Historic Liverpool house included in list of ten buildings ‘in need of saving’

A Grade II* listed house in Liverpool is among ten historic buildings across the country deemed in need of ‘saving’.

The Victorian Society’s annual top 10 list of buildings and structures in need of saving was published on Wednesday. It included the vicarage and church hall of St Agnes and St Pancras, which are located on Buckingham Avenue near Sefton Park in South Liverpool.

Designed by renowned architect Norman Shaw and built in the 1880s, the parsonage is a two-story red brick building. The hall, which is Grade II listed, is attached to the church by a passageway. It was also designed by Shaw and was built of red brick.

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buildings it accompanies the extraordinary Grade I listed church, described by the Pevsner architectural guides as ‘Liverpool’s finest Victorian church’. The buildings were commissioned by Liverpool’s scholarship dynasty, the Horsfall family, who funded seven churches in Merseyside; and the parsonage and hall were actually built on the same street where the benefactors lived.

Of the parish and hall’s inclusion in the list, Victorian Society chairman comedian Griff Rhys Jones said: “Liverpool knows it’s a great city. It was a power of the North West.

“It contains dozens of fabulous monuments of that energy that make any visit interesting. This group of exquisite and unique buildings is one of them. Character. The charm. Delight. But they urgently need help. Please help Liverpool. This is one of yours. Let’s work it out.”

According to the society, both the mess hall and the hall are in a very poor condition and require immediate remedial and repair work to ensure they are protected from the elements and intruders.

A spokesman for the Diocese of Liverpool said: “We understand the strong emotions surrounding the news and are actively working to provide the best solution for the building. As a diocese, our funds are limited and we do not have the resources to invest in the building.

“We would like to reassure people that we are looking for a solution that can preserve this historic building in sympathy with the church and the local community.”

Each of the sites on the list of ten in need of saving and repair is Grade II or above, meaning they are subject to regulations protecting their historic and architectural significance, but the charity said in some cases it feared this is not enough. .

Mr Rhys Jones said the list of ten buildings was “a testament to the excitement, variety and invention of the Victorian era”.

He added: “How scary to see buildings that I have known, loved or used all my life in Southend and Cardiff in need of saving. But come on. Look at the character shown here. All add color and story to any urban landscape.

“Restoring and reusing them makes huge business sense. They are attractions in themselves. There are already destinations. It should be part of local pride.

“What do we want? Parking space? A faceless block in their place? A bunch of new carbon pollution? When they already have so much color, continuity and history on their side?”

This is the fourteenth list of endangered buildings published by the Victorian Society, which was founded in 1958.

The top 10 for 2024 is:

1. Kennington School for Boys, London
2. Kursaal, Essex
3. Jesmond Dene Banqueting Hall, Newcastle
4. Former Bramcote Tennis Pavilion, North Yorkshire
5. St Luke’s Chapel in Nottingham City Hospital, Nottinghamshire
6. St Martins (formerly Roslyn Hoe), Devon
7. Chances Glassworks, West Midlands
8. St Agnes’ Vicarage and Hall, Liverpool
9. Formerly Department of Education Offices, Derbyshire
10. Cardiff Coal Exchange, Cardiff

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