Council Chamber at Warrington Town Hall, Sankey St, Warrington

Concise Historic Building Report for Warrington Borough Council

April 2020 ii Donald Insall Associates | Council Chamber at Warrington Town Hall, Sankey St, Warrington Contents

1.0 Summary of Concise Historic Building Report 1 2.0 Historical Background 3 3.0 Site Survey Descriptions 8 4.0 Assessment of Significance 15 5.0 Commentary on the Proposals 18

Appendix I - Statutory List Description 20 Appendix II - Planning Policy and Guidance 24

Contact information

Vicky Webster (Senior Historic Buildings Advisor) E: [email protected]

Richard Pougher (Assistant Researcher) E: [email protected]

Manchester Office 68 Quay Street Manchester, M3 3EJ T: 0161 359 4326 www.insall-architects.co.uk

This report and all intellectual property rights in it and arising from it are the property of or are under licence to Donald Insall Associates or the client. Neither the whole nor any part of this report, nor any drawing, plan, other document or any information contained within it may be reproduced in any form without the prior written consent of Donald Insall Associates or the client as appropriate. All material in which the intellectual property rights have been licensed to DIA or the client and such rights belong to third parties may not be published or reproduced at all in any form, and any request for consent to the use of such material for publication or reproduction should be made directly to the owner of the intellectual property rights therein. Checked by VJP. Ordnance Survey map reproduced under Licence 100020449 1.0 Summary of Concise Historic Building Report

1.1 Introduction

Donald Insall Associates was commissioned by Warrington Borough Council to assist them in proposals for the Council Chamber at Warrington Town Hall.

Due to COVID-19, the investigation has comprised desk-top historical research, using secondary material, and a site inspection (carried out in December 2019). A brief illustrated history of the site and building, with sources of reference and bibliography, is in Section 2; the site survey findings are in Section 3. The investigation has established the significance of the building, which is set out in Section 4.

Historic buildings are protected by law and in planning policy; the specific constraints for this building are summarised below. This report has been drafted to inform the design of proposals for the building, so that they comply with these requirements. Section 5 provides an assessment of the scheme according to the relevant legislation, planning policy and guidance.

1.2 The Building and its Legal Status

Warrington Town Hall is a Grade I listed 18th century building located in the Town Hall Conservation Area in the Warrington. It is in the setting of a number of listed heritage assets:

• Western Outbuilding To Town Hall (Grade I); • Eastern Outbuilding To Town Hall (Grade I); • The Golden Gates – listed as ‘Entrance Gates, Piers and Lamps’(Grade II*); • Lamps On East And West Drives Of Town Hall (Grade II*); • Borough Treasurer’s Office And Bank House (Grade II); • Pair Of K6 Telephone Kiosks (Grade II); • Post Office (Grade II); • Health Office (Grade II).

Alterations to a listed building generally require listed building consent; development in conservation areas or within the setting of a listed building or conservation area requires local authorities to assess the implications of proposals on built heritage.

The statutory list description of the listed building is included in Appendix I and a summary of guidance on the conservation area provided by the local planning authority is in Appendix II, along with extracts from the relevant legislation and planning policy documents.

The Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 is the legislative basis for decision-making on applications that relate to the historic environment. Sections 66 and 72 of the Act impose statutory duties upon local planning authorities which, with regard to listed buildings, require the planning authority to have ‘special regard

1 to the desirability of preserving the listed building or its setting or any features of special architectural or historic interest which it possesses’ and, in respect of conservation areas, that ‘special attention shall be paid to the desirability of preserving or enhancing the character or appearance of that area’.

In considering applications for listed building consent, local authorities are also required to consider the policies on the historic environment set out in the National Planning Policy Framework. The key message of the NPPF is the concept of ‘sustainable development’ which for the historic environment means that heritage assets ‘should be conserved in a manner appropriate to their significance’.

The NPPF recognises that, in some cases, the significance of a designated heritage asset can be harmed or lost through alteration or destruction of the heritage asset or development within its setting. The NPPF therefore states that any harm or loss to a designated heritage asset ‘should require clear and convincing justification’ and that any ‘less than substantial’ harm caused to the significance of a designated heritage asset should be weighed against the benefits of the proposal including, where appropriate, securing its optimum viable use. A designated heritage asset is defined as a World Heritage Site, Scheduled Monument, Listed Building, Protected Wreck Site, Registered Park and Garden, Registered Battlefield or Conservation Area.

2 Donald Insall Associates | Council Chamber at Warrington Town Hall, Sankey St, Warrington 2.0 Historical Background

2.1 Brief History of Warrington

Adjacent to the River Mersey and surrounded by fertile land, Warrington was established by the Roman occupation of Britain. An emerging textile and tool industry helped establish Warrington as a market town in the Middle Ages, and growth continued well into the post-medieval period. The navigation of the Mersey as far as Warrington was improved in the late-17th century, connecting the town to the port of Liverpool and its burgeoning international trade. Intensification of industries throughout the 19th century transformed the town into a manufacturing hub, which included steel production, brewing, textiles, tanning and chemicals. This was strengthened by its location on both the west coast railway line, the Liverpool and Manchester line, and proximity to the Manchester Ship Canal (1885-94).1 In 1972, Warrington was designated a ‘New Town’. A number of new suburban housing developments for workers were built as a result, industries were revived and new ones established and by the turn of the 21st century Warrington had become a key employment area in the North West. It is now home to numerous businesses specialising in nuclear energy, engineering, logistics and software development.2

2.2 The Building: Warrington Town Hall

2.2.1 Bank Hall

The Town Hall was built as Bank Hall, a substantial house for the industrialist Thomas Patten, in 1749-50, scion of a successful family of copper smelters. It was designed by the influential architect, James Gibbs, as a highly fashionable house on the edge of the town.

The building is a fine example of Palladian Classicism, complete with the Patten coat of arms within the pediment and detached flanking service wings – stables to the west and offices to the east.3 The Hall was of three storeys and nine bays, faced in red brick with contrasting stone dressings [Plate 2.1]. The central three bays formed a grand portico including four tall columns supporting the large pediment and arched Gibbs-style surrounds for the main doorway and flanking windows. A striking open staircase lead to the piano nobile – the stair, basement and central bays all of painted rusticated stonework. Internally, the Hall was finished with high quality Rococo plasterwork and joinery. At the rear of the building facing the garden, at first floor level were the music room to the west, the saloon in the centre and the ladies’ retiring room to the east. Also on the first floor were the dining room and reading room. The second floor was occupied by bedrooms and living apartments while the ground floor was used for the kitchens and stores.4 The industrial origins of the Patten family’s wealth was reflected in the construction of the house – with copper slag being used for the foundations and the glazing bars made from a copper-iron alloy.

1 Keystone Heritage, Heritage Statement, pp.9-10. 2 Warrington Borough Council, A brief history of Warrington. 3 Pevsner, Lancashire: Liverpool and the South West, pp. 611-12. 4 Warrington Borough Council, History of Warrington Town Hall.

3 2.1 Warrington Town Hall from the south (Warrington Borough Council)

2.2 1849 Ordnance Survey map (NLS) with site marked in red

4 Donald Insall Associates | Council Chamber at Warrington Town Hall, Sankey St, Warrington As was fitting for a house of its status, Bank Hall was also laid out with landscaped gardens, though not on the same scale as larger contemporary country houses. The earliest cartographic evidence of the Hall and its grounds is the 1849 Ordnance Survey map, which shows an open area of grassland to the south of the house and two driveways leading off Sankey Street [Plate 2.2]. To the north, a more expansive layout of paths, drives, trees and an ornamental body of water, interspersed with ancillary buildings to serve the small estate.

2.2.2 Warrington Town Hall

The continuing growth of Warrington throughout the 19th century turned the Bank Quay area into an increasingly industrialised, less desirable area. The expanding town also required better civic governance, however, and in 1872 Bank Hall was sold to the Borough in 1872 for use as the new town hall. By the time of the 1893 Ordnance Survey map, Bank Hall had been transformed from an extravagant private house into the focus of a new civic centre, including a public park, Bank Park to the west and new public baths and a drill hall to the east [Plate 2.3].

A new entrance was made in the boundary wall between the grounds of Bank Hall and Sankey Street to the south, and in 1895 the present Town Hall Gates were erected. The provenance of these gates is intriguing, for they were originally made by the Coalbrookdale Company at Ironbridge for the 1862 Great Exhibition. After the Exhibition however, they remained in storage in Ironbridge until they were eventually erected on Sankey Street, along with flanking railings and new cast-iron doors in the centre. In the early-20th century a large fountain was introduced to the grounds, located behind the gates [Plate 2.4]. This was removed during the 1940s however.

5 2.3 1893 Ordnance Survey map (NLS) with site marked in red

2.4 The Town Hall, c. 1906 (Historic England Archive)

6 Donald Insall Associates | Council Chamber at Warrington Town Hall, Sankey St, Warrington 2.3 Relevant Planning History

96/35748 21/03/1997 Approved

Listed building application for refurbishment of second floor kitchen, including opening up new doorway with door and architrave to match existing exactly

A01/44031 24/062002 Approved Proposed single leaf doorway in dividing wall between office 1 and kitchen entrance area (ground floor)

A02/46621 06/03/2003 Approved Listed building application for CCTV cameras on external elevations and town hall reception

2019/35694 10/10/2019 Approved

Proposed replacement of existing 13 CCTV Cameras with new HD Cameras incorporating a mix of static and controllable pan-tilted zoom cameras and an additional 3 cameras

2.4 Sources and Bibliography

Published Sources

Pevsner, Lancashire: Liverpool and the South West (Yale University Press 2006).

Warrington Borough Council, A brief history of Warrington, https://www. warrington.gov.uk/brief-history-warrington [accessed April 2020].

Warrington Borough Council, History of Warrington Town Hall, https://www. warrington.gov.uk/townhall [accessed March 2020].

National Library of Scotland (NLS)

Historic Maps Collection

Unpublished Sources

Keystone Heritage, Heritage Statement: Warrington Town Hall Gates (2017).

7 3.0 Site Survey Descriptions

3.1 The Setting of the Building

3.1.1 The Wider Setting

The Town Hall is located to the north-east of the town centre within the Town Hall Conservation Area, the principal feature of which is Sankey Street running east-west to the south of the Town Hall. To the east is Bath Street – where the since replaced public baths once stood. The Conservation Area contains a very high proportion of green space, with Bank Park to the west of the Town Hall and open lawns and mature trees to the north and south of it. This is in stark contrast to the rest of the town centre which is densely urban in character. The buildings on Sankey Street are a mixture of 18th and 19th century houses and shops mainly of three storeys, interspersed with modestly-proportioned mid-20th century office buildings of five storeys. Building materials are generally of brick, even on the later buildings, and those of the 19th century have classical detailing, mirroring that of the Town Hall.

3.1.2 The Immediate Setting

The Town Hall is set back from Sankey Street behind the Grade II* listed Golden Gates (installed 1895) and across an expansive open lawn to the south, with a tarmacked driveway area immediately in front. The building is framed neatly by the gates and by avenues of trees along the access roads. To the west and east of the Town Hall are the original service wings (Grade I). Both are of the same length and in a similar style to the Town Hall, but not identical due to their original subservient functions. The former stables are to the west and have a three-storey pedimented centre in rusticated stone with two storey brick ranges either side. To the east, the former offices have the same central portion but with ranges of five bays either side. To the north is another lawn leading to a more dense groupings of mature trees.

8 Donald Insall Associates | Council Chamber at Warrington Town Hall, Sankey St, Warrington 3.2 The Building

3.3 The Building Externally

3.3.1 Front Elevation

The building is in the Palladian style. The front elevation is of three storeys and nine bays in rusticated stone and red brick – a rusticated base and central bay painted white, and flanking bays in brick. The central three bays contain four composite columns, supporting a plain frieze and a large pediment containing the Patten family crest. A central imperial staircase leads to the piano nobile at first floor level. The central bay contains three round headed openings at first floor, with a central door and flanking windows. The outer bays contain three sashes within shouldered architraves with a cill course – the central windows with a pediment, flanked by segmental pediments. The second floor windows are much smaller, three over six sashes, all set within shouldered architraves. A neat stone dentil cornice sits below a short brick parapet.

3.3.2 Rear Elevation

The rear elevation is less decorative, of nine bays with the central three projecting and a brick pediment. A modern timber and glass doorway at first floor level is accessed by a single straight flight of stairs. The windows on this elevation are set within the same shouldered architraves as on the front elevation.

3.3.3 Roof

The roof is hipped and slated with two central square gullies finished with lead. Two brick chimney stacks rise from the centre, and appear either side of the pediment, but appear small in scale due to the set-back.

9 3.4 The Building Internally

The detailed internal description is limited to the area of the proposed works.

3.4.1 The Council Chamber

The Council Chamber is located on the first floor of the Town Hall, at the rear of the building. It is formed by the former music room and saloon – the dividing wall presumably removed as part of the conversion to a Town Hall in the late-19th century and now containing an arched opening between the two spaces. The original decorative scheme of the two rooms is retained in the ceiling plasterwork and some of the joinery. There have been a number of 20th century alterations, including adaptation / removal of the skirtings to accommodate modern services. The walls are lined with historic paintings, including a portrait of former Mayor of Warrington John Richard Pickmere (1883) by James Charles and A Mountain Farm, Llanrhycwyn, near Trefiw by Henry Clarence Whaite (1867).

The western portion of the Council Chamber is the former music room. It is lit by three sashes in the north wall - complete with original architraves and shutters, with modern timber cills and vented radiator casings [Plate 3.1]. Curtains are fitted above each window and above the rails fitted with spotlights [Plate 3.2]. There is a series of smoke vents along this wall, presumably dating from the Victorian conversion. On the south wall, the original six panel timber door is set within a timber architrave with foliate carving (with later adaptations). The door is fitted with a modern metal closer and electrical equipment and emergency signage [Plate 3.3]. Also along this wall is a later stone fire surround with egg and dart decoration, the opening boarded up. Directly above the surround is a 20th century shouldered memorial panel. Elements of the original skirting boards survive, but those to the south wall have been replaced by intrusive metal trunking [Plate 3.4]. An egg and dart dado rail is present in part of this room, which looks to be part of the original decoration. The ceiling is decorated with original intricate plasterwork with foliate forms and a modillion cornice [Plate 3.5]. The floor is carpeted and the walls are lined with modern wallpaper applied with a dark and ill-fitting papered frieze.

10 Donald Insall Associates | Council Chamber at Warrington Town Hall, Sankey St, Warrington 3.1 Council Chamber looking west (Insall) 3.2 Windows in the north wall (Insall)

3.3 Doorway in the south wall (Insall) 3.4 Fire surround and trunking in the south wall (Insall)

3.5 Ceiling in the former music room (Insall)

11 To the east, is an archway (likely late-Victorian), which leads to the larger portion of the Council Chamber - formerly the saloon [Plate 3.6]. Again, the room is lit from the north, by two sashes either side of a central timber part-glazed door (modern) – which has been converted to an emergency exit, though retains its original architrave and timber shutters. The shutters to the right have been fitted with a fire alarm call point and associated signage [Plate 3.7]. A chimneybreast sits centrally in the east wall, the chimneypiece has been removed and a dado rail and skirting have been introduced – possibly reused from elsewhere in the building. Fitted to the chimneybreast are brackets to support a large projection screen, with the associated cabling fitted to the right [Plate 3.8]. To the left of the chimneybreast is a six-panel door in a deep reveal and a foliated architrave, possibly original, though panelled reveal is missing. To the left of the architrave is a modern light switch panel and above are light sensors an alarm and intrusive trunking running its full length [Plate 3.9]. On the south wall is a six panel timber door within a timber architrave with a foliate carving, possibly original with later adaptations. The door has a metal closer and emergency exit signage above [Plate 3.10]. There is high-quality Rococo-style plasterwork on the ceiling (original), which is noticeably grander than the adjacent space - depicting birds and flowers [Plate 3.11]. The finishes on the walls has been damaged through the introduction of modern fittings and trunking which runs along the dado rail and in places is fitted to the skirting [Plates 3.12 & 3.13].

12 Donald Insall Associates | Council Chamber at Warrington Town Hall, Sankey St, Warrington 3.6 The Council Chamber looking east (Insall)

3.7 Doorway in the north wall with modern fire exit doors (Insall)

3.8 Chimneybreast in the east wall with projector screen (Insall) 3.9 Doorway in east wall, with current AV fittings(Insall)

13 3.10 Doorway in the south wall (Insall) 3.11 Original decorative Plasterwork (Insall)

3.12 Speaker fixed to the wall (Insall) 3.13 Bulky trunking above skirting (Insall)

14 Donald Insall Associates | Council Chamber at Warrington Town Hall, Sankey St, Warrington 4.0 Assessment of Significance

4.1 Introduction

The purpose of this section is to provide an assessment of significance of the Council Chamber at Warrington Town Hall so that the proposals for change to this area of the building are fully informed as to its significance and so that the effect of the proposals on that significance can be evaluated. The assessment begins with a general summary of the building’s history and significance; then the various elements of the building are assessed according to a sliding scale of significance, reflecting the extent to which they contribute to the listed building’s special architectural and historical interest.

This assessment responds to the requirement of the National Planning Policy Framework to ‘recognise that heritage assets are an irreplaceable resource and conserve them in a manner appropriate to their significance’. The NPPF defines significance as;

‘The value of a heritage asset to this and future generations because of its heritage interest. That interest may be archaeological (potential to yield evidence about the past), architectural, artistic or historic. Significance derives not only from a heritage asset’s physical presence, but also from its setting’.

The principles for consideration of the significance of the listed building are based upon The Principles of Selection for Listing Buildings document produced by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (2010) which identifies the special interest as comprising of two key elements (in accordance with the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990:

Architectural Interest. To be of special architectural interest a building must be of importance in its architectural design, decoration or craftsmanship; special interest may also apply to nationally important examples of particular building types and techniques (e.g. buildings displaying technological innovation or virtuosity) and significant plan forms;

Historic Interest. To be of special historic interest a building must illustrate important aspects of the nation’s social, economic, cultural, or military history and/or have close historical associations with nationally important people. There should normally be some quality of interest in the physical fabric of the building itself to justify the statutory protection afforded by listing.

15 4.2 Warrington Town Hall Council Chamber

The Council Chamber of Warrington Town Hall forms part of the initial construction of Bank Hall in 1749-50 - a house built for Thomas Patten Esquire to designs by James Gibbs. The Council Chamber was originally two rooms - the music room and the saloon - which were likely connected when the building was purchased by the Borough of Warrington in 1872 for use as the town hall. The room is now used for committee meetings and other council and civic activities, and it can be hired for conferences, weddings and other events.

The building has very high architectural interest as a fine example of a Palladian ‘villa’ – and which in Pevsner’s opinion is ‘the outstanding mid-C18 house of s Lancashire’5 and also for its association with James Gibbs, who is known most for his more high status projects including Oxford’s Radcliffe Camera and St Martin-in-the-Fields, London. The Council Chamber itself has been altered (having formerly been two entertainment rooms), but retains some of its high quality 18th century interior decoration, particularly the Rococo ceiling in the former saloon, which is of the highest significance. The adaptation of the rooms for council use in the late-19th century undoubtedly gives historic interest to the space, as it symbolises the development of the town in the 19th century and the choice of building represents Warrington’s civic aspirations. The room retains no historic furniture, though does include a selection of historic paintings, including a portrait of former Mayor of Warrington John Richard Pickmere by James Charles, which hold artistic, historic and communal significance as part of the civic use of the building. The building also has group value with nearby civic buildings and Bank Park, which form part of the 19th century development of the area. The series of modern and unsympathetic fixtures and fittings, which have been introduced incrementally, detract from the significance of the Council Chamber, especially where they impact on the most significant features. The grounds to the north and south and associated outbuildings form a key part of its setting.

This special interest is manifest in the fabric of the building, which has the following hierarchy of significance.

Of the highest significance and particularly sensitive to change are:

• The original decoration, including the plaster ceilings and cornices.

Of high significance and also sensitive to change are:

• Surviving historic joinery including original windows and their shutters, decorative dado rails, doors and architraves (with 19th century alterations). Of moderate significance and therefore less sensitive to change are:

• The Victorian smoke vents in the south wall; • The skirtings, which are fragmentary and have been shifted to allow cabling to run behind them; • Later joinery; • The later stone fireplace surround.

5 Pevsner, 2006, p45

16 Donald Insall Associates | Council Chamber at Warrington Town Hall, Sankey St, Warrington Factors which detract from the building’s significance and offer an opportunity for enhancement are:

• Boarding to / blocking of the fireplaces; • The modern fire escape door and signage; • Unsympathetic trunking fitted to dado rails; • The large projector attached to the chimneybreast; • Modern door closers; • Unsympathetic speakers, sensors and light switch panels.

17 5.0 Commentary on the Proposals

5.1 Description of the Proposals and their Impact on the Listed Building

These proposals seek to remove redundant and unsympathetic AV equipment from the Council Chamber and to replace it with more discreet and sensitive equipment, which will enable the Council to publicly webcast their meetings held in this room. The room is also used as a venue for weddings and other events. The proposals are explained in the drawings and statement of works by Public-i. A series of proposals to remove redundant cabling, fittings and trunking and to redecorate the Council Chamber will follow these works, but do not form part of this application.

The speakers, projection screen and their associated cabling / fittings will be carefully removed from the walls and following these works - the remaining openings made good using like-for-like materials.

The careful removal of the unsympathetic equipment and appropriate like-for-like repair will declutter the room, restoring its original character, revealing an historic portrait and the chimneybreast, and would result in a series of heritage benefits.

New cameras are proposed in five locations, new speakers in four locations. The cameras would be mounted 2.5 high, fixed to the plaster walls with a fixing plate with four small screws. The speakers would be fitted in a similar manner, at a slightly lower height and using a plate with two screws. A new input box would be located on the chimneybreast and conferencing WAP fitted at low level. The screen would be mobile, so requires no fixings. Trunking or cable sleeves would be in white, concealed in line with architraves, cornices / picture rails and as part of a forthcoming phase of redecoration works, finished to match the adjacent surface. The trunking to the pilasters would be painted to match the woodwork as part of the forthcoming redecoration proposals – and would appear as an additional tier of moulding. They would feed back to the rack via space behind the skirtings (formed by their shifting in the past to accommodate services).

New openings would result in the very minor loss of wall fabric, which would have a nominal impact on the significance of the listed building overall. The visual impact of fittings would be far less than their predecessors, but would be visible and out of character, thus causing some very minor harm. The cabling / trunking proposals would ensure that the new fittings are sensitively served and would be placed to reduce their visual impact. This holistic approach would avoid the need for a series of incremental accretions within this room, whilst upgrading the Council’s facilities to ensure it remains in its optimum viable use.

An existing rack would be replaced with a new one in the same location, under the main stair – this would require no fixing into the fabric (being on wheels), new cabling is proposed to follow existing routes.

This proposal would have no impact on the significance of the listed building.

18 Donald Insall Associates | Council Chamber at Warrington Town Hall, Sankey St, Warrington 5.2 Assessment of the Proposals

The Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 is the legislative basis for decision making on applications that relate to the historic environment. Section 66 of the Act impose a statutory duty upon local planning authorities to have special regard to the desirability of preserving a listed building or its setting or any features of special architectural or historic interest that it possesses. As outlined above in Section 5.1, the sensitive design and location of the new equipment would ensure that there would be very little harm to the significance of the listed building overall. The proposals to carefully remove the unsympathetic equipment would result in a modest benefit, therefore the presumption within the Act against the grant of permission would not be engaged. The proposals would enable the Council Chamber to be fit for purpose – for council meetings and as a revenue-generating venue - enhancing its optimum viable use and enabling the long-term conservation of the listed building.

The NPPF (2019) has crystallised previous policy approaches to the historic environment and has given strong emphases to the need to ‘weigh up’ the pros and cons of a proposal to alter the historic environment. In particular, policy states that benefits, and in particular ‘public benefits’ arising from proposals should be part of the weighing up process, the extent of ‘public benefits’ required to balance any potential ‘harm’ to an heritage asset being dependent on whether the ‘harm’ is ‘substantial’ or ‘less than substantial’. Whilst it is considered that little or no harm would be caused, the following public benefits could be used to balance any perceived harm:

• Upgrading the Council’s facilities to ensure the building remains in its optimum viable use; • Removal of detracting AV equipment, particularly the projection screen on the chimneybreast, and the forthcoming appropriate repairs to make good any openings and redecorate.

5.3 Conclusion

It is considered that the proposals would meet the tests for sustainable development outlined in the National Planning Policy Framework insofar as they relate to the historic environment and the requirements of the National Planning Policy Framework and local policy, namely Policy QE 8 Historic Environment.

19 Appendix I - Statutory List Descriptions

TOWN HALL

Grade: I

Date first listed: 6th December 1949

Built 1750 by Gibbs, formerly Bank Hall, seat of Patten family. Pevsner opinion “finest house of its date in South Lancashire”. Palladian, 3 storeys, rusticated stone facing to red brick, hipped slate roof, brick parapet, stone modillioned cornice. Main front has slight central projection with 4 3/4 Corinthian columns frieze and pediment with coat of arms. 9 sash windows with glazing bars, in moulded architraves, 1st floor having alternate segmental and pointed pediment except 3 centre ones between columns, which are arched. Centre 1st floor double doors up flight of stone steps with iron railings and 4 lamps. Curved flanking walls run from main house to entrances to side courts. Contemporary R W Hs and pipes. Garden front similar but no columns. Interior has 2 stone staircases with iron balustrades and plasterwork. Detached service block at each side, long rectangular plan, similar but not identical in detail; 2 storeys, with 3-storeyed centre finished with a pediment, centre rusticated stone, side wings brick, whole of 13 bays. East and west drives in front have 5 iron standard lamps with round lanterns. Entrance gateway in front has 4 square hollow iron piers of patterned tracery, 6 iron gates of elaborate ornament, all about 20 ft high, with 4 angels on tops of piers, and a round arch over the centre supporting the coat of arms; this entrance was exhibited at London Exhibition of 1862.

Nos 76 to 86 (even) Borough Treasurer’s Office and Bank House Town Hall with Eastern and Western outbuildings Entrance gates, piers and lamps, lamps on east and west drives form a group with Nos 75, lOlA, l0lB.

Listing NGR: SJ6021888266

WESTERN OUTBUILDING TO TOWN HALL

Grade: I

Date first listed: 6th December 1949

Listing NGR: SJ6017688259

*Note – this list description describes the Town Hall, not the Western Outbuilding

20 Donald Insall Associates | Council Chamber at Warrington Town Hall, Sankey St, Warrington EASTERN OUTBUILDING TO TOWN HALL

Grade: I

Date first listed: 4th April 1975

Listing NGR: SJ6026088267

*Note – this list description describes the Town Hall, not the Eastern Outbuilding

ENTRANCE GATES, PIERS AND LAMPS

Grade: II*

Date first listed: 4th April 1975

Listing NGR: SJ6022688157

*Note – this list description describes the Town Hall, not the Golden Gates. The gates are described within the list description of the Town Hall itself.

LAMPS ON EAST AND WEST DRIVES OF TOWN HALL

Grade: II*

Date first listed: 4th April 1975

Listing NGR: SJ6018488207

*Note – this list description describes the Town Hall, not the Lamps on East and West Drives

21 BOROUGH TREASURER’S OFFICE AND BANK HOUSE

Grade: II

Date first listed: 17th December 1971

1973 being rebuilt behind facade, qhich is to be retained. C18, once 2 houses. Brick, slate roof, eaves cornice. Two front projections, one half- hexagonal, the other semi- circular with hipped roof. 2/3 storeys. Sash windows, 3 triple in the semi-circular projection, with stone heads. Two entrances, the left hand one having a panelled door, semi-circular fanlight with bars in wood case with 3/4 Roman Doric columns and dentilled pediment; the right hand doorway is plain and recent.

Nos 76 to 86 (even) Borough Treasurer’s Office and Bank House, Town Hall with Eastern and Western Outbuildings Entrance gates, piers and lamps, lamps on east and west drives form a group with Nos 73, 101A, 101B.

Listing NGR: SJ6029488152

PAIR OF K6 TELEPHONE KIOSKS

Grade: II

Date first listed: 3rd November 1987

Telephone kiosks. Type K6. Designed 1935 by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. Made by various contractors. Cast iron. Square kiosks with domed roofs. Unperforated crowns to top panels and margin glazing to windows and doors.

Listing NGR: SJ6027588151

POST OFFICE

Grade: II

Date first listed: 4th April 1975

Opposite the Town Hall gates. Victorian. Stone ground floor, brick 1st floor, and top stone cornice. Rounded angle to Winmarleigh Street. Pilasters, long rectangular sash windows, cornice over ground floor. 1st floor has 3 Venetian windows with pediments flanked by single windows, all with stone architraves.

Listing NGR: SJ6024288127

22 Donald Insall Associates | Council Chamber at Warrington Town Hall, Sankey St, Warrington HEALTH OFFICE

Grade: II

Date first listed: 6th December 1949

C18 detached house, brick on stone base, 3 storeys, eaves cornice, one stone string. Slight central projection with pediment. Centre entrance in slight segmental-headed recess, 4 octagon panel door in stone doorcase with 3/4 Roman Doric columns, enrichments pediment, semi-circular fanlight with bars. 4 sash windows on ground floor and 5 on upper floors in architraves (centre moulded) with flat brick heads and stone sills. Lower 2-storeyed portion at right hand side rear, with 2nd entrance, flat wood pilasters and pediment. Left hand gable end rebuilt.

Nos 76 to 86 (even) Borough Treasurer’s Office and Bank House, Town Hall with Eastern and Western Outbuildings, Entrance gates piers and lamps, lamps on east and west drives form a group with Nos 73, lOlA, lOlB.

Listing NGR: SJ6031788172

23 Appendix II - Planning Policy and Guidance

Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990

The Act is legislative basis for decision making on applications that relate to the historic environment.

Section 66 of the Act impose a statutory duty upon local planning authorities to consider the impact of proposals upon listed buildings.

Section 66 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 states that:

in considering whether to grant permission for development which affects a listed building or its setting, the local planning authority, or as the case may be the Secretary of State shall have special regard to the desirability of preserving the building or its setting or any features of special architectural or historic interest which it possesses.

National Planning Policy Framework

Any proposals for consent relating to heritage assets are subject to the policies of the NPPF (February 2019). This sets out the Government’s planning policies for England and how these are expected to be applied. With regard to ‘Conserving and enhancing the historic environment’, the framework requires proposals relating to heritage assets to be justified and an explanation of their effect on the heritage asset’s significance provided.

Paragraph 7 of the Framework states that the purpose of the planning system is to ‘contribute to the achievement of sustainable development’ and that, at a very high level, ‘the objective of sustainable development can be summarised as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

At paragraph 8, the document expands on this as follows:

Achieving sustainable development means that the planning system has three overarching objectives, which are interdependent and need to be pursued in mutually supportive ways (so that opportunities can be taken to secure net gains across each of the different objectives:

a) an economic objective – to help build a strong, responsive and competitive economy, by ensuring that sufficient land of the right types is available in the right places and at the right time to support growth, innovation and improved productivity; and by identifying and coordinating the provision of infrastructure;

b) a social objective – to support strong, vibrant and healthy communities, by ensuring that a sufficient number and range of homes can be provided to meet the needs of present and future generations; and by fostering a well-designed and safe built

24 Donald Insall Associates | Council Chamber at Warrington Town Hall, Sankey St, Warrington environment, with accessible services and open spaces that reflect current and future needs and support communities’ health, social and cultural well-being; and

c) an environmental objective – to contribute to protecting and enhancing our natural, built and historic environment; including making effective use of land, helping to improve biodiversity, using natural resources prudently, minimising waste and pollution, and mitigating and adapting to climate change, including moving to a low carbon economy. and notes at paragraph 10:

10. So that sustainable development is pursued in a positive way, at the heart of the Framework is a presumption in favour of sustainable development (paragraph 11).

With regard to the significance of a heritage asset, the framework contains the following policies:

190. Local planning authorities should identify and assess the particular significance of any heritage asset that may be affected by a proposal (including by development affecting the setting of a heritage asset) taking account of the available evidence and any necessary expertise. They should take this assessment into account when considering the impact of a proposal on a heritage asset, to avoid or minimise conflict between the heritage asset’s conservation and any aspect of the proposal.

In determining applications local planning authorities are required to take account of significance, viability, sustainability and local character and distinctiveness. Paragraph 192 of the NPPF identifies the following criteria in relation to this:

a) the desirability of sustaining and enhancing the significance of heritage assets and putting them to viable uses consistent with their conservation; b) the positive contribution that conservation of heritage assets can make to sustainable communities including their economic vitality; and c) the desirability of new development making a positive contribution to local character and distinctiveness.

With regard to potential ‘harm’ to the significance designated heritage asset, in paragraph 193 the framework states the following:

…great weight should be given to the asset’s conservation (and the more important the asset, the greater the weight should be). This is irrespective of whether the any potential harm amounts to substantial harm, total loss or less than substantial harm to its significance.

The Framework goes on to state at paragraph 194 that:

Any harm to, or loss of, the significance of a designated heritage asset (from its alteration or destruction, or from development within its setting) should require clear and convincing justification.

25 Where a proposed development will lead to ‘substantial harm’ to or total loss of significance of a designated heritage asset paragraph 195 of the NPPF states that:

…local planning authorities should refuse consent, unless it can be demonstrated that the substantial harm or loss is necessary to achieve substantial public benefits that outweigh that harm or loss, or all of the following apply:

a) the nature of the heritage asset prevents all reasonable uses of the site; and b) no viable use of the heritage asset itself can be found in the medium term through appropriate marketing that will enable its conservation; and c) conservation by grant-funding or some form of charitable or public ownership is demonstrably not possible; and d) the harm or loss is outweighed by the benefit of bringing the site back into use.

With regard to ‘less than substantial harm’ to the significance of a designated heritage asset, of the NPPF states the following;

196. Where a development proposal will lead to less than substantial harm to the significance of a designated heritage asset, this harm should be weighed against the public benefits of the proposal including, where appropriate, securing its optimum viable use.

In terms of non-designated heritage assets, the NPPF states:

197. The effect of an application on the significance of a non- designated heritage asset should be taken into account in determining the application. In weighing applications that affect directly or indirectly non-designated heritage assets, a balance judgement will be required having regard to the scale of any harm or loss and the significance of the heritage asset.

The Framework requires local planning authorities to look for opportunities for new development within conservation areas and world heritage sites and within the setting of heritage assets to enhance or better reveal their significance. Paragraph 200 states that:

Proposals that preserve those elements of the setting that make a positive contribution to the asset (or which better reveal its significance) should be treated favourably.

Concerning conservation areas and world heritage sites it states, in paragraph 201, that:

Not all elements of a Conservation Area or World Heritage Site will necessarily contribute to its significance. Loss of a building (or other element) which makes a positive contribution to the significance of the Conservation Area or World Heritage Site should be treated either as substantial harm under paragraph 195 or less than substantial harm under paragraph 196, as appropriate, taking into account the relative significance of the element affected and its contribution to the significance of the Conservation Area or World Heritage Site as a whole.

26 Donald Insall Associates | Council Chamber at Warrington Town Hall, Sankey St, Warrington Historic England: Historic Environment Good Practice Advice in Planning (March 2015)

The purpose of the Good Practice Advice note is to provide information on good practice to assist in implementing historic environment policy in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and the relate guidance given in the National Planning Practice Guide (NPPG).

Note 2 ‘Managing Significance in Decision-Taking’

This note provides information on:  assessing the significance of heritage assets, using appropriate expertise, historic environment records, recording and furthering understanding, neglect and unauthorised works, marketing and design and distinctiveness.

It states that:

The advice in this document, in accordance with the NPPF, emphasises that the information required in support of applications for planning permission and listed building consent should be no more than is necessary to reach an informed decision, and that activities to conserve or investigate the asset needs to be proportionate to the significance of the heritage assets affected and the impact on that significance.

In their general advice on decision-taking, this note advises that:

Development proposals that affect the historic environment are much more likely to gain the necessary permissions and create successful places if they are designed with the knowledge and understanding of the significance of the heritage assets they may affect. The first step for all applicants is to understand the significance of any affected heritage asset and, if relevant, the contribution of its setting to its significance. The significance of a heritage asset is the sum of its archaeological, architectural, historic, and artistic interest.

Paragraph 6 highlights the NPPF and NPPG’s promotion of early engagement and pre-application discussion, and the early consideration of significance of the heritage asset in order to ensure that any issues can be properly identified and addressed. Furthermore, the note advises that:

As part of this process, these discussions and subsequent applications usually benefit from a structured approach to the assembly and analysis of relevant information. The stages below indicate the order in which this process can be approached – it is good practice to check individual stages of this list but they may not be appropriate in all cases and the level of detail applied should be proportionate.  Understand the significance of the affected assets;  Understand the impact of the proposal on that significance;  Avoid, minimise and mitigate impact in a way that meets the objectives of the NPPF;  Look for opportunities to better reveal or enhance significance;

27  Justify any harmful impacts in terms of the sustainable development objective of conserving significance and the need for change;  Offset negative impacts on aspects of significance by enhancing others through recording, disseminating and archiving archaeological and historical interest of the important elements of the heritage assets affected.

Historic England: Conservation Principles and Assessment (2008)

Conservation Principles (2008) explores, on a more philosophical level, the reason why society places a value on heritage assets beyond their mere utility. It identifies four types of heritage value that an asset may hold: aesthetic, communal, historic and evidential value. This is simply another way of analysing its significance. These values can help shape the most efficient and effective way of managing the heritage asset so as to sustain its overall value to society.

Evidential Value

35. Evidential value derives from the potential of a place to yield evidence about past human activity.

36. Physical remains of past human activity are the primary source of evidence about the substance and evolution of places, and of the people and cultures that made them. These remains are part of a record of the past that begins with traces of early humans and continues to be created and destroyed. Their evidential value is proportionate to their potential to contribute to people’s understanding of the past.

37. In the absence of written records, the material record, particularly archaeological deposits, provides the only source of evidence about the distant past. Age is therefore a strong indicator of relative evidential value, but is not paramount, since the material record is the primary source of evidence about poorly documented aspects of any period. Geology, landforms, species and habitats similarly have value as sources of information about the evolution of the planet and life upon it.

38. Evidential value derives from the physical remains or genetic lines that have been inherited from the past. The ability to understand and interpret the evidence tends to be diminished in proportion to the extent of its removal or replacement.

Historical Value

39. Historical value derives from the ways in which past people, events and aspects of life can be connected through a place to the present. It tends to be illustrative or associative.

40. The idea of illustrating aspects of history or prehistory – the perception of a place as a link between past and present people – is different from purely evidential value. Illustration depends on visibility in a way that evidential value (for example, of buried remains) does not. Places with illustrative value will normally also have evidential value, but it may be of a different order of importance. An historic building that is one of many similar

28 Donald Insall Associates | Council Chamber at Warrington Town Hall, Sankey St, Warrington examples may provide little unique evidence about the past, although each illustrates the intentions of its creators equally well. However, their distribution, like that of planned landscapes, may be of considerable evidential value, as well as demonstrating, for instance, the distinctiveness of regions and aspects of their social organisation.

41. Illustrative value has the power to aid interpretation of the past through making connections with, and providing insights into, past communities and their activities through shared experience of a place. The illustrative value of places tends to be greater if they incorporate the first, or only surviving, example of an innovation of consequence, whether related to design, technology or social organisation. The concept is similarly applicable to the natural heritage values of a place, for example geological strata visible in an exposure, the survival of veteran trees, or the observable interdependence of species in a particular habitat. Illustrative value is often described in relation to the subject illustrated, for example, a structural system or a machine might be said to have ‘technological value’.

42. Association with a notable family, person, event, or movement gives historical value a particular resonance. Being at the place where something momentous happened can increase and intensify understanding through linking historical accounts of events with the place where they happened – provided, of course, that the place still retains some semblance of its appearance at the time. The way in which an individual built or furnished their house, or made a garden, often provides insight into their personality, or demonstrates their political or cultural affiliations. It can suggest aspects of their character and motivation that extend, or even contradict, what they or others wrote, or are recorded as having said, at the time, and so also provide evidential value.

43. Many buildings and landscapes are associated with the development of other aspects of cultural heritage, such as literature, art, music or film. Recognition of such associative values tends in turn to inform people’s responses to these places. Associative value also attaches to places closely connected with the work of people who have made important discoveries or advances in thought about the natural world.

44. The historical value of places depends upon both sound identification and direct experience of fabric or landscape that has survived from the past, but is not as easily diminished by change or partial replacement as evidential value. The authenticity of a place indeed often lies in visible evidence of change as a result of people responding to changing circumstances. Historical values are harmed only to the extent that adaptation has obliterated or concealed them, although completeness does tend to strengthen illustrative value.

45. The use and appropriate management of a place for its original purpose, for example as a place of recreation or worship, or, like a watermill, as a machine, illustrates the relationship between design and function, and so may make a major contribution to its historical values. If so, cessation of that activity will diminish

29 those values and, in the case of some specialised landscapes and buildings, may essentially destroy them. Conversely, abandonment, as of, for example, a medieval village site, may illustrate important historical events.

Aesthetic Value

46. Aesthetic value derives from the ways in which people draw sensory and intellectual stimulation from a place.

47. Aesthetic values can be the result of the conscious design of a place, including artistic endeavour. Equally, they can be the seemingly fortuitous outcome of the way in which a place has evolved and been used over time. Many places combine these two aspects – for example, where the qualities of an already attractive landscape have been reinforced by artifice – while others may inspire awe or fear. Aesthetic values tend to be specific to a time and cultural context, but appreciation of them is not culturally exclusive.

48. Design value relates primarily to the aesthetic qualities generated by the conscious design of a building, structure or landscape as a whole. It embraces composition (form, proportions, massing, silhouette, views and vistas, circulation) and usually materials or planting, decoration or detailing, and craftsmanship. It may extend to an intellectual programme governing the design (for example, a building as an expression of the Holy Trinity), and the choice or influence of sources from which it was derived. It may be attributed to a known patron, architect, designer, gardener or craftsman (and so have associational value), or be a mature product of a vernacular tradition of building or land management. Strong indicators of importance are quality of design and execution, and innovation, particularly if influential.

49. Sustaining design value tends to depend on appropriate stewardship to maintain the integrity of a designed concept, be it landscape, architecture, or structure.

50. It can be useful to draw a distinction between design created through detailed instructions (such as architectural drawings) and the direct creation of a work of art by a designer who is also in significant part the craftsman. The value of the artwork is proportionate to the extent that it remains the actual product of the artist’s hand. While the difference between design and ‘artistic’ value can be clear-cut, for example statues on pedestals (artistic value) in a formal garden (design value), it is often far less so, as with repetitive ornament on a medieval building.

51. Some aesthetic values are not substantially the product of formal design, but develop more or less fortuitously over time, as the result of a succession of responses within a particular cultural framework. They include, for example, the seemingly organic form of an urban or rural landscape; the relationship of vernacular buildings and structures and their materials to their setting; or a harmonious, expressive or dramatic quality in the juxtaposition of vernacular or industrial buildings and spaces. Design in accordance with Picturesque theory is best considered a design value.

30 Donald Insall Associates | Council Chamber at Warrington Town Hall, Sankey St, Warrington 52. Aesthetic value resulting from the action of nature on human works, particularly the enhancement of the appearance of a place by the passage of time (‘the patina of age’), may overlie the values of a conscious design. It may simply add to the range and depth of values, the significance, of the whole; but on occasion may be in conflict with some of them, for example, when physical damage is caused by vegetation charmingly rooting in masonry. 53 While aesthetic values may be related to the age of a place, they may also (apart from artistic value) be amenable to restoration and enhancement. This reality is reflected both in the definition of conservation areas (areas whose ‘character or appearance it is desirable to preserve or enhance’) and in current practice in the conservation of historic landscapes.

Communal Value

54. Communal value derives from the meanings of a place for the people who relate to it, or for whom it figures in their collective experience or memory. Communal values are closely bound up with historical (particularly associative) and aesthetic values, but tend to have additional and specific aspects.

55. Commemorative and symbolic values reflect the meanings of a place for those who draw part of their identity from it, or have emotional links to it. The most obvious examples are war and other memorials raised by community effort, which consciously evoke past lives and events, but some buildings and places, such as the Palace of Westminster, can symbolise wider values. Such values tend to change over time, and are not always affirmative. Some places may be important for reminding us of uncomfortable events, attitudes or periods in England’s history. They are important aspects of collective memory and identity, places of remembrance whose meanings should not be forgotten. In some cases, that meaning can only be understood through information and interpretation, whereas, in others, the character of the place itself tells most of the story.

56. Social value is associated with places that people perceive as a source of identity, distinctiveness, social interaction and coherence. Some may be comparatively modest, acquiring communal significance through the passage of time as a result of a collective memory of stories linked to them. They tend to gain value through the resonance of past events in the present, providing reference points for a community’s identity or sense of itself. They may have fulfilled a community function that has generated a deeper attachment, or shaped some aspect of community behaviour or attitudes. Social value can also be expressed on a large scale, with great time-depth, through regional and national identity.

57. The social values of places are not always clearly recognised by those who share them, and may only be articulated when the future of a place is threatened. They may relate to an activity that is associated with the place, rather than with its physical fabric. The social value of a place may indeed have no direct relationship to any formal historical or aesthetic values that may have been ascribed to it.

31 58. Compared with other heritage values, social values tend to be less dependent on the survival of historic fabric. They may survive the replacement of the original physical structure, so long as its key social and cultural characteristics are maintained; and can be the popular driving force for the re-creation of lost (and often deliberately destroyed or desecrated) places with high symbolic value, although this is rare in England.

59. Spiritual value attached to places can emanate from the beliefs and teachings of an organised religion, or reflect past or present- day perceptions of the spirit of place. It includes the sense of inspiration and wonder that can arise from personal contact with places long revered, or newly revealed.

60. Spiritual value is often associated with places sanctified by longstanding veneration or worship, or wild places with few obvious signs of modern life. Their value is generally dependent on the perceived survival of the historic fabric or character of the place, and can be extremely sensitive to modest changes to that character, particularly to the activities that happen there.

32 Donald Insall Associates | Council Chamber at Warrington Town Hall, Sankey St, Warrington Local Policy

Warrington Borough Council Local Plan

The Local Plan Core Strategy was adopted in July 2014

Policy QE 8 Historic Environment

The Council will ensure that the fabric and setting of heritage assets, as set out below, are appropriately protected and enhanced in accordance with the principles set out in National Planning Policy.

• Scheduled Monuments • Listed Buildings • Conservation Areas • Areas of known or potential Archaeological Interest • Locally Listed Heritage Assets

The Council and its partners will aim to recognise the significance and value of historic assets by identifying their positive influence on the character of the environment and an area’s sense of place; their ability to contribute to economic activity and act as a catalyst for regeneration; and their ability to inspire the design of new development.

Heritage Assets such as buildings, structures and sites which are valued as good examples of local architectural styles or for their historic associations, are included on a local list produced by the Council. The buildings, structures and sites included on this list are detailed in Appendix 4.

To be included on the local list, an asset should be substantially unaltered and retain the majority of its original features and either:

1. be a good example of a particular local asset type, craftsmanship, architectural quality, style or detailing, or 2. display physical evidence of periods of local economic, technical or social significance, well-known local people or historic events

Development proposals which affect the character and setting of all heritage assets will be required to provide supporting information proportionate to the designation of the asset which;

• adopts a strong vision of what could be achieved which is rooted in an understanding of the asset’s significance and value, including its setting; • avoids the unnecessary loss of and any decay to the historic fabric which once lost cannot be restored; • recognises and enhances the asset’s contribution to the special qualities, local distinctiveness and unique physical aspects of the area; • fully accords with the design principles outlined elsewhere within the Local Planning Framework; • includes suitable mitigation measures, including an appropriate desk-based assessment and where necessary field evaluation and publication, for areas with known or potential archaeological interest.

33 • ensures the knowledge and understanding of the historic environment is available for this and future generations. The evidence arising from any investigations should be publicly accessible through the Historic Environment Record and the local museum.

Applications for new development will also be required to take all reasonable steps to retain and incorporate non-statutorily protected heritage assets contributing to the quality of the borough’s broader historic environment.

34 Donald Insall Associates | Council Chamber at Warrington Town Hall, Sankey St, Warrington