The conservation of Liverpool's warehouses
Much of this historic resource has already been lost. Of the hundreds of warehouses that existed at the beginning of the 20th century, perhaps only 150 remain today. Many of the surviving warehouses are in poor condition: the outstanding group around the Stanley Dock, including two warehouses of 1852-5 by Hartley and the immense Tobacco Warehouse, completed in 1901, remains one of the most severe conservation issues in the city. Just at the moment when the city's historic character is being recognised as internationally significant, it is more important than ever to manage this irreplaceable stock of buildings so that it can be enjoyed by this and future generations.
We can begin this process by protecting the best of what survives, and many warehouses arc now listed buildings (Fig 46), identified as of special architectural or historic interest. Recognition and protection provide the platform for the development of management strategies that acknowledge that finding new uses for historic warehouses is the best means of securing their long-term future. The inevitable changes that come with adaptive reuse can be negotiated in the context of a shared appreciation of the special interest of warehouse buildings. This is what the planning system seeks to achieve through both planning and listed building control and the Government's best practice advice in relevant Planning Policy Guidance.
Although many of Liverpool's warehouses arc individually distinctive, they have their greatest visual impact where they have survived in groups or among other related building types. In these instances, they help to create distinctive industrial or commercial landscapes, some of which have been recognised as having special character by the City Council, and designated as conservation areas. Such areas are legally protected, and change is managed by means of the Conservation Area Consent procedure. Hartley's warehouses around the Albert Dock represent this commercial landscape most powerfully, but there are other instances where significant groupings of historic buildings make a strong visual impact. The best concentrations of early survivals are to be found within central Liverpool, close to the site of Steers' Old Dock, the focal point for the development of the surrounding street pattern in the 18th century. Here, the Duke Street Conservation Area, embracing parts of Hanover Street, Henry Street, Seel Street and Bold Street, retains many early structures, which demonstrate the importance of the warehouse not only as a historic building type, but also as a signpost building. Steers' Dock has been lost (but survives at least in part below ground), but the warehouses and a small number of merchants' houses remain as proof of what formerly took place here. They are the physical evidence of the past without which we would have only maps and illustrations to aid our interpretation of this rapidly changing historic landscape.
The same holds true for other groups of warehouses in different parts of the city, representing later and different phases of development. Survivals in the Baltic Triangle, such as the warehouses that form part of Heap's Rice Mill, now stand in relative isolation, separated from both the waterfront and the city centre by new developments. Further to the south, however, around Bridgewater Street and Jamaica Street (Fig 47), and in some pockets to the north of the centre, to either side of Great Howard Street, sufficient warehouses remain to reflect the formerly commercial character of these areas set just outside the barrier represented by Hartley's dock wall. In the city centre, particularly in the grid of streets linking the principal routes from Lime Street to the waterfront - Dale Street, Tithebarn Street and Victoria Street -warehouses are close neighbours of some of the city's most prestigious 19th-century public and commercial buildings. What might now appear as an incongruous presence is in fact powerful evidence of how integrated the warehouse had become in the warp and weft of the city, and of how widespread the warehousing business became.
The key to future success in the conservation of warehouses lies not solely in the tools to protect them. These will be effective only if they are used in the context of a shared appreciation of their historical and architectural qualities and of what these qualities contribute to the city's environment. If this can be allied to creative thinking to identify appropriate new uses, then there is every chance that these robust buildings will make an important contribution to the physical and economic rebirth of the city.
There are, of course, many models for emulation, not least in Liverpool itself. The repair and refurbishment of the Albert Dock provided a flagship example of how one of the world's greatest historic dock ensembles could be reused, and other dock warehouses - at Wapping and Waterloo Docks - have made very successful residential conversions, but continue nevertheless to give an important historic element to these revitalised waterfront areas. Inspiration can also be taken from abroad, where other great port cities - the 'villes portuaires' -are dealing with a similar legacy of historic warehouse buildings. In Marseille, for instance, the imaginative conversion of the enormous fireproof complex originally known as the 'Grand Entrepôt de la Compagnie des Docks' provides us with an outstanding French example of the potential of warehouse buildings for adaptive reuse. Built between 1859 and 1868 to the designs of the company's engineer, Desplaces, at La Joliette, 'Les Docks', as they are now known, comprise a seven-storey, 365-metre-long complex of four linked secure courtyards, converted to mixed commercial use between 1991 and 2001 (Fig 48).The architect for this project, Eric Castaldi, visited the Albert Dock while preparing his designs, just as the creators of Marseille's mid-19th-century dock developments had come to Liverpool to see Hartley's works.
Most of Liverpool's warehouses are much less spectacular than these great dock buildings, but the city's smaller structures show equally successful examples of conversions to offices and housing (Fig 49a-c). A number of warehouses in the Duke Street Conservation Area have been converted, but they retain their distinctive architectural character externally and act as an inspiration for nearby new build. The result is the creation of an exciting urban landscape, part old and reflecting the city's history, part new and making a strong contribution of its own. The mix of old and new in such areas is of critical importance. Where new buildings are to be placed close to historic warehouses, care must be taken to ensure that the setting of the warehouse and its place in the local hierarchy of buildings have been respected: the height, massing and location on plot of the proposed new development are vital ingredients of successful schemes.
An understanding of the architectural character of warehouses is crucial to the success of schemes of conversion. Externally, most significant detail is confined to the street frontage of the building, and is represented by its gabled profile, the loading doorways, entrance doorways and hoist beams, and the window openings to the storage floors and the stairway (Fig 50a-e).The functional details of the elevations, such as fireproof doors, harness mountings and hoist canopies (sometimes showing the date of construction), are also significant. The brickwork and roofing materials also contribute a great deal to the special character of warehouses. Most buildings are of characteristic plain mud-brown brick, probably sourced locally, but many have some modest polychrome effect, with bands of white, yellow, blue (from Dudley) or hard red (probably Ruabon and Accrington) brick. Roof coverings, where original, are almost invariably of Welsh slate. Internally, the heavy floors, with beams, joists and timber or cast-iron supports, and the timber roof structures provide the main structural elements, with added interest given by the narrow stairway, the 'jigger loft', sometimes with its original hoist, and shutters to windows.
Proposals for change of use can respect these elements of the building. The warehouse is not a complex building type, and its open-plan interior offers scope for reinterpretation that need not compromise its distinctive character and appearance. The parameters for change will vary from building to building, according to its individual identity and the kinds of new uses envisaged. There is no prescribed 'best practice' formula for change of use proposals, but guidance is appropriate in the interests of defining more clearly where change is likely to be acceptable in areas of greatest sensitivity. This guidance anticipates some of the requirements of the planning system, but also acknowledges issues of concern to those who wish to develop proposals for change.
New uses inevitably bring with them the need for alteration. The conservation challenge is to achieve a balanced outcome, on the one hand satisfying the needs of the user and the requirements of building regulations, and on the other respecting the integrity of the building. The first tier of design issues is likely to concern the treatment of external openings and the need for internal subdivision. Secondary issues involve consideration of the means of providing access between floors, security and safety, acoustics and insulation, and the routing of ducting, plumbing and electricity networks, together with matters associated with multiple occupancy. Alongside the proposals for change will be the issues related to the repair and conservation of the historic fabric of the building - the repair and repointing of brickwork, repairs to slate roof coverings, external doors and shutters, hoist beams, existing stairways, and original floor and roof systems. Done well, this work enhances the building; done poorly, character is lost, perhaps forever.
The reinterpretation of exterior elevations so as to maximise the benefit of existing openings will provide the most acceptable means of access and of lighting the interior of the building. The glazing of the former loading door openings can provide large windows or glazed door openings, which can be set at, or recessed behind, the former door position. The retention of the loading doors as external shutters will both reduce the impact of the alterations to the openings and retain original building components. Most warehouse frontages are free of projections, apart from the hoist beams. In some buildings, the tiered loading doorways and hoist beam are set within a full-height recess. Proposals for new openings, for the infilling of recessed doorways, and for additions that project beyond the building frontage are unlikely to be supported.
Some warehouses have exposed side and rear walls, often with original windows. These secondary elevations may offer scope for carefully proportioned additional openings. Where this is not possible, rooms that do not require natural light may be placed in the darker spaces. The creation of light wells and the use of windows in the plane of the roof may be supportable in particularly restricted circumstances, provided that such alterations are appropriately detailed, and their design respects the character of the building.
Internal planning raises further design issues. The most easily accepted adaptations will be those that retain the warehouse's open-plan interiors (Fig 51), but many proposals will include the insertion of internal divisions into these large spaces. Careful design can reduce the need for subdivision, and non-structural, reversible alterations and the use of glazed or semi-glazed partitions can lessen the impact of such changes. Similarly sensitive treatment of floor, hoist loft and roof structures can ensure the continued visibility of those features that are most indicative of the building's former use. In some instances the original stair is unlikely to be adequate for the new uses envisaged, but can be retained in a secondary role alongside an appropriately designed new stairway.
The responsibility for guiding the future of Liverpool's historic warehouses is shared among a number of agencies. Presiding over the system of planning consent, listed building consent and conservation area consent applications is Liverpool City Council, which shares with English Heritage a commitment to seeing warehouses play a dynamic role in the city's rebirth through regeneration. Of greatest importance, however, are those owners, architects, surveyors and developers who take the risks, provide the funding and prepare the schemes for conversion. It is their vision, combining hard-headed business sense with a care for the historic environment that, ultimately, will determine what part the city's warehouses will play in the future.
The key, beyond doubt, is partnership. Informed by good understanding, motivated by a desire to give new life to this diagnostic building type, convinced that warehouses should continue to give special character to one of England's great cities, English Heritage, the City Council and the private sector can work together to hand on a precious resource to future generations.
Figure 46 The office and warehouse at 12 Hanover Street, listed grade II. Built in 1889, it had offices on the main frontages and warehouses to the rear. Occupied in 1905 by a provision merchant, today it provides modern office accommodation. [AA026215]
Figure 47 Bridgewater Street: the upper part of the street still retains its canyon-like form. [AA045310]
Figure 48 An internal courtyard forming part of the 'Grand Entrepôt de la Compagnie des Docks' at la Joliette, Marseille, France, recently converted to new commercial uses by the architect Eric Castaldi. [DP002422]
Figure 49 Conversions from warehouse to dwelling:
(a) 81 Henry Street [AA045311];
(b) 6 Fleet Street, where the new takes its form from the old [AA045312];and
(c) I5 Argyle Street, in the restored Campbell Square area of town {AA041748J.
(a) 81 Henry Street [AA045311];
(b) 6 Fleet Street, where the new takes its form from the old [AA045312];and
(c) I5 Argyle Street, in the restored Campbell Square area of town {AA041748J.
Figure 50 The character of warehouses. External details:
(a) timber loading door and hoist beam at 22 College Lane [AA045314];
(b) iron loading door and hoist beam, Kitchen Street [AA045338];
(c) decorative brickwork at 45 Henry Street [AA045337];
(d) polychrome brickwork at 14-18 Henry Street [AA045336];and
(e) polychrome brickwork and metal window frame at Phoenix Oil Mill, Jamaica Street [AA045340]
(a) timber loading door and hoist beam at 22 College Lane [AA045314];
(b) iron loading door and hoist beam, Kitchen Street [AA045338];
(c) decorative brickwork at 45 Henry Street [AA045337];
(d) polychrome brickwork at 14-18 Henry Street [AA045336];and
(e) polychrome brickwork and metal window frame at Phoenix Oil Mill, Jamaica Street [AA045340]
Figure 51 Loft living in a converted warehouse in Argyle Street: here the space remains undivided; natural light streams in from the loading door and windows in the front wall; and the hoist has been retained as a feature, linking the space with its original use. [© Beetham Organization]
« Previous Top Home Next »
