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| Liverpool mansion opens for first time in 40 years - to encourage more people to read | Liverpool mansion opens for first time in 40 years - to encourage more people to read |
| (4 months later) | |
| 'Private' notices and locked gates are not very loveable but there is something to be said for the inaccessible in an age when so much is open and within reach. | 'Private' notices and locked gates are not very loveable but there is something to be said for the inaccessible in an age when so much is open and within reach. |
| Anyone who has been to the desolate ruins of Imber on Salisbury Plain when the forlorn little church is opened occasionally by the Army gunnery range authorities, will appreciate the feeling. Or Tyneham beach in Dorset. Or those few stately homes where admission is rare and only granted to members of heritage or arts clubs. | Anyone who has been to the desolate ruins of Imber on Salisbury Plain when the forlorn little church is opened occasionally by the Army gunnery range authorities, will appreciate the feeling. Or Tyneham beach in Dorset. Or those few stately homes where admission is rare and only granted to members of heritage or arts clubs. |
| Now Liverpool has come up with a cracking example: the Mansion House in Calderstones Park which has not been open to the public for 40 years. That will change on Friday 12 and Saturday 13 April, between 10am and 3pm, when the doors will open again. | Now Liverpool has come up with a cracking example: the Mansion House in Calderstones Park which has not been open to the public for 40 years. That will change on Friday 12 and Saturday 13 April, between 10am and 3pm, when the doors will open again. |
| There's no need to rush in one sense, because the event is the prelude to a new life for the mansion which was a favourite resort in the city for years in times past. Following the four Cinderella decades as council offices, the task of revival has fallen to the charity the Reader Organisation, which won a bidding process organised by Liverpool's Labour city council as a means of bringing the historic buildings back into wider use. | There's no need to rush in one sense, because the event is the prelude to a new life for the mansion which was a favourite resort in the city for years in times past. Following the four Cinderella decades as council offices, the task of revival has fallen to the charity the Reader Organisation, which won a bidding process organised by Liverpool's Labour city council as a means of bringing the historic buildings back into wider use. |
| And what good use; there was concern initially about selling the family silver when the council announced the bidding a year ago. But the charity wants to get everyone reading and enjoying books and other literature, both the easily accessible and works which have the formidable reputation of being 'classics' but can become page-turners if those new to them are encouraged and persist. The group runs more than 350 Get into Reading groups and its Liverpool home will encourage more. | And what good use; there was concern initially about selling the family silver when the council announced the bidding a year ago. But the charity wants to get everyone reading and enjoying books and other literature, both the easily accessible and works which have the formidable reputation of being 'classics' but can become page-turners if those new to them are encouraged and persist. The group runs more than 350 Get into Reading groups and its Liverpool home will encourage more. |
| The Mansion House itself could hardly be more closely entwined with Liverpool's history, built initially in 1828 by a lead shot manufacturer Joseph Need Walker, but then passing into the hands of the most celebrated of all the shipowning families, The MacIvers of Cunard. It also has the distinction of starting a new career in municipal hands as early as 1902, not long after the equally enlightened purchase of Roundhay Park and mansion by Leeds city council on the other side of the Pennines. | The Mansion House itself could hardly be more closely entwined with Liverpool's history, built initially in 1828 by a lead shot manufacturer Joseph Need Walker, but then passing into the hands of the most celebrated of all the shipowning families, The MacIvers of Cunard. It also has the distinction of starting a new career in municipal hands as early as 1902, not long after the equally enlightened purchase of Roundhay Park and mansion by Leeds city council on the other side of the Pennines. |
| In its new guise it was widely used and appreciated with a further chapter during the Second World War when it housed the Armed Forces Holidays At Home programme which tackled morale by giving breaks to families during the chaos of the Blitz and all-out war. The organisers added a covered stage in the garden which was well-used and much-appreciated until 1970. Thereafter, it began its long hibernation as council offices. | In its new guise it was widely used and appreciated with a further chapter during the Second World War when it housed the Armed Forces Holidays At Home programme which tackled morale by giving breaks to families during the chaos of the Blitz and all-out war. The organisers added a covered stage in the garden which was well-used and much-appreciated until 1970. Thereafter, it began its long hibernation as council offices. |
| The mansion and its associated coach house and stable yard will become the International Centre for Reading and Wellbeing with charity supported by with Mersey Care NHS and the Centre for Research into Reading and Information Linguistic Systems at Liverpool University. | The mansion and its associated coach house and stable yard will become the International Centre for Reading and Wellbeing with charity supported by with Mersey Care NHS and the Centre for Research into Reading and Information Linguistic Systems at Liverpool University. |
| Jane Davis, director of the Reader Organisation says: | Jane Davis, director of the Reader Organisation says: |
| We understand that The Mansion House is a much loved Liverpool landmark – and we love it too. Our vision is to create a space where everyone is welcome to read, learn, play, make new friends and find new opportunities. We're looking forward to welcoming people into the Mansion House. | We understand that The Mansion House is a much loved Liverpool landmark – and we love it too. Our vision is to create a space where everyone is welcome to read, learn, play, make new friends and find new opportunities. We're looking forward to welcoming people into the Mansion House. |
| Coun Malcolm Kennedy, Liverpool's cabinet member for regeneration, says: | Coun Malcolm Kennedy, Liverpool's cabinet member for regeneration, says: |
| They have some fantastic ideas which we believe will breathe new life into the building and make it a focal point for the community. We are now working together on a series of events in Calderstones Park, which will give more people the chance to set foot inside this historic building, find out more about the plans and share their own ideas. All of our public events will feed into our work to make sure The Mansion House, and the wider park, is a vibrant and exciting place to visit. | They have some fantastic ideas which we believe will breathe new life into the building and make it a focal point for the community. We are now working together on a series of events in Calderstones Park, which will give more people the chance to set foot inside this historic building, find out more about the plans and share their own ideas. All of our public events will feed into our work to make sure The Mansion House, and the wider park, is a vibrant and exciting place to visit. |
| The open days include reading taster sessions, story-time and crafts for children and, importantly, tea, pop and cake. There'll be live music from the Shirley Performing Arts Band on the forecourt between 1-2pm on the Friday and all other details are here. | The open days include reading taster sessions, story-time and crafts for children and, importantly, tea, pop and cake. There'll be live music from the Shirley Performing Arts Band on the forecourt between 1-2pm on the Friday and all other details are here. |
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