Our Communications and Media Manager looks after the press and marketing for the Society. Marie works alongside our Director and Conservation Advisers to protect Victorian and Edwardian buildings and structures in England and Wales. She runs the Top Ten Endangered Buildings campaign each year from nomination stage through to placing stories in the media. Marie also sits on the LISSCA Committee and works promoting our campaigns. She also looks after the monthly newsletter.
Would you like to organise events for the The Victorian Society?
Do you love visiting Victorian and Edwardian heritage or hearing talks about it? Would you like to organise visits to places the public don’t ordinarily get to see? If so,...
Network Rail urged not to demolish rare surviving Victorian ticket office in Northumberland
At a time when the RMT union and rail users are campaigning to retain ticket offices across the UK, Northumberland County Council has approved plans to demolish a historic survivor...
The Victorian Society secures listing for Norman Evill house in Stanwix Carlisle
Grade II, Norman Evill, 1902 Barn Close is an outstanding Arts and Crafts house, designed by Norman Evill in close collaboration with its original occupiers Edwin and Maud Scott-Nicholson. Edwin...
The Victorian Society secures listing for the oldest surviving cricket pavilion in the country located at a first-class cricket ground
Liverpool Cricket Club’s main pavilion has been listed at Grade II by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, following advice from Historic England. The listing recognises the pavilion’s special...
City of London must refuse permission for tower over the top of listed Victorian Turkish Baths to avoid being branded failing on heritage protection
The Victorian Society is urging the City of London to reject plans to cantilever a tower over a listed Victorian Turkish bath house – the exterior of which is covered...
Latest edition of The Victorian is out now – July 2023
The July 2023 edition of The Victorian is devoted to interior decoration. Arriving on our members’ doormats is the latest copy of The Victorian. The July 2023 edition is devoted...
Fire at Ushaw involving Grade II* St Aloysius Chapel and the Ushaw Junior House
Statement from Joe O’Donnell, Director, The Victorian Society following the fire at Ushaw near Durham. County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service received reports of a fire at the...
The Victorian Society secures listing for eye-catching former bank in Gateshead
A second success this summer in the north of England for the listings team is the former Lloyds Bank at 15 West Street, Gateshead. This monumental building in the Edwardian...
Griff Rhys Jones launches 2023 Top Ten Endangered Buildings list
The Top Ten Endangered Victorian and Edwardian Buildings list 2023 has been revealed by the The Victorian Society’s President. The full list is here. All the buildings in the Top...
Revealed: nation’s Top Ten most endangered buildings 2012
A shocking legacy of neglect and mistreatment The top ten include Ipswich’s blighted and vandalised former County Hall and an atmospheric Essex church abandoned twenty years ago and left to...
Liverpool Street Station listing revisions should spell end for demolition plans
Liverpool Street Station and the Great former Eastern Hotel now have revised listings that include most of the 90s redevelopment The Victorian Society is delighted that Liverpool Street Station’s list...
Defeat for Bath’s heritage as Abbey pew removal is permitted
The Chancellor of the Diocese of Bath and Wells has granted permission for Bath Abbey to permanently remove its fine nave pews, despite opposition from The Victorian Society. This follows...
The Victorian Society’s 2019 Top 10 Endangered Buildings
An overview of 2019’s Top 10 Most Endangered Buildings National architecture charity the The Victorian Society has released their annual Top 10 Most Endangered Buildings List, which highlights the most...
News
Complete list of news items LISSCA sends letter to the Editor of The Times 10 May 2023 Could you be our next Chair of the Board of Trustees? 05...
Griff Rhys Jones and heritage campaigners to ask Michael Gove to decide Liverpool Street Station’s future
The campaign to Save Liverpool Street Station (LISSCA) will ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Michael Gove, to ‘call in’ plans to partially demolish Liverpool...
LISSCA sends letter to the Editor of The Times
The Victorian Society and LISSCA campaign President Griff Rhys Jones wrote a letter to the editor of The Times for publication on the newspaper’s letter page. It appeared in print...
Could you be our next Chair of the Board of Trustees?
This is an exceptional opportunity for a talented individual who is enthusiastic about Victorian and Edwardian architecture. The Victorian Society has an enviable reputation for the depth of its knowledge...
The Victorian Society’s amendments removing permitted development rights for demolition debated in the House of Lords
Baroness Andrews, Lord Carrington of Fulham and Lord Shipley championed our amendments to the Levelling-Up and Regeneration Bill which would remove Permitted Development Rights for demolition. The amendments, detailed below,...
Book tickets for our AGM weekend and discover Bath’s Victorian heritage this October
This October (6th to 8th) join us in Bath for our AGM weekend and the opportunity to discover the city’s Victorian heritage. Friday has an optional morning visit to the...
The Victorian Society encourages people to object to insensitive 10 storey tower at Gloucester’s historic docks
The Victorian Society has objected to plans to redevelop the Grade II listed former Downings Malthouse. The plans would heavily alter what survives of the listed buildings, with new residential...
The Victorian Society encourages people to object to insensitive 10 storey tower at Gloucester’s historic docks
The Victorian Society has objected to plans to redevelop the Grade II listed former Downings Malthouse. The plans would heavily alter what survives of the listed buildings, with new residential...
City of London’s protection of heritage and the environment questioned as tower overshadowing Leadenhall Market approved
The Victorian Society objected to plans for a 32-storey tower in Leadenhall Market Conservation Area which will loom over one of the city’s architectural jewels – the 1881 Grade II*...
Rent office space at our Grade II listed headquarters in Chiswick, London
Do you know a charity or small business that could rent an office space at our Grade II listed headquarters at 1 Priory Gardens, Chiswick, London? The office space for...
The Victorian Society objects to insensitive redevelopment of historic brewery maltings in Dorchester
The Victorian Society is urging the public to object to insensitive plans to re-develop the 1879 Grade II Maltings building in the Dorchester conservation area to create 46 flats. The...
The Victorian Society’s climate emergency push to require planning permission for demolition
Baroness Andrews has put forward the The Victorian Society’s amendment to the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill to require planning permission for demolishing buildings. Shockingly most buildings can currently be demolished...
The latest Victorian magazine is now available to our members
The March edition of the Society’s magazine is published and is devoted to the charity’s newly established Young Victorians group with the main features written by authors aged under 30....
The Victorian Society’s climate emergency push to require planning permission for demolition
Baroness Andrews has put forward the The Victorian Society’s amendment to the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill to require planning permission for demolishing buildings. Shockingly most buildings can currently be demolished...
Annual Appeal 2023: Save Liverpool Street Station!
As many of you will know by now, Liverpool Street Station and the grade II* former Great Eastern Hotel, face a grave threat. Network Rail and Sellar, the property developer...
The Victorian Society seeks listing for historic Somerset rectory designed by famous architects to prevent its demolition
The Victorian Society is urging the public to object to plans to partially demolish a Victorian rectory in Shepton Mallet, Somerset designed by a famous architect F. C. Penrose who was President...
The Victorian Society seeks listing for historic Somerset rectory designed by famous architects to prevent its demolition
The Victorian Society is urging the public to object to plans to partially demolish a Victorian rectory in Shepton Mallet, Somerset designed by a famous architect F. C. Penrose who...
The Victorian Society seeks listing for historic West Sussex rectory designed by a famous architect to prevent demolition
The Victorian Society is urging the public to object to plans to demolish an Edwardian rectory designed by a famous architect in the seaside village of Apuldram, West Sussex. The...
Little Barford Manor House in Bedfordshire successfully listed
The Victorian Society Conservation adviser wrote in support of this listing We are delighted that Little Barford Manor House in Bedfordshire has been listed. Our conservation adviser Connor McNeill wrote...
Tettenhall Court one of the finest Arts and Crafts houses in Wolverhampton successfully listed
Tettenhall Court is one of the finest Arts and Crafts houses in Wolverhampton. The house was completed in 1914 to designs by local architect William Weller. The Victorian Society’s West...
Birmingham City University Wins 2022 West Midlands Conservation Award
The Birmingham & West Midlands Group of the The Victorian Society has announced its eighth annual conservation award which goes to Birmingham City University, in recognition of the City University’s...
The Victorian Society objects to plans to demolish historic carriage showrooms in Manchester
The Victorian Society is urging the public to object to plans to demolish Reedham House, a grade II listed part of a historic carriage works in Garden Lane, Manchester and...
Relaunched Liverpool Street Station Campaign names Griff Rhys Jones as President and asks public to sign petition
The campaign’s slogan: SEE IT, SAY IT, SAVE IT! All aboard!! Sign the petition here! The public can donate to the Society’s Liverpool Street Station fighting fund here. The Victorian...
The Pevsner Architectural Guides in the 21st Century
Join The Victorian Society for its new series of seven online talks The Pevsner Architectural Guides in the 21st Century given by the highly accomplished and authoritative Pevsner authors themselves...
The Pevsner Architectural Guides in the 21st Century
Join The Victorian Society for its new series of seven online talks The Pevsner Architectural Guides in the 21st Century given by the highly accomplished and authoritative Pevsner authors themselves...
Liverpool Street Station Development Consultation Begins in London
The Liverpool Street Station development consultation has begun in London. There is a two day exhibition organised by Network Rail, developer Sellar and MTR, an operator of rail transport services,...
The Victorian Society welcomes the charity’s new Media and Communications Manager
The Victorian Society is delighted to welcome Marie Clements as Communications and Media Manager. The Victorian Society is delighted to welcome Marie Clements as Communications and Media Manager. Marie has...
Don’t miss your chance to object to demolition plans at Liverpool Street Station!
The Victorian Society is urging the public to respond to a public consultation to object to proposals to partially demolish Liverpool Street Station. The Victorian Society also plans to reform...
The Victorian Society urges Westminster Council not to remove historic gaslights
The Victorian Society has responded to a consultation on the proposed removal of gaslights in Westminster The Victorian Society has written to Westminster Council expressing its concerns with the plans...
The Victorian Society AGM in Nottingham
Date: Fri 30 September-Sun 2 October 2022 Please join us on Fri 30 September – Sun 2 October 2022 for our first in person annual general meeting (AGM) weekend since...
Political chaos must not delay plans to restore the Palace of Westminster
The Victorian Society has written to over 600 MPs and 60 Lords urging them to use debates this week on 12/13 July to push for a firm timeline for the...
Ipswich Museum under threat from historically insensitive redevelopment
Insensitive redevelopment of Ipswich Museum threatens rare survival of Victorian curation The Grade II listed Ipswich Museum, designed by Horace Cheston in 1880 for Ipswich Corporation, has been awarded funding...
Nominations open for the 2022 Top Ten Endangered Buildings List
Nominations for our annual Top 10 Endangered Buildings campaign are now open! The Victorian Society’s annual Top 10 Endangered Buildings campaign puts a spotlight on England and Wales’s most dilapidated...
Listing Success in Manchester
Former Union Bank, Heywood, Manchester, receives Grade II listing. Historic England has added the Former Union Bank of Manchester, Heywood, to the National Heritage List for England, after our former...
Young Victorian Committee Elected
Congratulations to our newly elected Young Victorians Committee. Votes are in for our Young Victorians election. Congratulations to Jake Scott elected Chair, Oliver Lane Vice Chair and Committee Members Ashley...
Sandwell Council Presented The Victorian Society’s West Midlands Group’s Conservation Award
On Thursday 28th April, Her Majesty’s Deputy Lieutenant for the West Midlands, Mr John Wood, presented Sandwell Council with the The Victorian Society’s Birmingham and West Midlands Group’s 2019 Conservation...
The Victorian Society comments ‘should not be brushed aside’ says judge in Birmingham skyscraper challenge
Proposed high-rise development raises major concerns over the impact on Birmingham’s historic buildings. The Victorian Society is delighted that the High Court has clearly stated that its views ‘should not...
Victorian society expresses concerns over proposed planning changes
The Victorian Society Director Joe O’Donnell responds to proposed changes to the planning system. The Victorian Society Director Joe O’Donnell has responded to proposed changes to the planning system put...
Listing success for The Victorian Society’s Leicester Group
The Leicester Group of the The Victorian Society have succeeded in having the Former Hydraulic Power Station in Leicester Grade II-listed. Following an application by the Leicester Group of the...
Listing success for The Victorian Society’s Leicester Group
The Leicester Group of the The Victorian Society have succeeded in having the Former “Home for Penitent Females” Grade II-listed. Following an application by the Leicester Group of the The...
The Victorian Society’s Top 10 Most Endangered Buildings list 2020
Our Top 10 Endangered Buildings list highlights at-risk heritage all over the country in the hope of finding new solutions. Please support our fight to protect our precious historic buildings...
Win for the The Victorian Society as Liverpool zip wire blocked after our legal challenge
The Mayor of Liverpool has blocked plans to build an intrusive zip wire attraction in the heart of Liverpool’s historic civic buildings. The plans, which had received planning permission at...
Joe O’Donnell appointed new Director of the The Victorian Society
The Victorian Society is very pleased to announce Joe O’Donnell as its new Director. Professor Hilary Grainger, Chair of the Society said: ‘On behalf of the trustees, it gives me...
The Victorian Society legal challenge to Liverpool Council’s zip wire decision
An application was filed on Friday to request leave for a judicial review into Liverpool City Council’s decision to allow a zip wire in the heart of Liverpool’s World Heritage...
The Victorian Society slams Liverpool Council’s approval of zip wire
The Victorian Society deplores the recent decision of Liverpool City Council to grant planning permission for a zip wire between St John’s Beacon and the Central Library building. Tom Taylor,...
VicSoc Welsh Heritage Day in Cardiff Saturday 3 September
Join the The Victorian Society at Cardiff City Hall for a plethora of talks about Welsh Victorian and Edwardian architecture from heritage experts, celebrity guests and our Vic Soc team....
The Victorian Society celebrates as plans are approved to finally restore Smithfield Market
Plans to transform the historic market into the Museum of London have been officially approved. This news has been a long time coming for The Victorian Society, who fought in...
The Victorian Society urges councils and owners to protect historic buildings from arson
Following yet another major blaze at a listed building, pressure mounts on councils to do more to protect our precious historic buildings. The Victorian Society warns councils that we face...
The Victorian Society condemns Birmingham police station’s needless destruction
A characterful Victorian police station in Birmingham imminently faces the wrecking ball. The historic structure, built by prominent architects, is deemed ‘inconvenient’ – standing in the way of a road-widening...
Partial demolition plans for St Joseph’s in Preston recommended for approval
Plans to tear down parts of the Grade II-listed gothic orphanage in Preston are set to go ahead. St Joseph’s Orphanage opened in 1872 on the site of an almshouse,...
The Victorian Society calls for public inquiry into losing a key part of Bristol’s waterside heritage
The Victorian Society requests a public inquiry into the Silverthorne Lane development in a final bid to save an irreplaceable part of Bristol’s industrial heritage. In September, The Victorian Society...
The Victorian Society calls for reuse of Bradford’s historic Fountain Hall
The Victorian Society urge Bradford Council to save the remains of a historic piece of Victorian architecture currently facing demolition. The Victorian Society has voiced its strong objection to plans...
The Victorian Society’s Birmingham & West Midlands Group commend restoration of Victorian school saved from demolition
The Victorian Society’s Birmingham and West Midland’s group announce their annual Conservation Award. The Victorian Society’s Birmingham and West Midland’s group have announced their annual Conservation Award to Wedge Group...
Birmingham & West Midlands group’s 2019 Conservation Award winner announced
The Birmingham & West Midlands group of The Victorian Society have named Sandwell Council as the winners of their 2019 Conservation Award for the restoration of Smethwick Council House. The...
Historic Exeter deserves better
An incongruously large development planned for Exeter would greatly overshadow the surrounding low-rise historic townscape The Victorian Society has objected to proposed plans to build two blocks on the site...
The Victorian Society winter lecture series
The Victorian Society launch a series of lectures exploring the imaginative conservation and reuse of historic buildings. The Victorian Society is offering the chance to hear leading architects such as...
The Victorian Society oppose unnecessary loss of Preston’s gothic Victorian orphanage
A historic Grade II-listed orphanage complex in Preston faces the wrecking ball to make way for a housing development. Proposals plan to demolish all of the former orphanage buildings retaining...
Who will protect Sheffield’s historic buildings from circling developers? The Victorian Society slams reports of proposal to slash planning department
The Victorian Society expresses its grave concern over reports that Sheffield City Council intends to cut up to 40 jobs within its planning department, stressing that the repercussions of these...
Fisons Factory fire
Suffolk’s historic Fisons Factory destroyed in a major fire. We are deeply saddened that an irreplaceable part of Suffolk’s heritage, the Fisons Factory, has burnt to the ground. Featured in...
The Victorian Society announce Top 10 Most Endangered Buildings 2019
Christopher Costelloe, Director of the The Victorian Society, said: “This year’s Top Ten Endangered Buildings is a particularly rich mix, with buildings of amazing quality throughout the country facing demolition...
Save the historic Watson’s Hotel Building
A key part of Mumbai’s heritage is under threat from demolition. On a hectic street in Mumbai stands the dilapidated Watson’s Building, India’s oldest surviving cast iron structure. Once a...
The Birmingham & West Midlands group of the The Victorian Society donates £2000 to Birmingham Cathedral restoration project
Funded by event ticket sales, the Birmingham and West Midlands group was able to donate £2000 to the Divine Beauty Appeal, a campaign to restore the stained-glass windows at Birmingham...
Save the Still and Star!
The historic Still & Star pub in Aldgate, dating back to the 1800s, faces demolition with a new bid to replace it with an office block. A new threat to...
Save the Still and Star!
The historic Still & Star pub in Aldgate, dating back to the 1800s, faces demolition with a new bid to replace it with an office block. A new threat to...
Presentation to winner of 2017 Conservation Award
A presentation ceremony has taken place for the winner of the The Victorian Society’s 2017 Birmingham & West Midlands Conservation Award, Green Lane Masjid. On Thursday 17 January 2019, officers...
The Victorian Society 2018 Top 10
All of the buildings on this year’s list are Grade II or Grade II* listed, and yet have been neglected for so long that they have now reached a critical...
Not over yet: The Victorian Society appeals against Bath Abbey judgement
The Victorian Society have applied for leave to appeal against the recent judgement in favour of removing the nave pews from Bath Abbey. Late last year the Chancellor of the...
Grade I St Botolph’s to keep chancel fixtures following heritage battle
Much of the Victorian interiors of the chancel of St Botolph’s Church in Longthorpe are to be retained following a protracted legal battle between the parish and The Victorian Society....
Save our gasholders! Iconic skyline at The Oval at risk of being lost
A trio of gasholders best known for providing the backdrop to The Oval cricket ground are at risk from a new planning application. The application from Berkley Homes Ltd seeks...
West Midlands Group 2017 Conservation Award winner announced
The winner of the The Victorian Society’s 2017 Birmingham & West Midlands Conservation Award has been named as the former Green Lane Public Library and Baths, now the Green Lane...
Griff Rhys Jones appointed President of the The Victorian Society
The Victorian Society is delighted to announce the appointment of Griff Rhys Jones as its new President. He will be replacing Lord Briggs of Lewes (who died in March 2016),...
Fight for Bath Abbey pews culminates in Consistory Court hearing
The Consistory Court hearing concerning the permanent removal of Bath Abbey’s pews will commence today. As part of its Footprint scheme, bolstered by £12.1 million of Heritage Lottery funding, Bath...
Save Conan Doyle’s last building from demolition
The only surviving building designed by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle could be demolished for new residential units if a planning application gets consent. Best known for his creation of world...
Irresponsible development razes Tudno Castle Hotel
The Grade II-listed Tudno Castle Hotel in Llandudno is set to be completely demolished after botched planning has left it structurally unstable. In 2014, planning permission was granted – despite...
Top Ten endangered buildings list highlights neglect outside South East
All the buildings in the Top Ten are in real risk of being lost if action is not taken in the immediate future National architectural charity the The Victorian Society...
Griff Rhys Jones launches 2015 Top Ten Endangered Buildings list
Top Ten Endangered Victorian and Edwardian Buildings in England and Wales 2015 revealed. The Victorian Society has announced the Top Ten Most Endangered Victorian and Edwardian Buildings in England...
Top Ten Most Endangered Buildings 2014 revealed
The Victorian Society annouces the Top Ten following a national appeal for nominations The Victorian Society has revealed the Top Ten Most Endangered Victorian and Edwardian Buildings in England and...
Revealed: Top Ten endangered Victorian and Edwardian buildings 2013
The Victorian Society highlights buildings at risk See full illustrated list of Top Ten endangered buildings. England and Wales’s top ten most threatened Victorian and Edwardian buildings of 2013 have...
The cemetery chapels survey
In February 2009 we called for help to document the state of cemetery chapels around the country. We heard about boarded up and derelict chapels; chapels converted into homes or...
Former South Eastern Railway offices, London
Distinctive character offices at risk from complete destruction It’s been described as London’s Flat-iron building because of its distinctive tapered end, but the former South Eastern Railway Office on Tooley...
The Victorian Society declares Manningham Pool a heritage crime scene
The Victorian Society protests at the closure of Manningham Baths as the Grade II-listed Edwardian pool finally closes its doors to swimmers. On Friday afternoon the The Victorian Society will...
Give Manningham Pool one last chance!
That’s the plea from the The Victorian Society in response to Bradford City Council’s announcement that Manningham Pool will close on Friday 8th July. The council claims that the pool...
Saturday free for all at threatened Bradford pool
Swimmers will have the opportunity to step back in time on Saturday at Bradford’s historic Manningham pool when the The Victorian Society offers them a chance to swim for free....
Historic London pool restored
Camberwell Baths in south London will officially re-open to the public this Saturday after the completion of the first stage of a £4.7 million restoration project. ‘This is a victory...
Council urged not to close historic Staffordshire pool
England’s oldest listed public swimming pool in which it is still possible to swim is at risk of closure under plans proposed by Stoke-on-Trent Council. Tunstall Pool on Greengates Street...
Campaigners fight on for London’s longest-serving pool
Local residents running a petition against the demolition of a Victorian pool in Lewisham have once again been backed by the The Victorian Society, the national charity campaigning for the...
Grand finale of 1000 Year Swim
Last week Dr Ian Dungavell successfully completed his challenge to visit all of the listed Victorian and Edwardian pools still open for public swimming in England and swim a lap...