God’s House Tower lease up for sale
10:00am Sunday 12th June 2011
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CASH-strapped Southampton City Council bosses have put another historic building on the market.
The Tory-run council is offering to lease the Grade I listed God’s House Tower in Town Quay for at least 20 years for use as offices or and an exhibition
gallery.
It is currently the home of Southampton’s museum of archaeology whose exhibits are moving to Tudor House and the city’s new Sea City Museum, which is set to open in April next year.
The museum displays artefacts from prehistoric, Roman, Saxon and medieval Southampton.
Part of the building, which stands on the south-east corner of the town walls that had once encircled medieval Southampton, dates back to the 13th century.
It was the town jail until 1855 then used as a storage depot by the Southampton Harbour Board. It was converted into the Museum of Archaeology 50 years ago.
It comes after the Daily Echo revealed that Southampton’s Titanic Museum is being sold off to become a pub or cafe.
The Grade I listed Wool House, which houses the city’s Maritime Museum, is the only surviving freestanding mediaeval warehouse in Southampton, built in 1415 as a storehouse for wool to be exported
to Europe.
Under a minimum 20 year lease the building could be-come an office, a pub, cafe, restaurant, art gallery, or an exhibition centre.
The council says it will conserve the building while bringing it back into the commercial life of the city.
Comments(12)
<!–Condor Man, Southampton says… //–>
Condor Man, Southampton says…
10:06am Sun 12 Jun 11
It makes sense for the council to get revenue in for a building they own which is not being used.
<!–joenice1, says… //–>
joenice1, says…
10:20am Sun 12 Jun 11
Good idea, the building will be protected anyway, plus that building has loads of potential for so may things. Well done SCC.
COYS
Good idea, the building will be protected anyway, plus that building has loads of potential for so may things. Well done SCC.
COYS
<!–Vonnie, Southampton says… //–>
Vonnie, Southampton says…
10:22am Sun 12 Jun 11
I don’t suppose many people will lose any sleep over it. Which is dreadful, really.
GHT was the first purpose built ordinanced (gun-emplaced) watch tower in this country. Much of it is original, but has been allowed to rot by successive Councils.
I should imagine English Heritage will have something to say about its future use.
Whoever takes up the lease will not be able to change any of the originality of it, and that has been the problem the Council has had in keeping within the Access for All legislation. A private concern will have even bigger problems.
So who will take up the lease?
<!–OSPREYSAINT, Southampton says… //–>
OSPREYSAINT, Southampton says…
10:34am Sun 12 Jun 11
Isn’t that selling our heritage for a mass of potash?
<!–MisterGrimsdale, Redbridge Manor says… //–>
MisterGrimsdale, Redbridge Manor says…
10:52am Sun 12 Jun 11
[quote][p][bold]OSPREYSAINT[/bold] wrote:
Isn’t that selling our heritage for a mass of potash?[/p][/quote]……A phosphate worse than death.
<!–Vonnie, Southampton says… //–>
Vonnie, Southampton says…
10:52am Sun 12 Jun 11
[quote][p][bold]OSPREYSAINT[/bold] wrote:
Isn’t that selling our heritage for a mass of potash?[/p][/quote]It is a “mess of potage” actually, but “yes” I agree with you. Successive Councils have had no interest whatever in the heritage of this city and have allowed buildings and the walls to be closed, be underused, or left to deteriorate.
One only has to look at other places to see how they have utilised lesser attractions to their potential to realize just how shoddy Southampton has become both for the visitor and resident.
<!–Zeo, Southampton says… //–>
Zeo, Southampton says…
11:45am Sun 12 Jun 11
I doubt you will find many people renting it, with the ghosts that haunt it 😉
<!–loosehead, southampton says… //–>
loosehead, southampton says…
1:32pm Sun 12 Jun 11
as long as it’s protected stays an historical building is never knocked down okay
<!–a and e, bassett says… //–>
a and e, bassett says…
2:26pm Sun 12 Jun 11
Also heard the Stoneham arms is going to be converted into a mosque , but some old buildings are of no real use anyway.
<!–Eadwig, Southampton says… //–>
Eadwig, Southampton says…
2:50pm Sun 12 Jun 11
Best building to sell off would be the monstrosity of a Civic Centre. It will be under-used when all the redundancies are completed. The art gallery and library services are being cut so they could be relocated in a couple of Portakabins and we’d be free of the diabolical acoustics in the Guildhall.
<!–sotonbusdriver, Southampton says… //–>
sotonbusdriver, Southampton says…
2:55pm Sun 12 Jun 11
[quote][p][bold]Vonnie[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]OSPREYSAINT[/bold] wrote:
Isn’t that selling our heritage for a mass of potash?[/p][/quote]It is a “mess of potage” actually, but “yes” I agree with you. Successive Councils have had no interest whatever in the heritage of this city and have allowed buildings and the walls to be closed, be underused, or left to deteriorate.
One only has to look at other places to see how they have utilised lesser attractions to their potential to realize just how shoddy Southampton has become both for the visitor and resident.[/p][/quote]This is 1 of a few Cities in the UK, that despite our heritage… There is not enough left standing that during the summer season we don’t have opentop bus tours.
Something that use to be a regular thing in Southampton, has gone probably now for ever.
Too much of the old walls have been destroyed or decayed… With others hidden by new out of place buildings.
Although the Council has done things to improve the status with shopping centres, all but 1 has been a flop, leaving the City divided into a small prosperous area around the precinct, and the remaining shopping areas dead just like our history…
<!–Skinner 1941, southampton says… //–>
Skinner 1941, southampton says…
3:46pm Sun 12 Jun 11
£12,000 carpets, councillors expenses, cheif exec being paid more than the prime minister – I wonder where the money goes?
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