St George's Hall: From derelict to thriving

Descriptor: We are introduced to the three students who made the film, Kate, Angela and Emma, sitting on a bench in parkland. As they speak, we see a wide shot of St George’s Hall, together with a shot of a statue and the stairs at the hall, before we go back to the women sitting on the bench, as Emma describes the experience of making the film.

Kate: Hi I’m Kate.

Angela: I’m Angela.

Emma: And I’m Emma.

Kate: We’re final year Media Professional students at John Muir’s University in Liverpool and we made this piece you’re about to see for The National Lottery.

Angela: It’s about a magnificent Liverpool landmark called St George’s Hall, one of thousands of Good Causes across the UK that has received funding as a result of you playing National Lottery games.

Kate: Producing, directing and editing this has been a great experience and we’ve really learned a lot. We hope you enjoy watching it as much as we’ve enjoyed making it.

Descriptor:  We now see a blue map of the UK on a red graphic background, which zooms to Liverpool on the map, where a white caption reads, “St George’s Hall Lottery Funding – £14.5 million”. Then, as the narrator speaks, we see various shots of the exterior of St George’s Hall, including the fountains, statues and gardens that surround it.

Narrator: St George’s Hall first opened its doors to the public in 1854. The building was intended to present a powerful image of Liverpool. It also served as the city’s only criminal court up until 1984. Lottery funding has now given this building a new lease of life.

Descriptor: We are now introduced to Graham Boxer, who is the Head of Heritage Development, standing inside St George’s Hall. As he speaks, we see interior shots of the hall, including the bow vaulted ceilings and concert organ.

Graham Boxer: St George’s Hall is one of the finest neoclassical buildings in Europe, if not in the world. It has a number of firsts about it. If you look at the great hall, that is one of the largest bow vaulted ceilings in the country. It has what is today the third largest concert organ, it is a truly unique building, it is not just a Liverpool treasure, it’s a national treasure.

Descriptor: We once again see shots of the exterior of St George’s Hall, together with a shot of a flight of stairs, which are illuminated by an orange light, before focusing on two signs, which read, “Supported by The National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund”, and, “Welcome to St George’s Hall”. We then see a rear view of people walking into the building, over a red mat, which also reads, “Welcome to St George’s Hall”, with a large crest in the middle of it.

Narrator: After the closure of the courts in 1984, most of the building fell into disrepair and it was almost knocked down to make way for a car park. Thanks to people playing National Lottery games, an ambitious restoration project was made possible and the building was finally able to re-open its doors to the public in 2007.

Descriptor: Once again we meet Graham Boxer, who describes the importance of The National Lottery fund to the restoration works. As he speaks, we see amateur video footage of the renovation work, focusing on such areas as the exterior stairs and the roof. We then see the restored building, with members of the public using lifts and walking in the corridors.

Graham Boxer: I think it’s fair to say that without the funding from The National Lottery that the restoration of St George’s Hall just wouldn’t have happened and it would still be a derelict redundant building.  We used the money from the lottery to actually make the building as accessible as possible so there’s some very basic work that needs to be done, like repairing the roofs, repairing the stone work but also we took the opportunity of putting in new facilities, lifts to all floors so that we could get people around the building, we could get people into this room which wasn’t possible before that. And thirdly, we wanted to restore some of those rooms to their former glory.

Descriptor: We now see the entrance of St George’s Hall, with people walking through the door, together with interior shots of visitors enjoying the building and art exhibits.

Narrator: After being closed for a number of years, St George’s Hall is now a busy and thriving tourist attraction, with visitors coming from all over the world.

Descriptor: We now see two young women, standing in front of a large wooden door, discussing why they came to St George’s Hall.

Woman: We came to St George’s Hall today because we’re looking for a little bit of, em, Liverpool heritage, and...

Woman: And, yeah, a friend recommended it for us.

Descriptor: We now meet a middle aged couple, standing in front of a white wall. The man describes his favourite aspects of the hall, and we see shots of the exterior of the building, including the statues which surround it.

Man: My favourite place so far is the, the outside sculptures and the, and the lions and the statues and I think the whole place is marvellous.

Descriptor: We now see tourists walking in a wide white corridor and standing in the old courtroom, before we see Steve Binns, walking with a white stick through a corridor and up some stairs.

Narrator: Now thanks to people playing National Lottery games, St George’s Hall is open six days a week and its Heritage Centre gives visitors the opportunity to explore and experience the history of the building for themselves. It is also possible for the public to book a guided tour with Liverpool Community Historian Steve Binns who is a leading authority on the building.

Descriptor: We now meet Steve Binns, MBE, who is a Liverpool Community Historian, describing some of the history of St George’s Hall. As he speaks, we see shots of the prison quarters, together with exhibition pieces associated with prison life.

Steve Binns: This prison part of St George’s Hall opened in 1851, three years before the main building and they continued in operation until 1984. In the background, you will hear the sounds that you would associate with the holding of prisoners within the prison system.

Descriptor: We now focus in on a colourful and ornate stained glass window, before meeting Loraine Lett, who is a Tour Guide at St George’s Hall.

Loraine Lett: I think it’s the, the jewel in the crown of Liverpool this building; it’s one of a kind you won’t find it anywhere else in the world, or a building that compares anywhere as close as to this.

Descriptor: As the narrator speaks, we see shots of the hall, including a large crystal chandelier, a fountain in the grounds, together with various shots of the ornate interior.

Narrator: St George’s Hall has stood for over one hundred and fifty years as a monument for the city. Without the National Lottery funding, the building would have been left derelict and the story of St George’s Hall, and a valuable piece of Liverpool’s history, would have been lost forever.

Descriptor: For the final time we meet Graham Boxer, who describes what National Lottery funding has meant to St George’s Hall. As he speaks, we see a high speed shot of a wide view of the exterior of St George’s Hall, which takes us from daytime to night-time in a couple of seconds.

Graham Boxer: Because of the funding from The National Lottery we can now make sure that St George’s Hall does become the cultural heart of a cultural city. We have really given St George’s Hall a new lease of life to play an active role in the cultural activities of the region.

Descriptor: We then see a white background with The National Lottery logo and a Heritage Lottery Fund logo, together with a blue caption which reads, “Lottery Funded”, before finally a black background with a Liverpool JMU logo and a white caption which reads, “Produced by Emma Cain, Angela Harding, Kate Lilley”.