Built in 1716–17 as a

charity school Charity schools, sometimes called blue coat schools, or simply the Blue School, were significant in the history of education in England. They were built and maintained in various parishes by the voluntary contributions of the inhabitants to ...

, Bluecoat Chambers in School Lane is the oldest surviving building in central

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Following the

Liverpool Blue Coat School The Liverpool Blue Coat School is a grammar school in Liverpool, England. It was founded in 1708 by Bryan Blundell and the Reverend Robert Styth as the Liverpool Blue Coat Hospital and was for many years a boarding school, boys' boarding school ...

's move to another site in 1906, the building was rented from 1907 onwards by the Sandon Studios Society.The story so far
, The Bluecoat, c. 2008 Based on the presence of this art society and the subsequent formation of the Bluecoat Society of Arts in 1927, the successor organisation laid claim to being the oldest arts centre in Great Britain, now called the Bluecoat.

History

The school was founded in 1708 by the Reverend Robert Styth (died 1713), rector of Liverpool, and Bryan Blundell, a sea captain and later twice

Mayor of Liverpool From 2012 to 2023, the mayor of Liverpool was the executive mayor of the city of Liverpool in England. The office was abolished in 2023 and its functions were replaced with the leader of Liverpool City Council. The mayor of Liverpool was previ ...

(1721–22 and 1728–29). Originally constructed in 1716–17, the building was extended until 1718 to function as a

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

. By the following year, it had 50 children, with room for 100 more, and construction was finally completed in 1725. After the school moved to a new site in

Wavertree Wavertree is a district and suburb of Liverpool, in the county of Merseyside, England. It is a Ward (country subdivision), ward of Liverpool City Council, and its population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 14,772. Located to ...

in 1906, the building was threatened with demolition. It was rented out from 1907 to the Sandon Studios Society, an independent art school and art society. The building's future still unsecured, it took the intervention of the architect Charles Herbert Reilly, head of the Liverpool School of Architecture. He convinced the industrialist

William Lever William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme (; 19 September 1851 – 7 May 1925) was an English industrialist, philanthropist, and politician. Educated at a small private school until the age of nine, then at church schools, he joined his f ...

to rent Bluecoat Chambers in 1909 and subsequently buy it, renaming it Liberty Buildings. Sharing the space with the Sandon Society, Reilly moved in with his School of Architecture from 1909 until shortly after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In 1913–14, Lever entertained the thought of a larger building scheme to transform Liberty Buildings into an art centre but, by 1918, got tired with the idea. Lever's death in 1925 again led to proposals for demolition. A successful campaign to raise money for the purchase of Bluecoat Chambers resulted in the establishment of the Bluecoat Society of Arts in 1927 as a charitable trust to run the building. On 3 May 1941, during the

Liverpool Blitz The Liverpool Blitz was the The Blitz, heavy and sustained bombing of the British city of Liverpool and its surrounding area, during the Second World War by the Nazi Germany, German ''Luftwaffe''. Liverpool was the most heavily bombed area o ...

, the concert hall and adjoining rooms were severely damaged by an

incendiary bomb Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices, incendiary munitions, or incendiary bombs are weapons designed to start fires. They may destroy structures or sensitive equipment using fire, and sometimes operate as anti-personnel weaponry. Incendiarie ...

and during the following night the rear wing was destroyed by a bomb blast. Restoration took place after the war, being completed by 1951. It is recorded in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, ...

as a designated Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

, having been designated on 28 June 1952. The Bluecoat Display Centre, a contemporary craft gallery, opened in the rear courtyard in 1959. Being known as the Bluecoat Arts Centre from the 1980s, it is now simply called the Bluecoat. From 2005, the building was further restored and a new wing added. It was reopened in March 2008 to coincide with Liverpool's year as

European Capital of Culture A European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union (EU) for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong pan-European dimension. Being a European Capital of Culture can ...

Architecture

The Bluecoat is built in brick with painted stone dressings and a slate roof. H-shaped in plan, originally the rear of the school resembled the front but in 1821 it was remodeled giving it a convex-shaped elevation. The front encloses three sides of a quadrangle and is separated from School Lane by a low wall with railings and gatepiers. The central block of five bays has two storeys with round-arched windows; the central three bays project forwards under a

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

containing a clock which has only an hour hand. On the roof is an octagonal

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

with round-arched openings, attached Ionic columns and a copper cap with a

finial A finial () or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a dome, spire, tower, roo ...

. The wings have three storeys; they are eleven bays long and one bay wide. On the ground and first floor the windows are square-headed while those on the top floor are oval. The end elevations have arched windows which match the central block. All the large windows have keystones with

cherubs A cherub (; : cherubim; ''kərūḇ'', pl. ''kərūḇīm'') is one type of supernatural being in the Abrahamic religions. The numerous depictions of cherubim assign to them many different roles, such as protecting the entrance of the Garden of ...

' heads. The main door in the centre of the central block has Ionic columns with a broken pediment containing a

cartouche upalt=A stone face carved with coloured hieroglyphics. Two cartouches - ovoid shapes with hieroglyphics inside - are visible at the bottom., Birth and throne cartouches of Pharaoh KV17.html" ;"title="Seti I, from KV17">Seti I, from KV17 at the ...

of the

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

of Liverpool. Each wing has three square-headed doors approached by steps. The wall, railings and gate piers on School Lane are also listed at Grade I. The 2005-2008 renovation at a cost of £14 million also included a new 2250 square metre extension, the architects being BIQ Architecten. The architects found that there were 32 different floor levels in the old building. They carried out much structural change to produce exhibition areas with better accessibility. The new extension is built mainly in brick to link with the old building, although it has a copper roof and more modern materials internally. The new wing houses a flexible performance area and four art galleries. In addition, the complex provides studios for artists and craftspeople, a restaurant and a café and a number of retail outlets. On 13 May 2008, a fire broke out in a kitchen on the first floor of the west wing causing significant damage, although 80% of the building was unaffected.

Arts Centre

Over the years the Bluecoat hosted a range of cultural and arts-associated events. These included art exhibitions, debates, discussions, public meetings and campaigns, poetry readings, musical concerts and recitals, and cultural lectures. It held book, record, and antiques fairs and became a centre for working artists and craftspeople. Some of the events have continued to hold a place in history. The 1908 exhibition of works mostly by members of th
Sandon Society
also included the first showing in Liverpool of

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, ; ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of Impressionism painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During his ...

who received a special invite. In 1911, the Sandon Society took on parts of

Roger Fry Roger Eliot Fry (14 December 1866 – 9 September 1934) was an English painter and art critic, critic, and a member of the Bloomsbury Group. Establishing his reputation as a scholar of the Old Masters, he became an advocate of more recent ...

's London Post-Impressionist exhibition, showing works by

Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...

, Cézanne, and

Van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artwork ...

for the first time in the UK outside the capital. In 1967

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono (, usually spelled in katakana as ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up in Tokyo and moved to New York ...

appeared at the Bluecoat, at a time before she met

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

. The Bluecoat was also visited by performing artists as Stravinsky,

Michael Nyman Michael Laurence Nyman, Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 23 March 1944) is an English composer, pianist, libretto, librettist, musicologist, and filmmaker. He is known for numerous film soundtrack, scores (many written during his lengthy ...

, Doris Lessing and the Last Poets.

Bluecoat today

The Bluecoat was reopened on 15 March 2008, during Liverpool's year as a

, by Andy Burnham, the

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport The secretary of state for culture, media and sport, also referred to as the culture secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for strategy and po ...

. The opening exhibition, entitled ''Now Then'', showed work by five artists, including Yoko Ono. During the early summer a display entitled ''Mr Roscoe's Garden'', comprising part of Liverpool's Botanic Collection, was held. The Bluecoat organises exhibitions, events, education programmes and concerts. It also contains 22 artists studios. The Bluecoat Cafe serves a variety of homemade and locally sourced food and drink. Since the reopening, the galleries have held major exhibitions by John Akomfrah, Mark Leckey, Sonia Boyce, Jonathan Baldock, Bruce Asbestos Keith Piper, Siobhan Davies Dance & Niamh O'Malley, amongst others.

Gallery of external features

File:Bluecoat 201803.jpg, Exterior view Image:Liverpool Bluecoat Hospital plaque.jpg, Blue plaque Image:Liverpool Bluecoat door pediment 2.jpg, Sculpted entrance Image:Liverpool Bluecoat plaque.jpg, Marble plaque with Latin inscription detailing war damage and restoration Image:Liverpool Bluecoat door.jpg, Door

References

External links

The Bluecoat websiteDetailed account of the restoration and new extension from BDonlineVideo about the restored building
{{Coord, 53.4042, -2.9839, display=title, region:GB_scale:2000 School buildings completed in 1717 School buildings completed in 2008 Grade I listed art galleries Grade I listed buildings in Liverpool Art museums and galleries in Merseyside Cultural organisations based in Liverpool Defunct schools in Liverpool Bluecoat schools 1717 establishments in England