PRESS RELEASE: EMBARGOED UNTIL 28TH JUNE 2023
REUSE ME OR LOSE ME: SAVE's NEW LIST OF NEARLY 70 AT RISK BUILDINGS SHOWS THE RICH STOCK OF HISTORIC BUILDINGS OF ALL AGES WHICH NEED NEW USES TO ENSURE THEIR SURVIVAL
SAVE Britain's Heritage is today adding nearly 70 new entries to our Buildings at Risk register.
Nominations have come in from all over the country including a burnt-out grade II* bank in Somerset and a neglected grade II townhouse in Margate; a range of ex industrial buildings in Hull and a collection of 18th century estate buildings from Arbury Estate, near George Eliot’s birthplace in Warwickshire. Each building has its own particular story and needs energy, expertise and determination to be helped back to useful life.
SAVE's Buildings at Risk register is in its 34th year and exists to bring disused historic buildings of all ages which could be repurposed to national attention. Nominated by our supporters, local campaigners, conservation officers and other heritage professionals, these are places that matter to us all and deserve wider recognition. The register is a national platform for raising awareness of neglected historic buildings and advocating their reuse as a means to ensure their survival. At a time when this is high on the nation's agenda, finding sustainable new uses for historic buildings could not be more important.
Here are just ten of these neglected buildings, each of them with great potential for reuse. For an overview of all of the new entries, click here.
1. Withy Grove Stores, 35-36 Withy Grove, Manchester M4 2BJ: In Manchester's Northern Quarter Withy Grove Stores looks largely abandoned and derelict, although part of the ground floor is occupied. The family business has been here since 1840. Fine architectural detailing mark the building out but it is the only survivor of the other Victorian industrial and commercial buildings on this street that have been lost.
2. Moor Houses Farmhouse and attached West Range, near Allendale, Northumberland, NE47 9DW: In sweeping moorland near the Tyne Valley village of Allendale, this abandoned grade II listed farmhouse has origins stretching back a long way and reflects the turbulent history of this area. The listing entry records this as a bastle house, or fortified house, of the late 16th or early 17th century.
3. The Mechanics Institute, 4-8 Cross Green, Otley, West Yorkshire, LS21 1AL: Built in 1870 as an educational institution for the working population, this grade II listed building is a cultured and refined palazzo standing with a back-drop of Yorkshire hills. Disused since 2010, there have recently been two unsympathetic conversion applications. Now dry rot has been discovered and solutions are needed to halt its progress.
4. Hydraulic Tower And Pump House, St Andrews Dock, Clive Sullivan Way, Hull, East Yorkshire, HU3 4SA: The eastern end of St. Andrew's Dock in Hull is largely derelict following the collapse of the city's deep sea fishing industry in the 1980s. The Hydraulic tower and pump house is an important part of Hull's heritage and a striking landmark industrial building, but is long disused, heavily vandalised and in poor condition. Next to it, the Lord Line Building is also being added to our register and a combined scheme for the two buildings could boost the regeneration of this part of the dock.
5. Former St Andrews Asylum, Northside, Thorpe St Andrew, Norwich, Norfolk, NR7 0HT: Whilst the main grade II listed Norfolk County Asylum, also known as Southside, has been refurbished into luxury housing, Northside remains derelict. Only the unlisted clocktower and two ranges on either side, as well as the former mortuary and pavilion remain. All are exposed and vulnerable to further deterioration.
6. 56 Grosvenor Place, Margate, Kent, CT9 1UW: Exuding charm and historic character despite its very poor condition, this house is one in a grade II listed terrace standing in a narrow street, a stone's throw from the beach. The building has been unoccupied for a long time and is clearly neglected.
7. The Old Farmhouse, 39 Mount Pleasant Road, Southampton, Hampshire, SO14 0EG: This beautiful 17th century farmhouse lies on the site of a former medieval grange. It retains many historic features. Becoming a pub in 1843, the farmhouse has long played a role within the community until its closure in 2019. It currently sits unused, with its immediate surroundings being used as overflow parking for a nearby garage company.
8. Hartnells Farmhouse, Monkton Heathfield Road, Taunton, Somerset, TA2 8NU: Built in the late 17th century, this beautiful, small-scale former farmhouse and its surrounding yard has faced a number of recent threats, including in 2017 when work began on the construction of 320 new homes on its site. The future of the farmhouse and its yard is uncertain as it remains uninhabited with no plans being made for its reuse.
9. Rhiwfelen, Penegoes, Machynlleth, Powys, SY20 8UN: This grade II listed farmhouse is an example of a cruck framed medieval open hall. The building would have formed part of a working farm and has a number of outbuildings attached to it including a barn and cowshed.
10. Old Town Hall, Victoria Street, Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, BT1 3FA: Belfast’s first town hall, built in 1869-71 and Grade B1 listed, combines a Palladian composition with Romanesque carvings. From 1913-1927, throughout the Home Rule Crisis and First World War, it was occupied by the Ulster Unionist Council and was targeted during the Troubles. After severe bomb damage, the building was restored in 1985 but has been empty since 2020 and awaits a comprehensive plan for its conservation.
