Urban Exploring (UE) tends to be seen by many as an interest that should be frowned upon. I agree to a certain extent having seen a lot of childish immature offerings made by millennial goontubers, and Instagram idiots. They think it’s more about them than the actual building/graveyard/ graffiti et all. Never mind the vandals, taggers or thieves. Most of whom lurk on Facebook pages.
As an explorer covering the U.K. and Europe, my aim is to bring an unseen glimpse into places that would otherwise remain silent in decay. I try to take my photographs in as sympathetic a manner as possible, always remembering that I am just a vehicle for other people’s memories. I hope you enjoy my work.
HISTORY
In May 1864 the Liverpool Adult Deaf and Dumb Benevolent Society was established so as to give Deaf People equal access to the Scriptures. They started with just one room in the School for the Deaf and Dumb in Oxford Street.
In 1865 the Society held a meeting where they appointed a committee and decided on the rules. They had no premises where they could meet until 1869 when they were able to rent a room on Pleasant Street.
In 1874 the priest in charge of Liverpool gave permission for Sunday services to be held in the cemetery Chapel, St Mary’s on Cambridge Street as it was not being used. These premises were not suitable and the committee decided they needed somewhere permanent.
In 1877 the Society started a building fund. The Mayor of Liverpool then took an interest in the fund and through him her Majesty Queen Victoria made a donation of £5.
In 1886 the committee got a lease from Lord Sefton for the land of Princess Avenue and Parkway. This lease was given for 2000 years.
On 16th May 1887 H.R.H Princess Louise formally opened the Institute.
The church was designed in tiers so that the congregation could see the ministers sign language.
On 9th November 1927 the Deaf Community suffered a massive loss with the death of the founder George Healey aged 84. Four years later in May 1931 the Society opened the George Healey memorial hall. This would be used as a men’s club where men could play snooker, chess, cards and other activities.
The building also had the women’s room where women could go to socialise. The hall was used for lectures, meetings, dances and social gatherings. The chapel in the building was used for services every Sunday at 11am and 6.30pm.
The society provided an employment bureau and sometimes employment for the jobless, interpreters for all occasions, social gatherings for the Deaf Blind and financial help for the poor.
In the late 1980s the Society relocated to Queens Drive in West Derby.
In 1987 it was purchased for £50k and For 20 years it operated as the Ibo community and social club for the immigrant Igbo people from Nigeria but this ceased when the buildings fabric deteriorated. At an estimated cost of circa £3million to restore it now stands rotting.
MY VISIT IN PHOTOGRAPHS
Victorian drawing and how it looks today
Views of the ancillary recreational halls
![78F0F679C1D847E198D2F9FE9D083DBF.jpeg]
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Passageways and stairs to the body of the chapel
Inside the body of the chapel
Memorial stones
Detritus, an accounts ledger from 1989, religious text fliers and a mug
That looks way too an impressive building to be left to rot.
Hope someone picks it up and brings it back to life.
Great to see another Steemian in Wales. There are a growing number of us now including @pumpkinsandcats, @welshstacker, @x-53degreesnorth, @stevelivingston, @elizabethharvey...
Are you on Twitter by the way?
Nah have never used twitter
How about Discord? Much of Steem action happens on Discord.
Nope never heard of it. Tbh
You are probably going to need to venture into Discord at some point soon on Steem...
I work on an I pad pro. Is the discord app the correct one? Cheers
Yes the App is best.
I am Pennsif#9921 on Discord. Let me know when you are on and I will send an invite to the Brits on Steem Discord server.
I work on an I
Pad pro. Is the discord app
The correct one? Cheers
- grindle
I'm a bot. I detect haiku.
Still haven't managed a church beside St Hilda's in Rochdale, they always seem to be sealed tight when I go have a look.
I do love the old writings you can find, 1989... it's a long time gone.
This one was so easy to get into thanks to some squatters who had set up a camp in a room at the back of one of the halls, I moved the boards away and was in there a good hour, didn't bump into them. When I came to leave the boards had been replaced!! That was fun.
You have more nerve than me doing them solo. The old wrecks of houses I'm OK with but anything solid like this I get the jitters. Doing it with someone else increases bravery by 1000%.
😂 I go solo as then I only have to watch my own back! I have been out with another but I’m more comfortable alone.
It's always such a shame to see beautiful old buildings in decay, but they cost so much to fix. It seems we struggle to build anything new with real craftsmanship.
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