Sign up to FREE email alerts from Liverpool Echo - Weekly Politics Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

It isn’t just empty, it’s eerie. Extremely eerie.

Walking through the ghostly Wellington Rooms/former Liverpool Irish Centre is a fascinating experience, but a sad one.

It makes you recall the days when it was a hive of activity – packed with people enjoying themselves and their sumptuous surroundings.

The famous, 200-year-old neo-classical building, at 127 Mount Pleasant, has been closed since 1997 – and, despite various ambitious plans and campaigns, it remains a forlorn, if not forgotten, city landmark.

We were kindly allowed within its damaged and decaying walls by Liverpool City Council, and these incredible photographs, taken by the ECHO’s chief photographer, Colin Lane, reveal the scale of the task facing whoever is eventually able to restore and then breathe new life into the majestic and much-loved building.

A city council spokesman says: “The Wellington Rooms are now in the ownership of the Duchy of Lancaster following the previous owners going into administration.

“There have been a number of developers who have expressed an interest in the building but unfortunately this interest has not resulted in the building being acquired and the necessary work being carried out.

“The council would like to see this historic building brought back into use as soon as possible and is in dialogue with agencies such as English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund to try and achieve this.”

Ghost tour

We were shown around by city council building surveyor Neil Flynn, and the first things we noticed were poignant posters in the portico advertising events from long ago – including Irish Set Dancing for Beginners.

It has been estimated that, before they begin to put whatever plans they may have into place, it could cost a future developer around £2.5m just to get the building to a safe standard – and we can immediately see why.

The plaster is peeling off the wall in the portico/entrance area, while parts of the building have had to be cordoned off.

Walking into the John F. Kennedy bar, we are reminded of what a fantastic facility this once was. The striking murals (two of which feature Irish writers, including Oscar Wilde, James Joyce and Samuel Beckett) above the bar are still there, while there is a mural featuring President Kennedy resting against a wall.

Six chandeliers still hang from the ceiling and beer pumps – including Guinness, Harp, Fosters and Theakston XB – remain in position behind the bar, as does a TV set above it.

So much is still the same, but so much is so different – there is, for example, a gaping hole in the floor in one corner of the room.

The ballroom needs even more repair and restoration work – not least its high ceiling, part of which is badly-damaged, while there is a large amount of rubble and debris on the part of the floor furthest from the stage.

But it remains a magnificent space. Its current state is a crying shame, but wouldn’t it be marvellous if it could be revived and its glory days return?

There is so much damage and devastation, but so much potential. It’s pleasing to see the three large chandeliers and the stage curtains haven’t been removed from the ballroom – and, again, they help keep the history of the place alive.

But while there are apparently no major structural problems, the repair and maintenance bill would surely be considerable.

Elsewhere, a section of stained glass on the ceiling of a side room advertises the Claddagh Restaurant.

Everything reminds you of the Irish Centre’s heyday – and makes you yearn for the day when this extraordinary building can once again be opened for, and enjoyed by, the public.

A cultural icon

Designed by Edmund Aikin and Grade II listed, it was built between 1815–1816 as assembly rooms for the Wellington Club and originally used by high society for dance balls and parties.

As Liverpool’s Irish Centre, it played an important role in the city’s cultural life – and in strengthening Liverpool-Ireland links – between the mid-1960s and its closure in 1997.

It was officially opened on February 1, 1965 – the feast of St Brigid – and had three main stated aims: “To provide a place for Irish people to meet socially; to assist manufacturers of Irish goods to display and sell their goods in Liverpool and to lift the image of the Irish in Liverpool.”

Our oldest photograph of the Irish Centre comes from 1964 – the year the building was bought by the Irish Centre Building Fund Committee from the Sisters of the Mount Pleasant Training College. With six trophies proudly lining the stage in front of them, it shows the Liverpool Ceili Band performing at the centre.

There is also a picture from 1995 – an example of the Irish dancing activities that took place at the centre.

Protests – and plans

News of the Irish Centre’s planned closure in 1997 was greeted by a rooftop protest, demonstrations outside and a petition – but the centre couldn’t be saved.

Numerous plans have failed to find a new use for the building in the last 18 years – one proposal, from 2005, involved converting it into a hotel, complete with four-storey glass structure.

More recently, in 2012, The Irish Friends of 127, a community interest company, was formed with the hope of restoring the Irish Centre.

And the building has been at the forefront of the ECHO’s Stop The Rot campaign to save the city’s endangered architectural heritage.

Some repair work and investigations have been carried out during the period it has been closed, but the city is still waiting for someone to be able to take on and complete what is undeniably a daunting prospect – the multi-million pound restoration and reopening of one of the city’s truly special buildings.