The Grade I-listed Georgian house in south Liverpool has been left roofless after a devastating fire
A devastating fire has torn through Woolton Hall, one of Liverpool’s most important Georgian landmarks, leaving the Grade I-listed building roofless and badly damaged.
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service said crews were called to the abandoned manor on Speke Road in Woolton, south Liverpool, on Tuesday evening. The blaze, which engulfed the two-storey building’s roof, took several hours to bring under control and was extinguished in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Drone footage shared by the BBC showed flames ripping through the 18th-century property, with the roof collapsing before firefighters managed to contain the fire.
Police have since confirmed that a 14-year-old girl was arrested on suspicion of arson and later released on bail. Officers said they received reports of youths gathering near the hall shortly before the fire was reported, and appealed to parents to check whether their children were in the area that night.
Built in 1704 for politician Richard Molyneux, Woolton Hall was later remodelled by Robert Adam in 1772. The influential Scottish architect gave the house the classical facade and interiors that led historians to hail it as the finest example of his work in northern England. Over the centuries it has served as a private residence, hydropathic hotel, convent and school.
The hall was saved from demolition in the 1980s and listed at Grade I in 1982, but years of neglect and vandalism had left it in a fragile state. Historic England placed it on its Heritage at Risk Register in 2021, warning it was at “immediate risk of further rapid deterioration or loss of fabric.”
The site has previously been targeted by arsonists, with an earlier blaze in 2019 causing serious but contained damage.
The Georgian Group said the fire represented a major loss for British architectural history. In a statement the organisation called Woolton Hall “one of Northern England’s most important Georgian houses” and “the finest example of Adam’s work in the region.”
The group confirmed it had been working with Liverpool City Council and Historic England on plans to secure the building’s future before the blaze.
According to the local Save Woolton Hall campaign group, the building has been owned by Jim Murray and Abid Chudary since around 2005.
The council has yet to comment on the extent of the damage or the next steps for the site. Although parts of the stone walls remain standing, much of the original roof structure and interiors have likely been destroyed.
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