Custom House remains

[scouserdave]

According to Bob Halliday, local Anfield Cemetery expert. He lives locally and recalls them being dumped at the back of the cemetery almost 50 years ago. They've had a recent clear up of the undergrowth.

[theninesisters]

I remember the story of the missing blocks from the Seaman's Orphanage. They had been dumped where the advertising hoarding used to stand on the corner of Paradise Street. Coming back from a pub late one night years ago, I tripped over one without realising what they were.

Years later, some were stolen (not guilty!) and the rest were put in to storage at the Joseph WIlliamson Heritage Centre.

I love our city and the way they have a total disregard for our heritage!

[Kev]

wow, thanks Dave! I started a little discussion about the cusoms house and oild dock in the 'past' section which can be read here

[snappel]

Ah, so that's where they're from! I'd often wondered when they were from, assuming they were taken from a more local building.

[knowhowe]

God, that's fascinating. i had no idea.

I've put some nice views of the Customs House here:

The Customs House 1

Would it be ok to add a couple of your pics to those pages?

i gather the Customs House suffered a similar fate to the Museum, ie, it was gutted by incendiaries but the external structure was relatively undamaged and so, like the Museum, could easily have been restored.

I remember peddling down the Dock Road from Crosby to the Museum as a kid when there was only two galleries open- the rest being hidden behind hoardings and the sound of hammering everywhere as it was rebuilt.
The first time I found it, I was hovering outside the vast building in awe when one of the guards, who happened to be at the top of the steps having a quick smoke, spotted me and shouted down, "come on, lad, up you come, I'll look after your bike!"- and in I went, to a wonderland- even though there wasn't really much to see- a human and gorilla skeleton side-by-side, and I was particularly fascinated by the bee's hive in a glass case with a hole through the wall to allow them access in and out.
As I left that first time, the kindly guard told me to be sure to go next door to the Walker Art Gallery too. I didn't think they'd let the likes of me into such a place but I couldn't have been more wrong.
I'll always be grateful to that guy- he opened a new world to me (we didn't even have books in my house) and I never looked back.

I briefly had an original visitor's guidebook to the pre-war museum which I thought was fascinating- until my mate's dad used it to light his fag from the fire!

Ah, I digress.. Can you tell me what's being built on the old Customs House/Old Dock site as part of the redevelopment? Struck me this would have been a golden opportunity to re-excavate the Old Dock but I assume this isn't happening...
I took quite a lot of photographs around the area before the work began which I'll try to put online soon. Here's a page about the Sailor's Home though...

The Sailor's Home, Liverpool

[Ged]

Great site you have knowhowe, as soon as you posted it up, I remembered seeing it a few years ago.

My dad worked as an attendant in the Walker, starting off in 1967 before moving onwards and upwards in the Corpy throughout the 70s and 80s. It was always a rule that they couldn't speak in the room unless to tell you off for trying to touch the painting or whatever but my dad always did talk to people - it was unhuman not too - don't know what they were thinking of, the bosses. Anyway, the rule's been lifted now and the imput from the attendants who know the paintings and exhibits off by heart is welcoming.

Great recollections.

[Ged]

Ah, I digress.. Can you tell me what's being built on the old Customs House/Old Dock site as part of the redevelopment? Struck me this would have been a golden opportunity to re-excavate the Old Dock but I assume this isn't happening...
I took quite a lot of photographs around the area before the work began which I'll try to put online soon. Here's a page about the Sailor's Home though...

http://www.bwpics.co.uk/gallery/sailorshome.html

The workies did excavate the old dock during the demolition of Steers house or nearby and pics were posted up somewhere and I think I read they were leaving some that could be seen through a glass floor or something. You're right, this piece of important history should not remain hidden.

[scouserdave]

Steve, been a big fan of your site for years mate. Use whichever pic(s) you think's best.

Enjoyed reading your reminiscences as a kid. I sagged off school for most of my last year at West Derby Comp and spent my time in the Local History Department in Picton Library.

[Ged]

Dave, with all due respect (you can always tell it's not gonna be good when someone starts with that...)

Didn't any self respecting scally tell you that when you sag off school, you're supposed to get up to mischief or something - not swat up in the local history section of the main city library - I bet you even paid the bus fare into town.

[scouserdave]

LOL!
There goes me street cred Ged.

[Ged]

I know, you'll be telling me next you've even visited Gerard to discuss photography and look at old Liverpool dvd's and the like.....

[knowhowe]

I must admit to doing the same- sagging off from Waterloo Grammar School to sit for hours in Crosby library (the lovely old Carnegie one in Cambridge Road, not the one in Waterloo, which wasn't yet built)- engrossed in the stuff I really wanted to learn about.
Also, it was nice and warm in there, much better than wandering the streets trying not to get spotted.
I eventually got sussed, of course- I suspect a librarian spotted my blazer badge and grassed me up- and the one teacher I really respected, George Thompson (who taught English, inspiringly) got the crap job of rounding me up to face the high jump. I remember feeling at the time his evident ambiguity when ordering me to 'put those books down and return to school with me'...

Scouserdave- ta very much for the kind comments re my website efforts- and for the permission to use your customs house pics.
Isn't Picton Library a Carnegie place too?

[christy]

Has anyone been to the Burrel galerries in Glasgow? They have sections of old demolished Glasgow buildings ( doorways, windows, arches, columns etc) built into non supporting dividing walls inside the main building so that you can walk or look through them and look at them close up as sculptures. Surely the new museum could use a simillar idea with these parts of the custom house and the bits of the sailors home by the Williamson tunnels. Im sure hte museum will also have other bits they could use. At least some physical aspect of these buildings would still be accesable to people and allow them to understand the scale and craftsmanship etc