Southend's Grade II-listed Kursaal added to Victorian Society’s 'endangered' building list
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The Kursaal in Southend-on-Sea in Essex has been ranked among the most “endangered” Victorian buildings by a charity dedicated to their preservation.
The venue which is located close to seafront is believed to be the world’s first purpose-built amusement park with a disused circus, ballroom, arcade, dining hall, billiard room, zoo and ice rink.
The Victorian Society’s annual top 10 list of buildings and structures in need of rescue – was released on Wednesday – was described as “terrifying” by the society’s president, comedian Griff Rhys Jones. Designed by architect George Sherrin and opened in 1901, a lonely Tesco Express is all that occupies the Grade II-listed site today after it was forced to close in 1986 following an unsuccessful campaign to save the attraction. Each of the sites listed by The Victorian Society is Grade II-listed or above, meaning they are subject to regulations protecting their historical and architectural significance.
Although the amusement park has been redeveloped for housing, much of the original Kursaal building has been restored and it remains an important landmark for the town.
Rhys Jones said the list was “a testament to the excitement, variety and invention of the Victorian Age”. “How terrifying to see buildings I have known, loved or used all my life in Southend and Cardiff in need of rescue,” he added. “But come on. Look at the character on display here. They all add colour and story to any urban landscape. “Their restoration and reuse make huge commercial sense. They are attractions in themselves. They are already destinations. They should be part of local pride. “What do we want? A parking lot? A faceless block in their place? A slew of new carbon pollution? When they have so much colour, continuity and history on their side already?”
The top 10 list for 2024 of most “endangered” Victorian buildings is: – Kennington Boys’ School, London – The Kursaal, Essex – Jesmond Dene Banqueting Hall, Newcastle – Former Bramcote Tennis Pavilion, North Yorkshire – St Luke’s Chapel of Nottingham City Hospital, Nottinghamshire – St Martins (formerly Roslyn Hoe), Devon – Chances Glassworks, West Midlands – St Agnes’ Vicarage and Hall, Liverpool – Former Education Department Offices, Derbyshire – Cardiff Coal Exchange, Cardiff
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