Heritage Statement In support of Application for Planning Permission and Listed Building Consent for the dismantling and rebuilding of Grade II listed Warrington Cenotaph with lighting, and improved access and wreath fixings. Warrington Cenotaph Bridge Foot Warrington Cheshire March 2018 Keystone Heritage Keystone Heritage Keystone Heritage 46 Stone Delf Sheffield South Yorkshire S10 3QX Tel: +44(0)78 3456 1626 Email: [email protected] Web: www.KeystoneHeritage.co.uk Cover image: Warrington Cenotaph, Bridge Foot, Cheshire © Keystone Heritage All rights in this work are reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means (including without limitation by photocopying or placing on a website) without the prior permission in writing of Keystone Heritage except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988. Applications for permission to reproduce any part of this work should be addressed to Keystone Heritage at [email protected]. Undertaking any unauthorised act in relation to this work may result in a civil claim for damages and/or criminal prosecution. Any materials used in this work that are subject to third party copyright have been reproduced under licence from the copyright owner except in the case of works of unknown authorship as defined by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988. Any person wishing to assert rights in relation to works that have been reproduced as works of unknown authorship should contact Keystone Heritage at [email protected]. Keystone Heritage asserts its moral rights to be identified as the author of this work under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988. © Keystone Heritage 2018 2 Contents Executive Summary 4 1. Introduction 5 2. Planning Context and Planning History 9 3. Outline of Proposed Works 14 4. Background History of the Application Site 19 5. Identification of Heritage Assets potentially affected by the Proposal 30 6. Significance of the Heritage Assets 34 7. Assessment of the Potential Impact of the Proposed Works on the Significance of the Heritage Assets 42 8. Conclusion 48 Appendices 49 Sources National Heritage List Summaries Letter from Andrew Ker 3 Executive Summary This Heritage Statement is written in relation to works proposed to the south bank of the River Mersey in Warrington and to the Grade II listed Warrington Cenotaph. Warrington Cenotaph stands on the south bank of the River Mersey between Warrington Bridge and the later Warrington New Bridge (dating from the mid 1980s) to the east. Following the collapse of a section of masonry river wall into the river immediately behind the curved retaining wall of the cenotaph, it was considered necessary to undertake remedial works to prevent further collapse. Investigation on site identified signs of past and potentially on-going cracking and movement of the boundary walls of the war memorial and gardens. This movement is probably caused by the collapse of the adjacent section river wall but may have been exacerbated by additional factors including insufficient original foundations or physical action by tree roots close-to and under the footings. A scheme of remedial works was therefore devised including the installation of a sheet pile retaining wall along the riverbank and improved foundations and draining drainage to the hard landscape areas of the cenotaph. Various methodologies for undertaking the works were explored but the only viable solution necessitates the temporary dis-assembly of the cenotaph in order to allow plant access to the riverbank. While there are obvious risks involved in taking down the memorial garden walls and in particular the obelisk, the work is necessary in order to secure the site and prevent further collapse in future. The opportunity is therefore being taken to include additional public benefits in the scheme including the provision of ramp access to the cenotaph site as well as sensitively designed external lighting. Improved mountings for memorial wreaths will also be provided. Mitigation measures have been offered to offset the possible disturbance of buried archaeological remains on site. While the proposed works will constitute a level of change to the Grade II structure and to the Bridge Street Conservation Area, this is considered to represent less than substantial harm and is outweighed by the public benefits offered by the scheme. As such the proposals are considered to comply with national and local planning policy. 4 1. Introduction 1.1 Location This Heritage Statement is written in relation to the Grade II listed Warrington Cenotaph. The town of Warrington is located approximately midway between Liverpool and Manchester. Historically in Lancashire, today it is the largest town in the county of Cheshire and a unitary authority area. The River Mersey runs through Warrington before reaching a broad marine estuary a short distance to the west. The river adjacent to the application site is tidal. The town’s history has been shaped by it being located at a long-standing transport hub; first by river then by canal, road and rail and, most recently, in terms of its proximity to three major motorways. Fig.1 Location of the Warrington Cenotaph on a bend of the River Mersey © Google Earth Warrington Cenotaph stands on the south bank of the River Mersey on a small headland formed by a loop of the river. The war memorial is located by the southern approach to Warrington Bridge (built 1909-15) on a site that lies between Warrington Bridge and the later Warrington New Bridge (dating from the mid 1980s) to the east. The site has subsequently become enclosed by a busy circular road formed by the junction of the A49 (Wilderspool Causeway) and the A5061 (Knutsford Road). The area to the north of the cenotaph site, including Warrington Bridge, was designated as the Bridge Street Conservation Area by Warrington Borough Council in 1980. The cenotaph site was included in the conservation area following an appraisal of the area in 2006. 5 Fig.2 Warrington Cenotaph located on the south bank at Bridge Foot © Google Earth 1.2 Circumstances of this Report Following the collapse of a section of masonry river wall into the River Mersey immediately behind the curved retaining wall of the cenotaph between the two bridges, Aspin Consulting were commissioned to investigate and report on the structural failure. Their findings were presented in their ‘Options Appraisal Report on River Mersey Embankment, Warrington (Ref. AC 2673/RiverMersey/002) and subsequent addendum report. The report noted that ground to the rear of the collapsed section of wall appeared unstable and was unsupported. In addition, the boundary walls of the adjacent war memorial and gardens were exhibiting signs of past and potentially on-going cracking and movement. The report explained that failure of the memorial wall was not necessarily caused by the collapse of the adjacent section river wall itself; other possible causes included insufficient original foundations, physical action by tree roots close-to and under the footings, as well as the on- going slippage of soils between the war memorial and the failed section of river wall. The report by Aspin Consulting concluded that doing nothing was not a realistic option and recommended that remedial works were required to support the failing section of river bank. The report suggested that the river wall be rebuilt to act as an effective retaining structure, to protect from and prevent further erosion/failure of the soils of the riverbank, and to support the ground upon which the war memorial and gardens stand. Further structural inspection by 6 Ramboll in 2018 confirmed on-going movement as a result of which the rebuilding of the failed section of river wall has been recommended. Various options for carrying out the work were explored and a solution proposed. The scheme is being delivered by Balfour Beatty who have engaged with specialist structural engineering consultants Ramboll UK Ltd. Ramboll have commissioned Keystone Heritage to produce a heritage statement in support of the application for listed building consent for the proposed dismantling and rebuilding of the listed structure. 1.3 Methodology A site visit was made on 5 February 2018 to assess the impact of the proposed works on the significance of the cenotaph and on the Bridge Street Conservation Area, and to make a photographic record of the site. A desk-based search has subsequently been undertaken of all reasonably available documentary and historical sources relating to the site, a list of which is included here as an appendix. This report has been prepared to current industry standards in the context of current planning legislation, national and local planning policy, as well as guidance from Historic England, the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists, and the Institute of Historic Building Conservation. Particular attention has been paid to Historic England advice entitled The Conservation, Repair and Management of War Memorials published by Historic England in June 2015 and Conservation and Management of War Memorial Landscapes published by Historic England in January 2016. This guidance describes current best practice on the understanding, assessment, planning and implementation of conservation work to memorials as well as their on-going maintenance and protection. Guidance on external lighting schemes contained in External Lighting for Historic Buildings, published by English Heritage in April 2007 has also been taken into account. 1.4 Scope of this Heritage Statement The Heritage Statement outlines the relevant planning context and planning history for the application site. It then provides a summary of the proposed works. The next section presents the historical background to the site and its immediate surroundings. A separate archaeological desk based assessment by LP Heritage is submitted as part of the application therefore its contents are not covered here. The background history is followed by an assessment of which heritage assets in the vicinity of the cenotaph are likely to be affected by the proposed work.