Fears for future of old school
AGRADE II-Listed former school in West Lancashire is among England’s Top 10 most At Risk historic buildings.
St Joseph’s Seminary, in Up Holland, near Skelmersdale, is a complex of Gothic sandstone buildings whose past pupils include comedians Tom O’Connor and Johnny Vegas, whose TV credits include Benidorm.
St Joseph’s was originally a seminary before becoming a boarding school. The college closed down in 1987, after more than 150 years of serving the northern Catholic dioceses of England.
Other notable former students include Paul Addison, Tony BrindleWills, the libel lawyer George Carman, pop musician Paddy McAloon, of Prefab Sprout, and UK Member of Parliament John Battle, Labour MP for Leeds West from 1987 to 2010.
The complex was among 10 of the most endangered historic buildings named on an annual list today by the Victorian Society.
The Society says all those named are in urgent need of help and protection.
The former home of explorer Gertrude Bell, a Grade II*-Listed church and two derelict hospitals are among others in the top 10.
The list includes Red Barns, in Redcar, where Bell lived; Rylands Mill, in Wigan; St Paul’s Church, in Chester; and Mount Street Hospital, in Preston.
A Grade II flour mill in Grimsby and a Cardiff railway station also feature.
For the first time, no properties in London and the South-East have been mentioned. The charity’s director, Christ-opher Costello, said it had “simply got far more nominations from other regions”.
He said: “Retaining historic buildings like those in the top 10 is vital to maintaining local identity and creating places in which people want to invest, live and work.”