Royal Insurance Building, Liverpool
Encyclopedia
The Royal Insurance Building is located at 1–9 North John Street, Liverpool
, Merseyside
, England. It was built as the head office of the Royal Insurance Company, but became disused in the late 1980s. Its condition deteriorated so much that it was placed on English Heritage
's Buildings at Risk Register. Plans have been approved for its conversion into a hotel.
. The assessor for the competition was Norman Shaw
, who was retained as an advisory architect for the project, but it is uncertain what part he played in it. The building is constructed around a steel frame, and is one of the earliest uses of this technique. It ceased to be used by the late 1980s, and suffered damage by water and dry rot
. By the 2000s its condition was such that it was placed on English Heritage's Buildings at Risk Register. In 2009 plans to convert it into a hotel were approved.
, with a granite
basement and ground floor. Its architecture is described as "sumptious Neo-Baroque
on the grandest scale". The building is in four storeys with a basement and an attic. Its long front on North John Street has eleven bays
, with three bays on Dale Street. The ground floor and basement are rusticated
. The windows are three-light sash window
s with round heads. Those on the first floor have Gibbs surround
s and iron balconies. In the second and third floors the windows are recessed behind a Doric
colonnade
and entablature
. In the attic are dormer
s. Some of these have architrave
s, keystone
s, and either segmental or triangular pediment
s; the others are flat-topped and contain casement window
s. The entrance is on the second bay from the left in North John Street. The doorway has Doric columns and is round-headed. The first floor contains a round-headed window surrounded by a portico
with a broken segmental pediment containing carved figures. Above this bay rises a three-stage campanile
bearing an octagonal cupola
with a gilded
dome. On the Dale Street façade is a Venetian window. The second floor contains a frieze
designed by C. J. Allen
depicting themes relating to insurance. At the corners of this front are octagonal turret
s with cupolas and finial
s. Between the turrets at attic level are three round-headed windows with rusticated Ionic
pilaster
s, an entablature, and an iron balcony.
The interior contains the former General Office on the ground floor which, because of the steel frame, is free from any columns. Above this, the former Board Room has a tunnel vault
. Both rooms are decorated with stucco
in 17th-century style. The building has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade II* listed building.
There is an earlier Royal Insurance Building, dating from 1839, in nearby Queen Avenue, also Grade II* listed.
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
, England. It was built as the head office of the Royal Insurance Company, but became disused in the late 1980s. Its condition deteriorated so much that it was placed on English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
's Buildings at Risk Register. Plans have been approved for its conversion into a hotel.
History
The building was constructed between 1896 and 1903 as the head office of the Royal Insurance Company. The design was the result of a competition won by James F. DoyleJames Francis Doyle
-Buildings:* Albion House Liverpool.* Royal Insurance Building, Liverpool.* St Ambrose.* Outpatient department, Liverpool Royal Infirmary. * St Barnabas, Mossley Hill.* Grand Hotel -References:...
. The assessor for the competition was Norman Shaw
Richard Norman Shaw
Richard Norman Shaw RA , was an influential Scottish architect from the 1870s to the 1900s, known for his country houses and for commercial buildings.-Life:...
, who was retained as an advisory architect for the project, but it is uncertain what part he played in it. The building is constructed around a steel frame, and is one of the earliest uses of this technique. It ceased to be used by the late 1980s, and suffered damage by water and dry rot
Dry rot
Dry rot refers to a type of wood decay caused by certain types of fungi, also known as True Dry Rot, that digests parts of the wood which give the wood strength and stiffness...
. By the 2000s its condition was such that it was placed on English Heritage's Buildings at Risk Register. In 2009 plans to convert it into a hotel were approved.
Architecture
Constructed around a steel frame, the building is in Portland stonePortland stone
Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries consist of beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building stone throughout the British Isles, notably in major...
, with a granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
basement and ground floor. Its architecture is described as "sumptious Neo-Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
on the grandest scale". The building is in four storeys with a basement and an attic. Its long front on North John Street has eleven bays
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
, with three bays on Dale Street. The ground floor and basement are rusticated
Rustication (architecture)
thumb|upright|Two different styles of rustication in the [[Palazzo Medici-Riccardi]] in [[Florence]].In classical architecture rustication is an architectural feature that contrasts in texture with the smoothly finished, squared block masonry surfaces called ashlar...
. The windows are three-light sash window
Sash window
A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels or "sashes" that form a frame to hold panes of glass, which are often separated from other panes by narrow muntins...
s with round heads. Those on the first floor have Gibbs surround
Gibbs surround
A Gibbs surround, in architecture, is a type of architrave surrounding a door, window or niche and interrupted by large blocks of stone and often by a massive keystone set under a pediment. It is named after the architect James Gibbs.-Source:*...
s and iron balconies. In the second and third floors the windows are recessed behind a Doric
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
colonnade
Column
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a vertical structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. For the purpose of wind or earthquake engineering, columns may be designed to resist lateral forces...
and entablature
Entablature
An entablature refers to the superstructure of moldings and bands which lie horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and are commonly divided into the architrave , the frieze ,...
. In the attic are dormer
Dormer
A dormer is a structural element of a building that protrudes from the plane of a sloping roof surface. Dormers are used, either in original construction or as later additions, to create usable space in the roof of a building by adding headroom and usually also by enabling addition of windows.Often...
s. Some of these have architrave
Architrave
An architrave is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of the columns. It is an architectural element in Classical architecture.-Classical architecture:...
s, keystone
Keystone (architecture)
A keystone is the wedge-shaped stone piece at the apex of a masonry vault or arch, which is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allowing the arch to bear weight. This makes a keystone very important structurally...
s, and either segmental or triangular pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
s; the others are flat-topped and contain casement window
Casement window
A casement window is a window that is attached to its frame by one or more hinges. Casement windows are hinged at the side. A casement window (or casement) is a window that is attached to its frame by one or more hinges. Casement windows are hinged at the side. A casement window (or casement) is a...
s. The entrance is on the second bay from the left in North John Street. The doorway has Doric columns and is round-headed. The first floor contains a round-headed window surrounded by a portico
Portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
with a broken segmental pediment containing carved figures. Above this bay rises a three-stage campanile
Campanile
Campanile is an Italian word meaning "bell tower" . The term applies to bell towers which are either part of a larger building or free-standing, although in American English, the latter meaning has become prevalent.The most famous campanile is probably the Leaning Tower of Pisa...
bearing an octagonal cupola
Cupola
In architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome....
with a gilded
Gilding
The term gilding covers a number of decorative techniques for applying fine gold leaf or powder to solid surfaces such as wood, stone, or metal to give a thin coating of gold. A gilded object is described as "gilt"...
dome. On the Dale Street façade is a Venetian window. The second floor contains a frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
designed by C. J. Allen
C.J. Allen
Charles John Allen was a British sculptor, a figure in the New Sculpture movement.Born in Greenford, Middlesex, Allen studied at the Lambeth School of Art and then apprenticed with the London architectural sculpture firm Farmer & Brindley in 1879 and became the assistant to Hamo Thornycroft for...
depicting themes relating to insurance. At the corners of this front are octagonal turret
Turret
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
s with cupolas and finial
Finial
The finial is an architectural device, typically carved in stone and employed decoratively to emphasize the apex of a gable or any of various distinctive ornaments at the top, end, or corner of a building or structure. Smaller finials can be used as a decorative ornament on the ends of curtain rods...
s. Between the turrets at attic level are three round-headed windows with rusticated Ionic
Ionic order
The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...
pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s, an entablature, and an iron balcony.
The interior contains the former General Office on the ground floor which, because of the steel frame, is free from any columns. Above this, the former Board Room has a tunnel vault
Barrel vault
A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault or a wagon vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve along a given distance. The curves are typically circular in shape, lending a semi-cylindrical appearance to the total design...
. Both rooms are decorated with stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
in 17th-century style. The building has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade II* listed building.
There is an earlier Royal Insurance Building, dating from 1839, in nearby Queen Avenue, also Grade II* listed.