Victorian society: Factories, markets and department stores ‘at risk’

A department store, indoor market and factory are among what has been named the most at-risk Victorian building in England and Wales.

The Victorian Association on Monday named its 10 most endangered sites in a new list.

The list includes both Victorian and Edwardian buildings, charities considered of national importance but facing the prospect of being lost.

The sites also include a farm, a church and a school.

Griff Rhys Jones, president of the Victorian Association, said: “Here we have buildings that are calling for our help, taking us straight to the true history of Victorian society.

“We must save it for future generations.”

Joe O’Donnell, director of The Victorian Society, added: “As always, our list features a wide range of structures, many of which are recognized through their listings as of national importance. .

“The list and number of nominations we’ve received shows that, sadly, our Victorian and Edwardian heritage is still threatened by destruction or neglect as a result of neglect.”

Halifax Coal Drops, built for the Ovenden and Halifax Junction Railway Company, consists of 15 wooden bunkers built on the hillside supported between stone piers, the Victorian Association said.

Trains would stop at the top and unload coal into bunkers, and local merchants would drive carts into the spaces below to load coal for distribution.

The relatively intact machinery inside makes the droplets a “rare and large-scale survivor”, the charity said.

The society said a full structural survey is needed to establish the work needed to secure the site’s future.

Originally built as a home for businessman and factory owner Henry Hoyle Hardman, Horncliffe House also served as a home for the elderly and a hotel before closing in 2007. The house was abandoned after a year. The planning application failed in 2008, the charity said.

In 2019, the site was devastated by a fire. Its exterior is almost all that remains.

The society said the building needed “expansion” works “to save it from total collapse”.

At its peak in 1892, the flour mill was considered the largest and most advanced in the country, capable of producing 25 bags of flour an hour, the society said.

Operations ceased in 2006, and the complex of buildings is derelict.

The buildings are listed as unsafe and need serious structural repair to rule out demolition, the group added.

The society said that partly used as a Hindu Temple, the Icknield Street School was in urgent need of repairs.

The building was designed by JH Chamberlain of Martin and Chamberlain, who created several of Birmingham’s Victorian buildings.

According to the charity, the indoor market closed in 2003 after masonry fell from the ceiling, making it unsafe for shoppers.

It said the iron and glass roof of the council-owned market was now in danger of collapsing, with repair bills expected to reach close to £1m.

The Jones and Higgins store opened in 1867 on the corner of Rye Lane and Peckham High Street and was an important part of the Golden Mile chain of stores.

The clock tower was designed by Southwark architects Henry Jarvis & Sons, who also built Dulwich Hospital and Walworth Town Hall.

The original store closed in 1980 and part of the building has since been demolished to make way for the Aylesham Centre. The rest of the building was taken over by the Peckham Palais nightclub until it closed about 10 years ago.

Although the watch was repaired in 2015, after being decommissioned since 1980, it has since been discontinued and has “reason for serious concern” about its future.

Minley Home Farm used to be part of Minley Manor, the society said. While the manor has found new owners, the farm and surrounding acres have been owned by the Department of Defense (MoD) since 1935.

The charity added that the farm buildings are in a precarious state at the moment and in January the MoD submitted a plan to demolish the farm.

SAVE Heritage of England has taken legal action to stop demolition under its permitted development rights and has submitted an application for listing, which the Victorian Association has said it is supporting.

Completed in 1900, the building was designed to include ruffles, gentlemen’s wear, furniture, boots and shoes plus butcher and grocery divisions, as well as offices, committees and boardroom, and an education department with newsrooms and libraries.

The Victorian Association said the building stood out from other Cooperative Association buildings with its two ballrooms, which were used in the 1980s as a dance and music venue.

While some shops are still on the ground floor, other rooms are in urgent need of attention.

The church, rebuilt in 1847 on the site of an old church, retains many of its original features including stained glass and poppy-shaped cast iron benches.

But the lack of regular maintenance for a long time caused the building to have to be repaired, and the interior is now partially exposed, water entering the building and causing damage, the society said.

First opening in 1908 as the Cardiff Lunatic Asylum, the hospital has fallen into disrepair since it closed to patients in 2016.

The charity said plans were submitted to convert the hospital and surrounding lands into residential, commercial and recreational areas in 1995, “but never came to fruition”.

Those plans are due to expire in 2020, with smaller, longer buildings being a serious concern now.

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