Wellington Rooms / Irish Centre, Liverpool

Wellington Rooms and Irish Centre, Liverpool

Opening in 1816 the Wellington Rooms was a subscription assembly room. Later becoming the Irish Centre before its closure in the 1990s.

Visited July 2016  UK Liverpool Derelict

Designed by Edmund Aikin, the neo-classical Wellington Rooms is located within an important Georgian conservation area and cultural quarter of Liverpool. Built between 1815-1816 as a subscription assembly room the building quickly became the centre of fashionable Liverpool life. The Wellington Club was wound up in 1923 but the Rooms continued to function as a social club and place of entertainment throughout the 20th Century, being known in succession as the Embassy Rooms, Rodney Rooms and Rodney Youth Centre. The building lastly became the Irish Centre, which finally closed in the late 1990s.

Front of the Wellington Rooms / Irish Centre in Liverpool
Front of the Wellington Rooms / Irish Centre in Liverpool

Since closure the lease of the building was passed to a property developer. Their proposed project to convert the Welling Rooms into a hotel was declined as too much of the building’s integrity and remaining features would be lost. The building is still disused and although emergency repairs have been made the interior features and ornamental plasterwork remain at risk.

Wellington Rooms / Irish Centre, Liverpool - The entrance is a grand rotunda
Wellington Rooms / Irish Centre, Liverpool – The entrance is a grand rotunda
Wellington Rooms / Irish Centre, Liverpool - Doors lead to two bar areas from the round entrance lobby
Wellington Rooms / Irish Centre, Liverpool – Doors lead to two bar areas from the round entrance lobby
Wellington Rooms / Irish Centre, Liverpool - The stage in the grand ballroom
Wellington Rooms / Irish Centre, Liverpool – The stage in the grand ballroom
Wellington Rooms / Irish Centre, Liverpool - View from stage showing the amazing ceiling
Wellington Rooms / Irish Centre, Liverpool – View from stage showing the amazing ceiling
Wellington Rooms / Irish Centre, Liverpool - The ballroom could be used as a theatre
Wellington Rooms / Irish Centre, Liverpool – The ballroom could be used as a theatre
Wellington Rooms - Side view of the ballroom
Wellington Rooms – Side view of the ballroom
 
Wellington Rooms - Decay and peely paint
Wellington Rooms – Decay and peely paint
Wellington Rooms / Irish Centre, Liverpool - One of the two bars - The All Ireland Bar
Wellington Rooms / Irish Centre, Liverpool – One of the two bars – The All Ireland Bar
Wellington Rooms / Irish Centre, Liverpool - View down the bar
Wellington Rooms / Irish Centre, Liverpool – View down the bar
Wellington Rooms / Irish Centre, Liverpool - The Kennedy Room was JFK-themed
Wellington Rooms / Irish Centre, Liverpool – The Kennedy Room was JFK-themed
Wellington Rooms / Irish Centre, Liverpool - The pictures above the bar are painted onto the wall
Wellington Rooms / Irish Centre, Liverpool – The pictures above the bar are painted onto the wall
Wellington Rooms - A picture of John F Kennedy
Wellington Rooms – A picture of John F Kennedy
 
Wellington Rooms - Other side rooms in a state of disrepair
Other side rooms in a state of disrepair

How it used to look

Some archive photos of The Irish Centre showing how it used to look.

How it used to look - Historic photo of the All Irish Bar.
The All Irish Bar

 

How it used to look - Historic photo of the ballroom
The grand ballroom

The Kennedy Room used to be the Claddash Room, and the decaying room above was once the Crock of Gold Giftshop.

How it used to look - Historic photo of the Claddash Room
The Claddash Room

 

How it used to look - Historic photo of the Crock of Gold Giftshop
Crock of Gold Giftshop

Author: Andy Kay | Facebook | Flickr | Instagram

4 thoughts on Wellington Rooms / Irish Centre, Liverpool

  1. Each time I walk past the Wellington Rooms I hear echoes of Saturday mornings at the Irish Centre which were a delight. A big cooked breakfast and the newspapers while the children learned Irish Dance, the fiddle , whistle, songs whatever they wanted . All taking place in the grand rooms of the Wellington Rooms now disused..

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