History:
Andrew Gibson House was opened in 1906. It represents a significant stage in the development of the wider Mariners' Park for Aged Seamen. The concept behind the park was established by the Mercantile Marine Service Association which was founded in 1857 to improve the conditions and status of British ship-masters and officers. The first 2 cottage houses were opened in 1882, the same year in which the Home for Aged Seamen (later renamed Cliff House) was opened. The park has evolved since that time, including the erection of Gibson House at the beginning of the 20th C and the erection of new, some demolitions and the erection of The Hub (a block of 18 new apartments for former seamen at the beginning of the 21st C.
Gibson House was built specifically to provide accommodation for the widows of merchant Navy ship-masters and officers. It is a nationally rare example of this building type and remains as testament to welfare provision for the widows of seamen.
Gibson House was the philanthropic bequest from the son of Andrew Gibson in his father's memory. It is tangible evidence of a tradition of philanthropy at the wider site: the land for the Mariners' Park was donated by Roger Lyon Jones; the first 2 cottages were the bequest of the wife of George William Slack; Cliff House was built at the expense of the merchant William Cliff in memory of his daughter Rosa; 7 of the apartments in Gibson House were the endowments of local people or organisations associated with maritime activities and; other elements of the site were also the result of bequests.
(All information and more from the following; https://www.savebritainsheritage.or...Nautilus-not-to-sink-Mersey-maritime-landmark)
Explore;
Entrance into the site was incredibly easy along with the entrance to the 4 story building. When you enter the site, the building is just striking, you can imagine in it’s hay day, it was a masterpiece, beautiful views across the Mersey to Liverpool, the gardens, just everything about it you can imagine was beautiful.
We decided to ascend the stairs to the top floor and work our way down. Easily noticeable is just how much the building has deteriorated with vandalism and fire damage since the 2017/18 report already on the site, but it was nice to see a comparison.
There is evidence of squatters/homeless people sleeping in the building and the one way we found out was when we decided to nip out to the Wetherspoons for a toilet break, came back and what was the open door to the building was now closed, and we’d placed something in front of the door so that it didn’t shut.
Well I shall let the pictures explain and I would definitely recommend for people to get to this building if they can.
Enjoy.
Andrew Gibson House was opened in 1906. It represents a significant stage in the development of the wider Mariners' Park for Aged Seamen. The concept behind the park was established by the Mercantile Marine Service Association which was founded in 1857 to improve the conditions and status of British ship-masters and officers. The first 2 cottage houses were opened in 1882, the same year in which the Home for Aged Seamen (later renamed Cliff House) was opened. The park has evolved since that time, including the erection of Gibson House at the beginning of the 20th C and the erection of new, some demolitions and the erection of The Hub (a block of 18 new apartments for former seamen at the beginning of the 21st C.
Gibson House was built specifically to provide accommodation for the widows of merchant Navy ship-masters and officers. It is a nationally rare example of this building type and remains as testament to welfare provision for the widows of seamen.
Gibson House was the philanthropic bequest from the son of Andrew Gibson in his father's memory. It is tangible evidence of a tradition of philanthropy at the wider site: the land for the Mariners' Park was donated by Roger Lyon Jones; the first 2 cottages were the bequest of the wife of George William Slack; Cliff House was built at the expense of the merchant William Cliff in memory of his daughter Rosa; 7 of the apartments in Gibson House were the endowments of local people or organisations associated with maritime activities and; other elements of the site were also the result of bequests.
(All information and more from the following; https://www.savebritainsheritage.or...Nautilus-not-to-sink-Mersey-maritime-landmark)
Explore;
Entrance into the site was incredibly easy along with the entrance to the 4 story building. When you enter the site, the building is just striking, you can imagine in it’s hay day, it was a masterpiece, beautiful views across the Mersey to Liverpool, the gardens, just everything about it you can imagine was beautiful.
We decided to ascend the stairs to the top floor and work our way down. Easily noticeable is just how much the building has deteriorated with vandalism and fire damage since the 2017/18 report already on the site, but it was nice to see a comparison.
There is evidence of squatters/homeless people sleeping in the building and the one way we found out was when we decided to nip out to the Wetherspoons for a toilet break, came back and what was the open door to the building was now closed, and we’d placed something in front of the door so that it didn’t shut.
Well I shall let the pictures explain and I would definitely recommend for people to get to this building if they can.
Enjoy.
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