesco Express as the Kursaal’s sole occupier. Concrete Culture, a collective of artists, community workers, church groups and others recently formed with the aim to turn the Kursaal into a landmark multi-use space, which could be used for music and community events, markets and more. The Council, which owns the building, has since 2023 been in negotiations with the leaseholder, which has evidently not been sufficiently diligent in its care of the building. The leaseholder wants a sizeable sum to sell the leasehold back. The Council and the people of Southend-on-Sea are of one mind: they want their Palace back. We join their plea to the leaseholder to sell this landmark building back to the Council at an affordable price so that it can realise a sustainable use befitting of its splendour and history.

James Hughes, Director of the Victorian Society, said: ‘Theatrical in every sense, this building has played a major role in the story of Southend, and must play a pivotal part in its future.’

The full Top Ten list can be read here and includes a requisitioned school where author Vera Brittain nursed during WWI, the last of one of the world’s first purpose-built amusement parks, a banqueting hall for the workers, one of the first tennis pavilions in the world, and a building where the first £1m cheque was signed. The listed buildings include a Scheduled Monument and two Grade II*- listed buildings.

The list is based on public nominations from across England and Wales, and the buildings selected represent industrial, religious, domestic, and civic architecture from across the nation with unique historical and community significance and value. Nominated buildings must be dated between 1837 and 1914. The Victorian Society has announced its list of Top Ten of Endangered buildings fourteen times.

Postcard September 1918 showing Southend seafront, with horse drawn charabanc and on the right outside what used to be the Minerva pub is a Southend Corp Tramways electric tram. Thanks to Fred McLean, his 2nd great-grandfather ran the pub in the 1880s. (c) Frederick McLean

The post Landmark Essex seaside building the Kursaal on Victorian Society’s Top Ten Endangered Buildings list 2024 appeared first on The Victorian Society.

The Grade II listed building designed by Giles & Brookhouse and dating from 1871, is in urgent need of investment and sensitive re-use to survive.

Photo credit: Andy Savage

This elegant renaissance-style palazzo was built to house the offices of the Derby Poor Law Guardians and subsequently the Derby Education Department. The only life it plays host to now is the buddleia sprouting from crevices in its walls and parapets. Otherwise, it stands empty and its condition deteriorates. In the past it was used as a popular nightclub – Berlins – then, at the millennium, changed hands to become a different club, which in turn closed in the mid-2000s. It was sold again in 2009 but has since remained unused. With an entertainment venue opening opposite, this well-located building should benefit from increased visitors coming to the area and would lend itself to a variety of new uses.

This hugely impressive building speaks to the pride of the city, and the evident belief of the fundamental importance of education. Atop the central bay is a carved panel bearing the Derby Borough coat of arms, featuring a buck within the palings of a park. The strongly articulated façade bears all the hallmarks of the Italian palazzo style: a raised ground floor and grand piano nobile at first floor; heavy rustication, pilasters with Corinthianesque features, copious windows – those at first-floor level elegantly arched – and excellent carved detailing. Inside the building has a stained-glass window with the legend “Blessed is he who Careth for the poor.”

In the last two years the building has deteriorated heavily. Substantial areas of leading and roof slate have gone missing, resulting in the serious decline of the building’s fabric. The building’s current ownership can be traced back to the Tchenguiz Family Trust, which is a major investor in property. We appeal to the Trust to take steps to safeguard both fabric and future of this fine listed building.

Having already served a number of uses historically, there is undoubtedly scope for converting the building, which perhaps lends itself to a mixed-use conversion as a restaurant or bar and offices, drawing on the opportunities offered by the development of the neighbouring site.

Griff Rhys Jones, Victorian Society President, said: ‘Oh dear. This is a great building. In a great location. It has earned its own keep for a long time. What is happening here? It’s a familiar story. An ownership that doesn’t seem to notice its terrible recent decay. The front of this magnificent building declares its pride in Derby. Derby surely has pride in it too. We beg the family trust who own it to concentrate on its reuse, recycling and important future.’

James Hughes, Director of the Victorian Society, said: ‘Despite its poor state of repair, the dignified architectural character of this building shines through. But for how much longer will that be the case? The condition of its roof has worsened considerably in recent months, leaving gaping holes in the roof that are discernible even from the street, and with them water pouring in every time it rains. In such circumstances, the fabric of the building can only deteriorate drastically. Immediate intervention is required to make the building watertight. Meanwhile, the process of securing a conservation-led regeneration of the building should begin.’

The full Top Ten list can be read here and includes a requisitioned school where author Vera Brittain nursed during WWI, the last of one of the world’s first purpose-built amusement parks, a banqueting hall for the workers, one of the first tennis pavilions in the world, and a building where the first £1m cheque was signed. The listed buildings include a Scheduled Monument and two Grade II*- listed buildings.

The list is based on public nominations from across England and Wales, and the buildings selected represent industrial, religious, domestic, and civic architecture from across the nation with unique historical and community significance and value. Nominated buildings must be dated between 1837 and 1914. The Victorian Society has announced its list of Top Ten Endangered buildings fourteen times.

The post Listed former Education Department Offices in Derby on The Victorian Society’s Top Ten Endangered Buildings list 2024 appeared first on The Victorian Society.

Photo credit: Connor McNeill

A Victorian building requisitioned during WWI as a hospital in the capital is on The Victorian Society’s Top Ten Endangered Buildings list 2024 that has been launched by Griff Rhys Jones, the Society’s President. The building needs urgent restoration and a sympathetic reuse to preserve this important historic structure.

Griff Rhys Jones, Victorian Society President, said:
‘This is one of those dilemmas that just seems confusing. How come this building can’t be reused? Recycled? Why can’t it be sold? This is a central borough? Loads of distinguished old places have been successfully repurposed for homes or commercial use. To allow this noble structure to simply decay by neglect is surely wasteful bad policy.’

Requisitioned as part of the 1st London General Hospital during WWI, this fine Board School was the first posting of writer and campaigner Vera Brittain when she served as a VAD nurse (Voluntary Aid Detatchment). Edward, her brother, was also invalided to the hospital during the Battle of the Somme whilst the Testament of Youth author was nursing there. The Cormont Road School, Myatt’s Fields Park (opposite) and the neighbouring college became a hub for the medical treatment and rehabilitation of wounded men. In Greater London alone there were over 300 hospitals and convalescent homes. Brittain described the school as “one of the few distinguished buildings in the dismal, dreary, dirty wilderness of south London.”

Vera Brittain photographed outside the 1st London General Hospital during WWI. The writer and campaigner served as a VAD. © Photograph of Vera Brittain reproduced by permission of The William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collections, McMaster University Library & the Vera Brittain Estate.

Brittain was one of the many nurses who cared for the wounded and dying at the hospital. It was her first nursing position before being posted to Malta and then going to France. It was while at the 1st General Hospital that her fiancé, poet, Roland Leighton, was killed. Her poem A Military Hospital A Military Hospital was written whilst at the 1st London General.

Post-war the building returned to schooling thousands of south Londoners, as it did for over 100 years, and is a key feature of the Minet Conservation Area. Sometime after World War II the School became Kennington Boys’ School and later the Charles Edward Brooke Girls’ School, before becoming vacant following the relocation of the Girls’ School to new nearby premises in 2012.

Kennington School (Cormont Road School) has been on the Historic England at Risk Register since 2016 when its condition was recorded as poor. By the time of the recently released 2023 Historic England Heritage at Risk Register, its condition had deteriorated to Very Bad, demonstrating that its owner, the London Borough of Lambeth, has not undertaken necessary ongoing maintenance. A survey commissioned by the council, in March 2016, identified that water ingress has caused significant internal damage. Works to make the building wind and weathertight have been identified as urgently required since 2016. Some remedial work was supposed to have commenced in 2023, but no action has been taken. It is now critical that work is done urgently to stop further deterioration and identify a new use for the building before the structure deteriorates any further. Its central London location offers opportunities for reuse that don’t apply to many buildings. A sympathetic reuse for it could surely be found. Local people are seriously concerned about a building that has been a prominent feature of their lives and their locality, but which has been draped with green netting for years. A petition has been launched appealing to the Council to repair the building and put it to an appropriate new use.

Photo shows Edward Brittain, Vera’s brother who was nursed at the school during the Battle of the Somme, and Roland Leighton, Vera’s finance who was killed in France, and their friend Victor Richardson. Photo reproduced by permission of The William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collections, McMaster University Library & the Vera Brittain Estate

James Hughes, Director of the Victorian Society, said:
‘London has a rich heritage of Victorian and Edwardian schools, and this example by the prolific T. J. Bailey is especially splendid. Aptly described as a building of “romance and fantasy”, its sweeping spirelets, towers, dormers and Dutch gables combine to entertaining, kaleidoscopic effect. This is a building of enormous historic and architectural significance, and is a landmark in the Minet Conservation Area in a pleasant and desirable part of London, within striking distance of the centre of town. It is one, too, of enormous potential for reuse, which the Local Authority must make an absolute priority.

The full Top Ten list can be read here and includes a requisitioned school where author Vera Brittain nursed during WWI, the last of one of the world’s first purpose-built amusement parks, a banqueting hall for the workers, one of the first tennis pavilions in the world, and a building where the first £1m cheque was signed. The listed buildings include a Scheduled Monument and two Grade II*- listed buildings.

The list is based on public nominations from across England and Wales, and the buildings selected represent industrial, religious, domestic, and civic architecture from across the nation with unique historical and community significance and value. Nominated buildings must be dated between 1837 and 1914. The Victorian Society has announced its list of Top Ten of Endangered buildings fourteen times.

The post Former London school where author Vera Brittain nursed during WWI is on Victorian Society’s Top Ten Endangered Buildings list 2024 appeared first on The Victorian Society.

Photo credit: Guy Newton

The Banqueting Hall at Jesmond Dene is on The Victorian Society’s Top Ten Endangered Buildings list 2024 that has been launched by Griff Rhys Jones, the Society’s President. The building is suffering water ingression and needs urgent works.

Griff Rhys Jones, Victorian Society President, said: ‘We are not normally indifferent to the architect Norman Shaw. We celebrate him in books, academia and TV programmes. Why are some of his finest works here being ignored? We can’t licence new buildings when we have such important works of national importance waiting to be put to use. It’s time for some serious thinking.’

The Banqueting Hall was commissioned by wealthy industrialist William Armstrong as a venue for entertaining his employees from the Elswick Works, known for shipbuilding, guns and hydraulic machinery. Situated alongside the River Ouseburn, the land and Hall were in 1883 gifted to Newcastle by the ennobled Lord Armstrong to become a people’s park. Despite listing in 1965, the roof was removed by the building’s custodian Newcastle City Council (NCC) in 1977. Now in a state of increasing decay and with its use as an artists’ studio in doubt, the hall’s potential as an arts and innovation centre could yet honour Armstrong’s legacy and importance as a patron of architecture, as well as his intentions for the public benefit and use of the Dene.

In 2019, responsibility for the running and maintenance of all Newcastle’s parks – and the buildings within them – was taken over from NCC by a new body, Urban Green. The artists’ cooperative, Armstrong Studio Trust (AST), who use the building, have carried out ad hoc repairs over the years, to keep the building functioning and watertight, but has had minimal support from the Council and the situation has become untenable, both financially and practically. Currently, Urban Green is under severe funding pressure, making it difficult for them to invest in the building.

The gatehouse, reception hall and display room are by Norman Shaw, an architect with the regrettable honour of having three buildings on this year’s Top Ten Endangered List. Shaw is one of the most notable Victorian architects, highlighting the disturbing fact that even the work of some of the finest architects of the period is not immune to serious deterioration.

The Banqueting Hall was an integral feature of the Jesmond Dene when in the 1860s Sir William Armstrong and his wife created the model landscape which is the origin of the present Dene. It is the last building known to have been designed by the famous John Dobson, Newcastle’s premier architect. When Dobson died, Armstrong chose the then little-known London architect Norman Shaw to add a smaller hall behind the main one, an access staircase from the lane, and an attractive new lodge above. These are Norman Shaw’s first buildings in the North East. Armstrong subsequently asked Shaw to extend and rebuild Cragside, his renowned country house now cared for by the National Trust. While Shaw’s work at Cragside is very well known, that at Jesmond Dene is much less so. Professor Andrew Saint, author of the foremost book on the life and work of Shaw, believes that years of study have shown that the two places are closely related in terms of architecture and landscaping. Professor Saint says “As time has gone by, it has emerged with increasing clarity that they are among Newcastle’s most remarkable heritage assets, both in their own right and as entities within the superb and unique Jesmond Dene.” It is sobering that for forty years the Banqueting Hall and Lodge, though integral to the Dene, have survived with the diligence of the artists who endeavour to use the building. Previous plans for the Banqueting Hall have come and gone. With water ingress worse than ever it is time for the Hall and associated buildings to be restored so the people of Newcastle can keep using and enjoying them and the park that they love. A future as a centre for arts and innovation would match Lord Armstrong’s vision as well as his bequest, honouring his legacy and importance as a patron of architecture. There is a single statue of him in Newcastle, but otherwise no other memorial.

James Hughes, Director of the Victorian Society, said: ‘The future of the Banqueting Hall has been a source of concern for the Society for some years. It is significant in the context of Shaw’s work and career, and significant too to Newcastle and the north east region. It is time that uncertainty over its future is resolved and a holistic scheme that respects the site’s enormous interest is developed.’

The full Top Ten list can be read here and includes a requisitioned school where author Vera Brittain nursed during WWI, the last of one of the world’s first purpose-built amusement parks, a banqueting hall for the workers, one of the first tennis pavilions in the world, and a building where the first £1m cheque was signed. The listed buildings include a Scheduled Monument and two Grade II*- listed buildings.

The list is based on public nominations from across England and Wales, and the buildings selected represent industrial, religious, domestic, and civic architecture from across the nation with unique historical and community significance and value. Nominated buildings must be dated between 1837 and 1914. The Victorian Society has announced its list of Top Ten of Endangered buildings fourteen times.

The post People’s banqueting hall in Jesmond Dene on Victorian Society’s Endangered Buildings list 2024 appeared first on The Victorian Society.

Photo credit: Dominic Roberts

A pair of fine heritage buildings in Sefton Park are on The Victorian Society’s Top Ten Endangered Buildings list 2024 that has been launched by Griff Rhys Jones, the Society’s President. The buildings are in a perilous state and require urgent repair to ensure their continued survival.

Griff Rhys Jones, President of the Victorian Society said: ‘Liverpool knows it is a great city. It was a powerhouse of the northwest. It contains dozens of fabulous monuments to that energy that make any visit exciting. This group of exquisite and unique buildings is one of those. Character. Charm. Delight. But in urgent need of help. Please help, Liverpool. This is one of your own. Let’s get it sorted.’

This highly original vicarage and hall were designed by one of the greatest Victorian architects to accompany the extraordinary Grade I-listed church of St Agnes and St Pancras, described by Pevsner as “the most beautiful Victorian church of Liverpool”. As a group the vicarage, hall and church represent one of the most impressive such ensembles in the country. All were commissioned by the Liverpool stockbroking dynasty, the Horsfall family, which funded seven churches across Merseyside; and the vicarage and hall were in fact built in the same Sefton Park street as the benefactors lived. The hall is in brick with a tile roof in the Gothic style. Connected to the church by a passage, the hall has lean-to aisles, a horizontal set of windows above head height, and a small lower room on the end with cusped windows. Separating the hall from the road is the vicarage, which was built between 1885 and 1887 and paid for by Howard Douglas Horsfall’s mother. The vicarage may have been designed with input from Shaw’s then Chief Clerk, William Lethaby, as its architectural treatment is original and was never repeated by Shaw.

Both buildings are in a very poor state of repair. The condition of the hall is especially concerning. In the short term, both buildings require immediate works of remediation and repair to ensure that they are secure from weather and intruders. These are exceptional works by one of the most distinguished designers of the later Victorian period, and in the longer term, a strategy for their sympathetic reuse is vital.

James Hughes, Director of the Victorian Society, said: ‘Pearson’s staggering church and Shaw’s hall and vicarage represent a genuinely remarkable collection of C19 buildings. It is unbelievable that buildings of the quality and interest of the hall and vicarage should have been allowed to fall into such a serious state of dilapidation. Works to make the buildings wind and watertight are required immediately, and in the longer term a solution that will see them saved and put to appropriate use.’

The full Top Ten list can be read here and includes a requisitioned school where author Vera Brittain nursed during WWI, the last of one of the world’s first purpose-built amusement parks, a banqueting hall for the workers, one of the first tennis pavilions in the world, and a building where the first £1m cheque was signed. The listed buildings include a Scheduled Monument and two Grade II*- listed buildings.

The list is based on public nominations from across England and Wales, and the buildings selected represent industrial, religious, domestic, and civic architecture from across the nation with unique historical and community significance and value. Nominated buildings must be dated between 1837 and 1914. The Victorian Society has announced its list of Top Ten Endangered buildings fourteen times.

The post Liverpool vicarage and hall on Victorian Society’s Top Ten Endangered Buildings list 2024 appeared first on The Victorian Society.

A fine Grade II villa in Ilfracombe is on The Victorian Society’s Top Ten Endangered Buildings list 2024 that has been launched by Griff Rhys Jones, the Society’s President. The building needs urgent restoration to preserve its historic structure.

Griff Rhys Jones, Victorian Society President, said: ‘In a desperate housing environment this house deserves to be a house and a dwelling for a new family or families. I hope that the owners see sense here. Don’t let one of the pages of the story of Ilfracombe be wiped through indifference and neglect.’

This Gothic coastal villa, designed by a local architect, stands as one of Ilfracombe’s finest houses and is notable for its fine decorative detail. Built speculatively on a plot bought by a local builder, Roslyn Hoe, as it was originally called, represents the growing popularity of new coastal bathing resorts following the expansion of railway links. As early as 1885 it began to serve as a small school for girls with Mrs Walcott Harris, formerly of Brighton, advertising in the Western Morning News for 8 young ladies. She added that “Delicate girls” could “be received for change of air by special arrangement.” By the 1930s St Martins had become a small hotel.

St Martins (formerly Roslyn Hoe) c1880 to 1890s Photo © : Ilfracombe Museum

St Martins was described as an ‘exercise in symmetry’ by later local architect Alan Hussell and is one of the best houses in this most exclusive part of this charming town. The Wesleyan owners in the 1930s were related to Mr Hussell, who appreciated its fine design.

The building’s condition since the last owner’s passing has been concerning local civic groups, and the lack of regular maintenance is beginning to tell on the fabric. The Society encourages the owners of the property to consider selling the property if they no longer feel able to bear the responsibility and cost of upkeep of what is undoubtedly a substantial building. Ilfracombe has been identified by newspapers’ property sections as the next St Ives, and given the building’s enormous charm, a sale seems perfectly conceivable.

James Hughes, Director of the Victorian Society, said: ‘The poor condition of this splendid High Victorian house is a cause for profound concern. Examples of domestic architecture of this date and particular quality are rare and of national importance.’

Torrs Park Ilfracombe c1880 to 1890s 2 Photo credit copyright Ilfracombe Museum

The full Top Ten list can be read here and includes a requisitioned school where author Vera Brittain nursed during WWI, the last of one of the world’s first purpose-built amusement parks, a banqueting hall for the workers, one of the first tennis pavilions in the world, and a building where the first £1m cheque was signed. The listed buildings include a Scheduled Monument and two Grade II*- listed buildings

The list is based on public nominations from across England and Wales, and the buildings selected represent industrial, religious, domestic, and civic architecture from across the nation with unique historical and community significance and value. Nominated buildings must be dated between 1837 and 1914. The Victorian Society has announced its list of Top Ten Endangered buildings fourteen times.

Extract from the North Devon Journal, June 1862, an advertisement for ‘Eligible building sites, for detached and other residences, at this healthy and attractive watering place, may now be obtained on the property named Torrs Park’.

The post Devon coastal gothic house on national Endangered Buildings list 2024 appeared first on The Victorian Society.

Photo credit: Connor McNeill

Griff Rhys Jones, Victorian Society President, has launched the Society’s 2024 list of the Top Ten Endangered Buildings in England and Wales. This is the second time this magnificent French Renaissance-influenced building appears on our list of Endangered Buildings, and it remains one of the most important 19th-century buildings in Wales.

Griff Rhys Jones, Victorian Society President, said: ‘I can’t believe this. The Coal Exchange is Cardiff. It symbolises the power that built this city and the story of King Coal. Not only that. It is loved. Both as a building and a very successful hotel. It has been structurally damaged by foolish plans to modernise but is not irreparable and the Victorian Society are demanding that a proper plan to care for what is one of Wales’s most important nineteenth century buildings gets on the table.’

Here the world’s coal prices were determined, and the first £1 million cheque was signed in 1904. Disfigured in the 1970s by an underground car park, segments of the building have been left to ruin. In recent times it was run as a music venue and offices until 2013 when safety concerns forced its closure. After a prolonged period of refurbishment, some of the most significant rooms were included in a scheme that converted a part of the building into a hotel. The hotel portion of the building, one of the most popular in Cardiff, has a high ranking on TripAdvisor, but has been hit by maintenance problems and safety issues. In February 2023 a burst water pipe forced the hotel to close. The water build-up was so intense that Cardiff Council ordered that part of the building had to be demolished because of concerns a section was not structurally sound, and a road closure was put in place due to the risk of falling masonry. Aerial photos in the Welsh media have shown troubling damage to the structure, with entire floors missing from the top to the ground with, one side of the building now missing. Reports in the media have said the section removed will be rebuilt, but it is unclear if this will happen.

The Cardiff Coal Exchange has been affected because its owners a Liverpool-based company, Signature Group, went into administration creating headlines in local, Welsh and English national newspapers. The company had for seven years acquired historic buildings across UK cities to redevelop into hotels, offices, and flats. The Coal Exchange was just one of these buildings. In April 2020 one of Signature Group’s biggest subsidiaries, Signature Living Hotel Ltd, entered administration owing £113m. The hotel has kept going and in March 2024 opened again in time for the Six Nations rugby tournament.

The Victorian Society and the city’s conservation officers are concerned that this listed building is still not being properly served by the current holders of the site. The demolished section needs to be rebuilt. After the recent closure and reopening of the hotel under new ownership in Spring 2024, there is mounting concern about the future of a building that played a pivotal role in Wales’s history. A long-term, sustainable plan needs to be found to reverse the building’s decline and ensure the preservation of this important piece of Welsh history.

James Hughes, Director of the Victorian Society, said: ‘It has been a tumultuous decade for Cardiff’s magnificent yet mired Coal Exchange since last appearing on the Society’s Top Ten list. While largescale façade-retention and demolition schemes thankfully did not come to pass, and parts of the building have been converted and operated as a hotel, the building’s future remains very much in doubt. Not only do large sections of the building remain vacant, but recent catastrophic leaks have forced hugely invasive works entailing the loss of considerable amounts of historic fabric. Enough is enough. It is now time that a considered and comprehensive plan for the restoration and reuse of the Coal Exchange is formulated, and we call on all stakeholders to come together to address what is undoubtedly a pressing issue of national importance.’

The full Top Ten list can be read here and includes a requisitioned school where author Vera Brittain nursed during WWI, the last of one of the world’s first purpose-built amusement parks, a banqueting hall for the workers, one of the first tennis pavilions in the world, and a building where the first £1m cheque was signed. The listed buildings include a Scheduled Monument and two Grade II*- listed buildings.

The list is based on public nominations from across England and Wales, and the buildings selected represent industrial, religious, domestic, and civic architecture from across the nation with unique historical and community significance and value. Nominated buildings must be dated between 1837 and 1914. The Victorian Society has announced its list of Top Ten Endangered buildings fourteen times.

The post Cardiff Coal Exchange on Victorian Society’s Top Ten Endangered Buildings list for the second time appeared first on The Victorian Society.

Photo credit: Stephen Hartland

The Victorian Society’s Top Ten Endangered Buildings list 2024 has been launched by Griff Rhys Jones, the Society’s President, and includes Chances Glassworks. One of the most important industrial heritage sites in the West Midlands, once the world’s largest glassmaker, is on the list because it faces decay. It is listed on Historic England’s At Risk Register and is now appearing on the Victorian Society’s Top Ten Endangered Buildings list for the second time, having appeared on our list previously in 2017.

Griff Rhys Jones, Victorian Society President, said “Industrial sites can seem difficult, but careful and well thought-through reuse has provided some of the most exciting effective and characterful new experiences across Britain. Former mills, factories and warehousing have been shown to have a commercial edge time and time again. It can cost more to realise these returns. But there is a plan here. There is a chance. It just needs support and recognition. Which is why these wonderful buildings are back on this list again. Surely time for action and loud support.”

Chances, in the Black Country, employed 3,500 and supplied iconic structures, such as around 2,300 of the world’s lighthouses, the Crystal Palace in London, windows for the White House, and the Houses of Parliament. It features a seven-storey warehouse, bridges, and a rare Siemens No7 Regenerative furnace, probably the last existing example in the world. All these are in poor repair. Deterioration on the canal side of the site has led the Canal & River Trust to close the neighbouring towpath which is a cycle path.

Robert Lucas Chance established Chance Brothers Glassworks on the former British Crown Glass Company site in 1824 and continued to expand the site to become the largest glassmaker in the world. Glass manufacture took place continuously up until 1981. The site has since stood derelict for over 40 years. Chances were innovative producers of scientific grade glass, applying for 27 British Patents from 1838-1900. They developed the first cathode ray tubes, working with John Logie Baird, for radar and television sets. The pedigree of the industrial history is outstanding.

Next to the raised section of M5 and the Birmingham loop of the West Coast Mainline, the site and its buildings are now in the care of the Chance Heritage Trust. The Trust has proposed a regeneration scheme for the glassworks over the last 18 months. The work has resulted in a capital grant submission to the West Midlands Combined Authority for the first phase of the restoration.

The £25m regeneration scheme aims to transform Chances into an urban village, including 150 new homes, business space and a heritage centre, but securing a capital grant is crucial to saving these key buildings and working towards delivering the scheme. The neighbourhood around the site is run-down, and this initiative would improve the locality, bring the buildings back into sustainable reuse, and also begin to regenerate the area.

James Hughes, Director of the Victorian Society, said:
‘Chance’s story is unique and fascinating. It is one that is told through the fabric of its site, which is in part what makes it so precious, and the need to save it so pressing. All strength, therefore, to the Chance Heritage Trust and its ambitious regeneration scheme. Those in positions of influence should take note, and must do what they can to support and realise the Trust’s vision.’

The full Top Ten list can be read here and includes a requisitioned school where author Vera Brittain nursed during WWI, the last of one of the world’s first purpose-built amusement parks, a banqueting hall for the workers, one of the first tennis pavilions in the world, and a building where the first £1m cheque was signed. The listed buildings include a Scheduled Monument and two Grade II*- listed buildings.

The list is based on public nominations from across England and Wales, and the buildings selected represent industrial, religious, domestic, and civic architecture from across the nation with unique historical and community significance and value. Nominated buildings must be dated between 1837 and 1914. The Victorian Society has announced its list of Top Ten Endangered buildings fourteen times.

The post Last chance to preserve one of the West Midlands key industrial heritage sites as it appears on Victorian Society’s Top Ten Endangered buildings list 2024 appeared first on The Victorian Society.

Photo credit: Robert Walton

The Bramcote Tennis Pavilion is on The Victorian Society’s Top Ten Endangered Buildings list 2024 that has been launched by Griff Rhys Jones, the Society’s President. The building needs urgent restoration to preserve this historic structure that dates from the earliest days of the modern sport.

Griff Rhys Jones, Victorian Society President, said “I am reeling. How can we not find a proper new use for this elegant testament to the history of tennis? Like all good old buildings, it is an education in itself. It has a story. It teaches continuity. Local achievement. And fun history. And the very act of caring about its preservation should be an exemplary teaching tool. Neglect and indifference set a hugely bad example to young people.’

This Arts and Crafts veranda-style bungalow was once a lawn tennis pavilion, among the earliest structures for the modern sport internationally. Dating back to the sport’s inception in the 1860s-1870s, it holds significance in Scarborough’s tennis history which included championship-level competitions. It was commissioned for the North of England Lawn Tennis Club from local architect John Hall. The building boasts changing rooms for both sexes, a significant social aspect of the sport demonstrating that women were playing early in the game’s history. Scarborough was an important place for tennis into the C20.

Following a failed application to demolish the pavilion for housing, the owner, Scarborough College Company, a school, invested heavily in a state-of-the-art athletics track immediately beside the pavilion. However, the pavilion, now fenced off, dilapidates, and awaits restoration, leaving its rich sporting legacy degrading despite the school’s assertion when applying for permission for the athletics track that the pavilion would be better appreciated by increased visitors to the grounds. The Scarborough & District Civic Society has been vocal in its concern for the building and is keen to see it restored, having succeeded in getting the building listed at Grade II.

The College seems to be missing a wonderful educational opportunity for its pupils. It has in its grounds and under its care an extraordinary piece of local, national and international sporting history. For all the opportunities the building represents, the bottom line is that the badly deteriorating fabric of the pavilion needs as a matter of urgency to be addressed. The College must act now.
 
James Hughes, Director of the Victorian Society, said: ‘Many endangered buildings present issues that are more or less intractable. Often the scale of a building – and, correspondingly, of the investment required to save it – is such as to represent an insurmountable challenge. Yet in the case of the Bramcote Tennis Pavilion we have a building that is by its very nature diminutive. While this does not mean that rescuing the structure should be a simple matter, it should nonetheless make it rather easier. And given its enormous importance it is the very least it deserves.’

The full Top Ten list can be read here and includes a requisitioned school where author Vera Brittain nursed during WWI, the last of one of the world’s first purpose-built amusement parks, a banqueting hall for the workers, one of the first tennis pavilions in the world, and a building where the first £1m cheque was signed. The listed buildings include a Scheduled Monument and two Grade II*- listed buildings.

The list is based on public nominations from across England and Wales, and the buildings selected represent industrial, religious, domestic, and civic architecture from across the nation with unique historical and community significance and value. Nominated buildings must be dated between 1837 and 1914. The Victorian Society has announced its list of Top Ten of Endangered buildings fourteen times.

The post Rare Victorian tennis pavilion in Scarborough is on Victorian Society’s Top Ten Endangered Buildings list 2024 appeared first on The Victorian Society.