Issue 119 – May 2016
LOST AND FOUND
By Stephen Guy, West Derby Society
OLD buildings may not be all they seem because bits of other structures have sometimes been added later. The Victorians often created furniture from parts of earlier items, for example a coat of arms or carvings, to give the impression of great age. Some who had made fortunes in business wanted to emulate the aristocracy, others to own ancient-looking things when they could not afford originals. The practice of recycling old structures is known as architectural salvage. An extreme form is when a whole building is dismantled and rebuilt elsewhere. A century or more ago there was a fashion among rich Americans to ship panelled rooms, cottages and the like to the States so they could possess a piece of Old England. More often things like chimney pieces, windows, doors and other fittings were rescued from demolished buildings. Magnificent Alfred Stevens ceilings from Deysbrook House have been in a museum store since the mansion was demolished nearly 70 years ago. A soaring white marble fireplace from vanished Dorchester House in London can be seen at the Walker Art Gallery. West Derby’s Tudor courthouse features 17th century muniment cupboards believed to have been shifted from Sefton village when they Molyneux family moved to Croxteth Hall. A door from West Derby’s ancient chapel was relocated along with a sundial to nearby St Mary’s Church. Cornices and panels went to Knowsley Hall when Finch House, a Georgian mansion in Finch Lane, was demolished in 1912.
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A large chunk of Boltons, a late medieval West Derby house, was transferred to Liverpool Museum, only to be destroyed in the Blitz. Other parts were incorporated into the lych gate of St John’s, Knotty Ash. A lead spout bearing the date 1776 and the initials P & M R was taken to The Nook on Town Row after Moss House, Derby Lane, was demolished in 1914. In the 1950s and 60s many people removed unfashionable Victorian fireplaces, replacing them with modern fittings. Lowlands, the West Derby Community Centre in Haymans Green, has many fine architectural features. However, others were lost long before the building was listed. Recently-discovered photographs show a dance in the main hall about 1957 (pictured). A big white marble fireplace, removed shortly afterwards, can be seen in the background.
n Join the West Derby Society at its next meeting 7.30pm on Wednesday 18 May at Lowlands, 13 Haymans Green, Liverpool L12 7JG.
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