Eddesbury has stood there since 1884, built for the Latham family, and then owned by the Cunningham family. In 1930, we learn that the building was finally commissioned as a special school as the following report appears:
The cry of Liverpool schools for Liverpool teachers was raised at the Liverpool Education Committee, this afternoon. Mr J. Williams opposed a recommendation that a vacancy for a head teacher at Eddesbury Lodge Special School should be advertised in the same manner as for Underlea School, to which a lady from Plymouth was recently appointed. He contended that those Liverpool teachers who had left the ordinary schools and qualified for these special schools should have a better chance of promotion. Alderman Richardson said that it was essential to secure the best teachers available. The Chairman – If you go in for inbreeding of teachers you will never get any new ideas at all. These are new schools of a type entirely different from any of our existing special schools. Mr Sydney Jones said it did not follow because they advertised that an outsider would be appointed. The recommendation was confirmed.
The Margaret Beaven Special School was used from 1930 up to 2004 when the school closed. There have been alterations to additional buildings in the grounds, and the grounds themselves, but we do not concern ourselves with the later editions to the property and are focusing on the original 1884 footprint.
The school was closed in August 2004 as part of the wider changes to special schools from the City Council’s think tank. They stated that the changes were part of the city council’s Special Education Needs (SEN) strategy for inclusion. It believes these schools may be better off amalgamated with the mainstream system, but insists the inclusion agenda has been set nationally and is advocated by the Government and schools inspectorate Ofsted.
Therefore when the building was closed in 2004, what was the plans for the property? As it was owned by the City Council, what did they plan to do with the building? It seems that it laid empty for a couple of years until it was partly used as a film set for the Children's programme Young Dracula. It shows that the building was still in good condition at the time. Certainly it had been dressed up with new wallpaper etc but still appears to be in good order. Was the building to suffer the fate of many other local buildings and once filming finished it was yet abandoned again?
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The building, much like Sandfield Tower was left abandoned again in 2006 and there appears to be no records of anyone living at the property, or the building being used or commissioned at all for any purpose. What was the reason for this? Was the building in need of restoration at that time and the council didn't want to spend money on it, or did they have plans to bring this back in to service? It appears that nothing was done to the property for many years and such was the height of the trees from the main road, the West Derby Society asked for these to be cut back so passers by could see the stunning building. It is very true that one cannot see the building from the main road as it is hidden from view. It is a frustration that buildings like this are so much in the public eye, yet it would take a keen eye to see this building behind the trees.
In 2016, the City Council confirmed that they had sold Eddesbury to a private party. It was not stated whether this building was put out for tender on the market or whether this was a private deal. The sale price was £710,000 and was sold on the 6th July 2016. Further research into the buyer of the property shows that it was a C & P S Limited and their registered address is on the Isle of Man. It is interesting to note that C & PS Limited also own the former Manweb Sports Ground in Thingwall Road. What information did the City Council provide to the new owners in order for them to take on a listed building? Did the council sell this not knowing the intention of the new owners or did they have a specific stipulation on what the property was used for as part of the sale? It appears that although the sale took place, nothing has been done on the property at all. Each time urban explorers have gained access to the building, more and more of the building appears to have been tinned up, with windows and main doors showing a metal covering. If the sale of the property from the city council of a Grade 2 listed building took place, what has since happened to this building?
​THE CAMPAIGN TO SAVE EDDESBURY
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I (Jonathon Wild) was no stranger to abandoned buildings in West Derby. From 1999 onwards, after discovering Sandfield Tower, I did everything I could to research the building’s history. Visits to the record office, visits to the physical building and then reviewing the owners, the buildings past and the history. However, it was a slightly different story with Eddesbury!
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I had passed Eddesbury for a year or so and always wondered what was behind the trees. I knew there was a grand building sitting behind the leaves, but it was always a ‘going to’, especially with other campaigns on the go. The reason why I pointed this out is that there are many ‘abandoned’ buildings in Liverpool that are so well hidden, unless you are specifically looking for a building, you’re really not going to notice it too much, and if I, as a local historian, didn’t really take much interest, then why would a developer.
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One night, however, I struck gold. I was doing some research on James Francis Doyle. A noted local architect as mentioned on previous pages. One of my favourite architects, while I know of many designs he has completed, there will always be other designs that have been associated with him but sort of slipped off the radar. I was looking through an on-line copy of The Builder and his name cropped up. Nothing unusual there. But this was an image of a building called ‘Eddesbury’, built in 1884 and sitting in the area of West Derby.
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It looked very much like the building that I had passed by in West Derby village and hurried across to my 3D maps to check it out. And I was staggered. It was THIS building, and I never knew. From this, I knew that the building wasn’t in the best of conditions and took it on myself to mug up on the history. Who owned it? Why was it built in the first place. What condition is it in now? I wrote a small booklet having never set foot inside the building and then put together this website armed with the small information that I had. I was determined to find out as much as possible.
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Thankfully (I can’t think of a better word), many urban explorers had gained entry, and I was therefore able to understand the layout of the property externally and internally. I could see (pre fire) all of the rooms and the condition of the property. This greatly helped me to build a picture up of the building and allowed me to see exactly what it was like. And it was classic James Francis Doyle!
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When the website was written and word got out, I sent the PDF document and a copy of this website link around to everyone who would listen. The City Council, local developers who I knew of local people and businesses to get the word around.
At the same time, Hassett Homes were looking to expand their portfolio. By chance, they had stumbled upon this property, much like I did, and they had done a quick Google to see what was on-line, and my website appeared. This gave them all the background to the building, and they could see how rich this building was in its history. A Grade 2 James Francis Doyle special.
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The managing director contacted me and arranged for a virtual meeting. I explained that I was a local historian trying to bring the building to life. He said that the building had caught his eye and was made so much easier by my website. He asked if he was able to use parts of the website – I told him that he could use any part of it for the good of the building. When on the virtual calls to the developer, they showed me that they had been in and mapped out the building in 3D. They had taken high-res images of each room and ‘scanned’ each room out so you could walk around it in 3D. I was really excited to see this, especially the basement areas too that I had not seen before.
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However, in the middle of all of this, disaster struck the building. Despite every effort to keep out the scallies, someone had cut a metal perimeter fence, got in the building and set it alight. I remember the night where I was given countless phone calls to take my view on this – it was a sad night.
As with other ‘suspicious’ fires in Liverpool, people pointed the finger at various people. However, I was 100% adamant that it was someone with nothing better to do who just wanted to see the building burn. Nothing else would make sense. No building equalled no new houses on the land, and everything would have been for nothing.
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Because I had such a good relationship with the developer, they managed to get in the building the following day and took a series of high-res images. They were sent to me on the understanding that they wouldn’t see the light of day until they were in a position to tell the whole story on the building, once restored. They have sat on the PC ever since.
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When the planning application went in, I gave my personal approval as a local historian and was delighted when planning was approved.
What is now currently happening is what I wanted from day one. For Eddesbury to be restored to its former glory. For a developer to trust me and for me to trust the developer to keep to their word. And they have. 100%. Scaffolding has now gone up around the perimeter of the property and work has commenced! I am now waiting for an invitation to go into the building once the property is deemed safe and it will be the first time I will have seen the property up close and personal. I cannot wait.
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Did I save Eddesbury myself? Of course not. However I would like to think that I put many of the pieces of the jigsaw together. The history, the constant e-mails to Liverpool City Council asking for updates, the free publicity on the building’s fine history. But also being able to give up my time to assist a developer for the good of saving another historical building in Liverpool. I very much hope that once this building is completed and I am able to walk around it, I can look back and say ‘I helped to save this’.
This Website and Campaign has been designed and run by Jonathon Wild, the Proprietor of Braygreen.
My contact details can be found by clicking on my logo to the right.
THE HISTORY OF EDDESBURY
