AN ARCHITECTURAL WALKING TOUR OF LIVERPOOL

Herbert James Rowse is the architect for the, Grade II Listed,1 George’s Dock Ventilation and Control Station [1], the Mersey Tunnel as well as five other ventilation towers dotted around Liverpool and the Wirral (1925-1934).2 The building features on the tour in close proximity to the ‘Three Graces’ (behind the Port of Liverpool building when viewing from the Pier Head).  It sits upon the main dock road in Liverpool (The Strand), although the main entrance does not open onto The Strand.  This is because when it was built Liverpool’s overhead railway stretched along the length of the dock road from Seaforth to Dingle.3 Unfortunately the railway was removed in 1956 and the area is now dominated by vehicular traffic [1], Quentin Hughes describes the situation: 

“Until recently the long red thread of Europe’s first overhead railway drew a latticed line across the backs of these buildings and their fine adjoining tower of Herbert Rowse’s Mersey Tunnel ventilating shaft.  The railway has now gone, leaving an impressive motor road of dimensions quite unusual to our cities.” 4

Liverpool’s overhead railway [2] predates this building, the closure of George’s Dock and the construction of the ‘Three Graces’. At the time it was opened, in 1893, it was the first electric elevated railway in the world, known as ‘The Dockers’ Umbrella’  because it protected the dock workers from bad weather.  It was extended in 1893 in both directions, north towards Seaforth and south towards Dingle.5 The initial concept for the overhead railway was first proposed by John Grantham in 1852 but the idea was rejected on multiple occasions.  It was not until 1870 when New York (America) opened the worlds first elevated railway that George Fosbery Lyster took on the project and sent numerous proposals to the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board.  Eventually the proposal passed a bill before parliament where it needed to be presented as government funding was required, the work commenced in 1890.6  Unfortunately the railway no longer exists as Hughes explains:

”Sadly, the overhead railway became uneconomical and called for a large sum to repair the rusting ravages of time which had eaten into the steel work, so, in 1956, it was closed down and soon demolished.  Only memories remain which is a shame because, had it been retained there is no doubt it would have become a major tourist attraction.” 7

Liverpool’s Mersey tunnel by Rowse is another achievement, at the time of completion in 1934 it was the longest underwater tunnel in the world, Bayley describes his initial opinion of it when discussing Herbert Rowse’s work:

“But the most distinctive of all is surely the Mersey Tunnel, one of the strangest ‘buildings’ in the world opened on 18 July 1934.  At 3.4 kilometres (2.13 miles), it was at the time the longest underwater tunnel in the world.  I remember now with a mixture of fascination and terror its cream ceramic tiles, its distinctive smell and strange Art Deco detailing.” 8

Bayley also considers Rowse one of the most significant architects at the time but he feels that he is somewhat overlooked, mentioning Rowse’s India Buildings, Mersey Tunnel  and Philharmonic Hall, Bayley explains:

”On the evidence of these three edifices alone Herbert J. Rowse may be one of the most neglected great architects of the mid-20th century.” 9

Regarding the Mersey Tunnel, Rowse was invited to be the architect after the ‘building’ had begun.  This was something that Charles Herbert Reilly (Rowse’s former tutor at the Liverpool School of Architecture) considered to be a mistake, suggesting that an architect should have been involved from the start.10  In Quentin Hughes’ book Liverpool: City of Architecture, he quotes Reilly: 

“The engineer too often feels he can cover up his mistakes by calling in an architect to add pretty things to hide them”11

As well as working on the tunnel, Rowse produced the designs for the original toll booths [3] which has since been replaced. There is one visible next to the building at George’s Dock, the green colour is notable as it appears on much of Rowse’s work.12

The building featuring on the tour, George’s Dock Ventilation and Control station, is constructed of Portland stone similar to the Mersey Tunnel entrance.  Featuring many sculptural elements which is of significance because it was a time when young architects were being deterred from using such details on their architecture.  However Rowse was standing against this which is evident in his architecture: 

“At a time when most of the young architects influenced by the Modern Movement in architecture were stripping their buildings of all decoration following the dictates of Adolf Loos laid down in his book on Ornament and Crime, Rowse was constantly searching for a new form of decoration trying, wherever possible, to avoid Classical detail based on Greece and Rome.” 13

The sculptures were produced by Edmund C. Thompson who was assisted by George T. Capstick.  Sharples explains:

”On the west front, a figure with helmet and goggles represents speed, and black basalt statues of Night and Day in niches allude to the ever-open tunnel [4]; on the north and south fronts, four panels illustrate Civil Engineering, Construction, Architecture and Decoration.” 14

It has been suggested that design of these sculptures may also have been influenced by Egyptian drawings and hieroglyphics, this is due to the fact the building was designed around the time that the tomb of Tutankhamun was discovered.  Focusing on the figure in the centre of the building you will notice that it appears to be a female with a helmet and goggles on a motorcycle, this is depicting speed. It is suggested that the figure is modelled on Amy Johnson  who was a great aviator in the 1920’s and  1930’s.  Beneath this are two horses, possibly depicting horsepower or referencing that when the  tunnel first opened horse-drawn carriages were permitted to us it [4].15

Commenting on the material selection - Sharples:

“This tower and the one in North John Street were faced in Portland stone, in consideration of their setting in the heart of the city’s business district, while brick was used for the others.” 16 

The building was bombed during the Second World War and had to be virtually rebuilt, 1951-1952.  This was oversaw by Rowse.  Inside the building are offices but more importantly the extraction fans for the tunnel, the original fans and pumps from the 1930’s are still in use today.17