One of the city's grandest and most loved buildings left derelict for decades was once a thriving youth club filled with Liverpool's street kids.
The Wellington Rooms on Mount Pleasant in Liverpool city centre was built between 1815 and 1816. The 200-year old Neo-Classical gem was most recently home to the city's Irish Centre before closing in 1997.
Originally built as an assembly room for the Wellington Club, the Grade II* listed building was used for high society parties and dance balls. During this time, its grand rooms were the playground of the most well-to-do members of Liverpool society.
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Such was the building's opulence enjoyed by its exclusive clientele, it was once referred to as a 'temple of vanity' in a newspaper report at the time. After the Wellington Club wound up in 1922, it became the Embassy Club and was used for tea dances, classes and weddings.
During the early years of World War Two, the building became home to the Rodney Youth Centre. Known as 'the street corner with a roof', children were encouraged to play in the relative safety of the building and away from city's unsanitary alleyways and dangerous bomb sites. However, the building was badly hit during The Blitz in 1941, with bombs damaging all of the original ceilings with the exception of the ballroom
Incredible archive photos from the Getty image libraries provide a vivid visual account of how the Rodney Youth Centre was a haven for children in post-war Liverpool. Many of the fascinating images show the children playing table tennis as well as boxing and wrestling inside the building.
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Other photographs show the centre's influential warden, Stella Baker, going out into the crumbling ruins of Liverpool in the years following the war, trying to encourage children off the streets. But the youth centre wasn't just for the younger children - it was also a place for teenagers to meet up and partake in activities such as music lessons and dancing.
Rodney Youth Centre eventually moved its location to the former Ritz Roller Rink building in Mulberry Street in 1962. In 1965, the Wellington Rooms became home to the Liverpool Irish Centre until its closure in 1997.
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Following the closure of the Liverpool Irish Centre, the building fell derelict and was placed on the national Heritage at Risk Register in 1999. Emergency repairs were approved in November 2016 and emergency works began in February 2018.
Click the image gallery below to enjoy 23 fascinating photos of children playing at the Rodney Youth Centre
Do these awaken any memories for you? Let us know in the comments section below.
In recent years, the building has been a regular destination for urban explorers fascinated by the echo of its former splendour still evident in its crumbling rooms and hallways. Despite a public consultation in 2018, the future of the building remains uncertain.
