Britain's first mosque to be reborn ? after more than a century
More than a century after falling into disuse, crumbling buildings get new life
By Karl Mansfield
Friday, 2 January 2009
The small brick building in a Liverpool terrace is falling apart, it even needs a new roof, but this ramshackle structure at 8 Brougham Terrace, West Derby Street, was Britain's first mosque.
The Grade II listed building has not been used as a place of worship for at least a century but the historical site is to be rebuilt and restored by the Abdullah Quilliam Society, a private organisation that says the whole project will cost ?3m.
Henry William Quilliam opened the mosque on Christmas day in 1889. He was the son of a wealthy man who converted to Islam in 1887 after a visit to Morocco, adopting the name Abdullah. The building of his Islamic centre also included an orphanage as well as a printing press in the basement.
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The new structure, when work is completed in 2011, will include the restored mosque, a new mosque, a courtyard, museum, art gallery, learning centre for interfaith work, library and cafe. Work is expected to start this month.
An artist's impression of how the new centre will look
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