Author: CHB

Museum of London will preserve hidden cocoa drinking rooms

The museum that will never sleep is to put a rediscovered temperance hub at its heart. A 19th-century cocoa room installed to lure workers away from breakfast bottles of ale has been found on the site of the new Museum of London at Smithfield meat market. The Lockhart Cocoa Room, complete with temperance meeting room on the first floor, will now be incorporated into an entrance to the £337 million complex. Paul Williams, whose practice Stanton Williams Architects has drawn up the plan for the site, said the rooms had been boarded up. “When the boards were taken away...

Read More

Historic New Zealand building saved by $3m grant

A $3 million Ministry of Education grant has saved a historic New Zealand building. Otago Boys’ High School (OBHS) is one of New Zealand’s oldest boys’ secondary schools, located in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Originally known as Dunedin High School, it was founded on 3rd August 1863 and moved to its present site in 1885. The main building was designed by Robert Lawson and is regarded as one of the finest Gothic revival structures in the country. The building will be redeveloped as a music and performing arts centre. The Shand building was opened as the school’s science building...

Read More

Disappointment over refusal to list Halifax swimming pool and murals

The Twentieth Century Society is calling for a review of listing policy for post war buildings following the decision to turn down a listing application for Halifax Swimming Pool and its two distinctive internal murals. The C20 Society’s Senior Caseworker Grace Etherington said: “We are naturally disappointed that our listing application was turned down. In most cases we accept the decisions made by Historic England’s listing teams, although we do not always agree with their conclusions. This case is an exception as we feel that the building deserves a more thorough assessment, as the reasons for refusal are inadequate...

Read More

Consultation opened to list Langside Synagogue

A consultation has been launched to list one of Glasgow’s oldest synagogues. The Langside Synagogue in Govanhill was built in 1927 to serve the growing Jewish population at that time, but closed six years ago. There have been calls to reopen the synagogue to serve a newly resurgent Jewish community in the area. The consultation, which is open until Friday 28 August, asks whether the synagogue should be category C-listed. Langside Synagogue has been under threat of development since it closed in 2014. Beth Frieden, from Shawlands near Govanhill, said: “Langside Synagogue would be my local shul if it...

Read More

£1m grants success for Grimsby’s Kasbah regeneration

A major regeneration project on Grimsby Docks has received a huge boost with the award of grants worth more than £1 million to restore a landmark building on the Kasbah. The historic close-knit cluster of brick buildings is the focus of a transformative scheme, sitting in the midst of the town’s fishing legacy and offshore wind operating present. Community group Great Grimsby Ice Factory Trust is leading on the renovation of Peterson’s Smokehouse building on Henderson Street, supported by North East Lincolnshire Council, regeneration partner Engie and landowner Associated British Ports. The secured pot adds up to £1,074,000 –...

Read More