SAVE publishes 2015-16 buildings at risk catalogue Falling In Love, marking 25 years of SAVE's buildings at risk reports
1 June 2015
SAVE publishes 2015-16 buildings at risk catalogue Falling In Love, marking 25 years of SAVE's buildings at risk reports
SAVE's 2015-16 Buildings at Risk Catalogue will be published on 22nd June 2015, and is the ultimate 'lonely hearts' list for buildings across the country in need of new owners or new uses.
After a break of two years, Falling In Love is our 23rd printed catalogue, and marks the 25th anniversary of our first buildings at risk report Empty Quarters (1989-90). 2015 is also the 40th anniversary of SAVE, so it is a doubly special year.
Please join us for the launch of Falling In Love on the 22nd June 2015, at the Gallrey, 77 Cowcross Street. More info here
SAVE was the first organisation to launch a buildings at risk register, highlighting the many wonderful listed and unlisted buildings around the country in need of new owners and new uses. Our online register, accessible to Friends of SAVE, has grown to over 1,300 entries since it was launched in 1998.
The 2015-16 catalogue features 100 new entries suggested by conservation officers or brought to our attention by members of the public. Buildings featured range from enchanting cottages and farmhouses, to larger industrial mills, breweries and dockyard buildings, as well as churches, chapels and civic buildings. It even includes a Staffordshire rifle range and an anti-aircraft supply depot in Tyne and Wear.
Organised by county, each entry includes a description of the property and its condition and aims to bring to life the individual qualities of each building, from the modest beauty of a disused coach house in Mansfield to the epic industrial splendour of an old colliery in Kent. A few example entries can be seen below.
For the first time we have benefited from having special assistance from Barry and Genesis Eveleigh, who volunteered to travel the length and breadth of the country taking photos of the new entries. Their pictures show the buildings in great detail and make leafing through the catalogue a rich and rewarding experience.
In addition to the 100 individual entries, Falling In Love features three spotlights; the first considers Stoke on Trent and the efforts there to save its unique cityscape; the second looks at the fate of Birmingham's community libraries amid harsh cuts and an ever diminishing fund for repairs and maintenance; and the third reports on the extraordinary flamboyant architecture of Tbilisi in Georgia, in advance of a forthcoming SAVE Europe's Heritage report on the city.
A selection of success and scandal stories from buildings featured in previous reports is also included, as is information about what constitutes a building at risk, where help and funding can be sought, an overview of planning policy if taking on a listed building and where to look for more information.
Liz Fuller, SAVE's Buildings at Risk Officer, says: "SAVE's new buildings at risk catalogue aims to introduce buildings at risk from around the country to those with the determination and imagination necessary to save them. We also hope to inspire the many individuals and groups around the country who campaign to save buildings by highlighting those which make the places they are in special. A great deal more is needed to save a building at risk than just falling in love with it, but it is a good place to start."
Mike Fox, SAVE Caseworker, says: "With 100 new entries covering so many different building types and structures, from Aberdeen to Penzance, Falling In Love should offer something for everyone interested in architectural heritage and buildings at risk. Our 2012-13 catalogue called on our supporters to dare to care. This year we hope our readers will fall in love with these new entries and heroically take up the challenge of restoring them to former glories, as has happened to so many buildings previously featured in SAVE reports."
Available to pre-order now, Falling in Love: Buildings at Risk 2015-16 is priced at £15.00, or £13.00 for Friends of SAVE (+£2.50 P&P).
Orders can be made online - http://www.savebritainsheritage.org/publications/ - by post - SAVE, 70 Cowcross Street, London, EC1M 6EJ - or over the phone - 0207 253 3500.
Access to the online register is available to Friends of SAVE for £36/year (£25 concessions). In addition to accessing to the register, SAVE Friends receive a SAVE publication when joining, discounts on subsequent publications, a newsletter twice a year, press releases and campaign updates, and invitations and discounts on events.
Please see our website for more information:
http://www.savebritainsheritage.org/support-us/become-a-friend
For further information and images, please contact the SAVE Office on 0207 253 3500, or Liz Fuller, SAVE's Buildings at Risk Officer, on volunteer@savebritainsheritage.org or Mike Fox, SAVE's Caseworker, on mike.fox@savebritainsheritage.org
Highlights from the 2015-2016 report
Scalegill Hall, Cumbria
Scalegill Hall is a large eighteenth-century house in a rural location near to Whitehaven, with an elevated position giving it views across to the Irish Sea. A former farmhouse with associated outbuildings dating from the seventeenth century, Scalegill Hall would, despite its current parlous condition, be suited for conversion to a small hotel or bed and breakfast business.
Wilderslowe, Derby
A substantial nineteenth-century stone villa, the Grade II listed Wilderslowe once stood in spacious grounds and was the home of local grandee Captain Richard Beacher Leacroft. Today however it is surrounded by the former Derbyshire Royal Infirmary which is in the process of being cleared in preparation for the sale of the site. It is hoped a new owner will be able to restore Widerslowe to a measure of its former glory.
Snowdown Colliery, Dover
One of four mines built to tap the Kent Coalfield deposits, Snowdown was the first to bring coal to the surface in 1912. Comprising some 20 buildings, two of which are listed Grade II, Snowdown is a remarkable industrial site in the middle of open countryside. The buildings are currently deteriorating but the Kent Coal and Community are working to reuse the site as a major cultural hub, starting with a number of art festivals. We hope their inspired plans prove successful.
Plean House, Stirling
A classical sandstone mansion dating from 1812, Plean House is in a very distressed condition, little more than a shell. Its attractiveness is still evident however. Plans for residential conversion have been approved in the past, and the council are now considering their options as part of a wider plan for the county park, and we hope this will lead to a reversal of fortunes for Plean.
Grimstone Mill, Dorset
A mid-nineteenth-century watermill, Grimstone is in desperate need of a new owner who can carry out essential maintenance and repairs. The mill contains a large proportion of its original workings, and benefits from a long stretch of river frontage with fishing rights. Planning permission has previously been granted for conversion to holiday accommodation.
Mill House, Lincolnshire
A quirky cottage dating from the nineteenth century, Mill House is currently on the market for £175,000, and requires some substantial repair work, not least putting in a staircase to access the first floor. The house is set in seven acres and comes with an orchard, and would make an ideal holiday home or hobby farm.
11 Valinger's Road, Kings Lynn
A handsome townhouse in the Kings Lynn Conservation Area, 11 Valinger's Road is in a dilapidated state with boarded up windows. Some care and attention could do wonders for this building, which makes a positive contribution to the Conservation Area and surrounding listed buildings. Planning permission to convert the building into apartments is valid, and presents one possible reuse option.
Smethwick Toll House, West Midlands
This 1820 toll house once served the Birmingham, Dudley and Wolverhampton turnpike, but was more recently an art gallery. It has been vacant for several years, but it is available to lease and may be suitable for a number of commercial uses. With good transport connections a viable solution for repair and reuse shouldn't be too hard to devise.
Shippon at Brunett Farm, Wrexham
A Shippon is another word for a cattleshed, and this one at Brunett Farm is an excellent example. Grade II listed, it is timber framed with interesting full height diagonal tension braces, and sits next to a sixteenth-century farmhouse. It is in grave risk due to structural defects which if not addressed threaten the future of this building, but planning permission and listed building consent have been granted for conversion to one large residential unit with spacious grounds. It is currently on the market with Fisher German.
Notes to editors:
SAVE Britain's Heritage has been campaigning for historic buildings since its formation in 1975 by a group of architects, journalists and planners. It is a strong, independent voice in conservation, free to respond rapidly to emergencies and to speak out loud for the historic built environment.
SAVE Britain's Heritage, 70 Cowcross Street, London EC1M 6EJ
Registered Charity 269129
Tel. 020 7253 3500 Email office@savebritainsheritage.org
www.savebritainsheritage.org
Follow SAVE on Twitter: @SAVEBrit
Press release