Hello there
A little history…
Designed by Edmund Aitkin the Grade 2 Listed Wellington Rooms opened in 1816 as subscription assembly rooms for the Wellington Club. The neo-classical designed building has three entrances; men, ladies and sedan chairs and carriages…never come across that one before! The Wellington Rooms closed in the 1920’s, reopening as the Embassy Rooms, the Rodney Rooms, during WW2 the Rodney Youth Centre and later in 1966 it became the Irish Centre, which it is often still referred to as today and was used for functions and balls.
The building became derelict in 1997 when a property developer took over the lease. Attempts to renovate it into a hotel have had their planning applications refused, with the residual portion of the lease passed to the Crown in 2011. Liverpool City Council owns the freehold of the site and has served notices on the leaseholder.
In 1999 the building entered the National Heritage At Risk Register. Emergency repairs were approved and funded by Liverpool County Council and Historic England in 2016 in order to weather seal the property, as water damage from several lead thefts is deteriorating the building.
The building featured in Liverpool Echo’s “Stop the Rot Campaign”, which highlighted some of the city’s historic empty buildings, with the aim of rescuing and preserving them and bringing them back to life. Currently the building is patiently awaiting a new future.
The explore…
Met up with three seriously dodgy lookin Chester lads, the type that would look guilty even if they were on Jury service. We had a walk around the perimeter of the building but decided as it was broad daylight and slap bang in the city we would be drawing too much attention to try and attempt it so we left, crying like proper pussys
I went back during the night to do a more quieter stealthier recce. However this didn’t work out to plan either. At 2am the place was actually busier than what it was during the day. It was near some student halls and hotels and there was a lot of activity going on, lots of shouting and screaming, groups of people tripping over each other, folks on spice clinging to the railings, cabs pulling up, more shouting and swearing, it got seriously hectic and I wasn’t in the mood to see any more yakin up so I left
The next morning whilst I was having an urbex fix in Queens my mate Dez text me to say he was inside the place. So after my first visit was cut short I made my way over to here. By now it was broad daylight again, tons of folks on the street, a proper heavy monsoon was happening and I was soaked, it felt a bit like Groundhog Day. Sometimes you have just gota be blatant, I think most people were too busy trying to get out of the rain anyway. So I just did a few basic moves that I was taught in my formative years of samurai training, it requires you to be in two places at once, which I have now mastered. So I was inside the building before anyone had even seen me leave the pavement
I was by myself and I have to admit I don’t like pitch black claustrophobic spaces, so walking into a pitch black tunnel and when I eventually found my flickering and fading torch the first thing I could see were them clear plastic hanging strips you find on fridge doorways, every Saw movie has about 10 blood splattered ones, I just wanted to find some light, which I eventually did, even though a lot of the building is in low light its still rather lovely.
Have a look yourself….
Liverpool 891 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 829 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 831 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 833 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 834 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 835 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 875 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 881copy by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 887 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 839 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 845 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 851 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 857 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 865 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 866 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 868 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 870 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 873 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 874 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 877 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 888 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 889 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 902 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
It was still pouring down by the time I’d left so this is the only external I could grab without getting a lens full of rain.
So thanks for lookin people…
Be lucky, be safe and lay off the spice
A little history…
Designed by Edmund Aitkin the Grade 2 Listed Wellington Rooms opened in 1816 as subscription assembly rooms for the Wellington Club. The neo-classical designed building has three entrances; men, ladies and sedan chairs and carriages…never come across that one before! The Wellington Rooms closed in the 1920’s, reopening as the Embassy Rooms, the Rodney Rooms, during WW2 the Rodney Youth Centre and later in 1966 it became the Irish Centre, which it is often still referred to as today and was used for functions and balls.
The building became derelict in 1997 when a property developer took over the lease. Attempts to renovate it into a hotel have had their planning applications refused, with the residual portion of the lease passed to the Crown in 2011. Liverpool City Council owns the freehold of the site and has served notices on the leaseholder.
In 1999 the building entered the National Heritage At Risk Register. Emergency repairs were approved and funded by Liverpool County Council and Historic England in 2016 in order to weather seal the property, as water damage from several lead thefts is deteriorating the building.
The building featured in Liverpool Echo’s “Stop the Rot Campaign”, which highlighted some of the city’s historic empty buildings, with the aim of rescuing and preserving them and bringing them back to life. Currently the building is patiently awaiting a new future.
The explore…
Met up with three seriously dodgy lookin Chester lads, the type that would look guilty even if they were on Jury service. We had a walk around the perimeter of the building but decided as it was broad daylight and slap bang in the city we would be drawing too much attention to try and attempt it so we left, crying like proper pussys
I went back during the night to do a more quieter stealthier recce. However this didn’t work out to plan either. At 2am the place was actually busier than what it was during the day. It was near some student halls and hotels and there was a lot of activity going on, lots of shouting and screaming, groups of people tripping over each other, folks on spice clinging to the railings, cabs pulling up, more shouting and swearing, it got seriously hectic and I wasn’t in the mood to see any more yakin up so I left
The next morning whilst I was having an urbex fix in Queens my mate Dez text me to say he was inside the place. So after my first visit was cut short I made my way over to here. By now it was broad daylight again, tons of folks on the street, a proper heavy monsoon was happening and I was soaked, it felt a bit like Groundhog Day. Sometimes you have just gota be blatant, I think most people were too busy trying to get out of the rain anyway. So I just did a few basic moves that I was taught in my formative years of samurai training, it requires you to be in two places at once, which I have now mastered. So I was inside the building before anyone had even seen me leave the pavement
I was by myself and I have to admit I don’t like pitch black claustrophobic spaces, so walking into a pitch black tunnel and when I eventually found my flickering and fading torch the first thing I could see were them clear plastic hanging strips you find on fridge doorways, every Saw movie has about 10 blood splattered ones, I just wanted to find some light, which I eventually did, even though a lot of the building is in low light its still rather lovely.
Have a look yourself….
Liverpool 891 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 829 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 831 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 833 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 834 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 835 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 875 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 881copy by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 887 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 839 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 845 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 851 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 857 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 865 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 866 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 868 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 870 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 873 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 874 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 877 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 888 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 889 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
Liverpool 902 by Pretty Vacant, on Flickr
It was still pouring down by the time I’d left so this is the only external I could grab without getting a lens full of rain.
So thanks for lookin people…
Be lucky, be safe and lay off the spice