The Midland Railway Goods Offices before renovation
Our role as a museum service is not simply about putting objects on display and telling people what they are, although that is a major part. It also concerns looking after those pieces, ensuring they are treated with care and respect and are kept in the best condition possible.
The National Conservation Centre was created to fulfil this duty. A 1989 report concluded that 60% of the collection of National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside (as National Museums Liverpool was known at the time) was in need of conservation. When you consider that we hold over 1 million objects just in World Museum Liverpool you see the scale of the problem. We were not alone - there was growing national concern over the condition of the works of art, scientific specimens and other cultural objects held in Britain’s collections.
The trustees of the museum made the care and conservation of the collections a priority. First a conservation division was created, gathering together the people with the skills to look after the objects in our own and other collections (details of their work can be found on the conservation departments pages). Next housing needed to be found for the department; accommodation that provided environmentally sound workspaces for the conservators yet made that work accessible to the wider public.
Following a feasibility study a beautiful Grade II listed Victorian warehouse in the city centre was selected as the best candidate. In its previous life the Midland Railway Goods Offices - generally known as the Midland Goods Depot (MGD) - stored and dispatched parcels between Liverpool’s main freight terminals. Local architects Culshaw and Sumners built the warehouse in 1874, a time of great prosperity for Liverpool. Its design made use of the natural slope of the site, with inclined loading bays running through the centre of the building, enabling wagons to be moved by the force of gravity. It continued in this use until the 1950s, after which it fell into disuse and disrepair. However it still remained a beautiful example of urban architecture.
The MDG was suitable for conversion for a number of reasons, the main being:
The interior of the building, before renovation
The building itself was not in perfect condition with water penetration, settlement and timber and ironwork in need of repair, plus a new roof was needed. A wholesale conversion was required to provide working space for the many disciplines within the department, some of which have very definite needs. For example picture restoration needs high light levels; sculpture conservation needs high floor loading and access to overhead gantries. Some processes require fume extraction or space for water immersion. The workplaces also needed to be safe and pleasant for the staff housed there. Add to this space for a library, a meeting area and a public display area and the scale of the project becomes apparent.
The interior of the building, before renovation
Development work began in 1994, with the finished building opening to the public in October 1996 and the royal opening by HRH The Prince of Wales in December that year.
The story of the National Conservation Centre doesn't finish there though. Almost ten years after it first opened, the centre underwent a major refurbishment of the public spaces and display areas to create the Reveal gallery, which opened in summer 2006. Read more about how the National Conservation Centre has changed on our capital projects page.