38 C O N T E X T 1 3 3 : M A R C H 2 0 1 4 References 15 ‘Liverpool Custom House: Proposal for use as maritime museum.’ The Times, 26 August 1946 16 ‘Custom House Respite’ Liverpool Daily Post, 28 August 1946 17 ‘Repair Licence for India Buildings’ Liverpool Daily Post 5 July 1946, p3 18 ‘The National Heritage List for England’ English Heritage, accessed 09/12/12, http://list. english-heritage.org.uk JohnWatling is an architectural assistant, recently graduated from the University of Liverpool master of architecture course. Far right: Salthouse Dock in 2012 (Photo: JohnWatling) Salthouse Dock in around 1890 (Frith Series, Liverpool Records Office) The justification given for full demolition was that the site was part of the central area reconstruction plan, although by no means had this been finalised and therefore could have included an altered Custom House. Liverpool Corporation was able to wash its hands of responsibility as the building was Crown property, so lay outside of the Town and County Planning Act, leaving the corporation powerless to act.15 Even after it seemed that demolition had been settled on, it was reported in theLiverpool Daily Post (28 August 1946) that, after the large amount of protest, the Ministry ofWorks was considering the uses proposed by Eden for the Custom House.16 Unfortunately for the protesters, demolition began under a year later. It appears that the contractors took advice given byAcworth and demolished the wings first, leaving the north portico until last. There were two possible saviours for the Custom House: Government post-war repair licences and the fledgling statutory list. In both cases, the Custom House did not quite fit. The Ministry of Works was generous with building repair licences in Liverpool, but the licences were granted to works which, when complete, would provide employment. India Buildings, Lewis’s Department store and Bluecoat Chambers were notable examples.17 A huge CustomHouse was no longer required, and assembly rooms and museums provided little employment, so the Custom House was deemed unworthy of a grant. As regards the statutory list, a strong argument can be made that, had the Custom House survived into the 1950s, it would have been awarded listed status. It was during these post-war years that heritage organisations such as the Georgian Group, at the time in its early years of existence, tried their best to stop widespread demolition by town planners. And it was in 1947 that the Ministry ofWorks began formally listing buildings of special architectural or historic interest. But demolition of the Custom House began that same year. Under the Principles of Selection for Listed Buildings, state of repair is not considered when recommending a building for listing, so the damage to the Custom House was irrelevant. The Custom House, due to being completed in 1839 and most certainly of national importance, would have at least made Grade II status, perhaps II* or even I. Liverpool and its Custom House had been at the centre of world trade during the 19th century. However, listed status would have been trivial as the Custom House was Crown property, which held immunity until 2006. The few of Foster’s buildings that survived were all listed in 1952, just five years after the demolition of the Custom House began. Gambier Terrace, a row of Greek-revival-style terraces, is Grade II, and St Andrew’s Church and the bombed-out St Luke’s Church are Grade II*. The Huskisson Memorial in St James’ Cemetery is also Grade II listed and the cemetery itself and its Oratory are Grade I listed. 18 One can deduce from this that Foster’s work was deemed important enough to preserve, but time ran out for his Custom House. Had the demolition remained on hold until the listing committee reached the area, the evidence points to a listing. While many town planners saw the Blitz as an invitation to treat British cities as blank canvases, the list kept them at bay to some extent. Today, after being occupied by a poor-quality, 1970s office development, the Custom House site is once again at the forefront of Liverpool’s prosperity in the shape of the Liverpool One development. The north portico saved from demolition until last, February 1948 (Photo:WHTomkinson, Liverpool Records Office) Far right:The careful demolition of the west portico, January 1948 (Photo: Stuart Bale, Liverpool Records Office)
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjgyMjA=