Quentin Hughes was a remarkable man. An ex-SAS officer and repeatedly-escaping Prisoner of War who resumed his training as an architect after 1945, he had had erudition, wit and charm in spades. He understood that his passion for conservation was not enough and that by using that wit and charm he could schmooze his way to the heart of power in post-War Liverpool, where his passion could get a look in among the drive to modernise, where he could warn of the dangers of throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
His book,
Seaport, is the best architectural biography of any British city, and his calm, level, elegant prose opened eyes throughout the city to its gems when it was first published in 1964. Quentin went on to be Chairman of the Merseyside Civic Society, not only a bunch of NIMBY preservationists, but people who wanted to take a full and holistic view of what Liverpool and the wider region needed. His many achievements won him admiration and many friends in the wider world of architectural conservation. In 1993, the Merseyside Civic Society paid homage to him by reprinting
Seaport.
Not long after he died in May 2004, five months
before parts of Liverpool were inscribed on the World Heritage Sites list,
http://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/132 he appeared to me in my imagination and told me that I was his heir and successor. “Wayne,” I thought he said, “only you have the ability to realise that charm, politely but strongly expressed views, and an understanding of necessary compromise are what is needed to ensure that Liverpool’s special character is preserved in an intelligent way in the time to come.”
Since that entirely imaginary encounter, I have proved his faith in me, by my enormous achievements in preventing anything I don’t like, such as the Mann Island scheme and the new museum, which have, as anyone can see, not been built, (except in fact) - since I shouted louder than anyone else. If only the rest of the Heritage Mafia had been as good as me.
As you can see from the post to the other LPT blog, reproduced below, I have inherited his tact, elegance and ability to work well with everyone who has an interest in getting the best for Liverpool.
Obviously it took a while to get the LPT off the ground – I had to decide that 1 was the perfect number of members, for example – but by calling myself its Chairman I was able, a mere two years after Quentin’s death, to get my opinions, which are the only ones worth listening to, published in the local paper. Because of a difficulty with the wiring, the Liverpool Preservation Trust could only establish an online presence with its blog (until now, the only public evidence of its existence) in 2009. But hey, I was pissing all over Quentin’s legacy, so five years was only a short time to wait.
As Stephen Bayley recalled in Quentin’s obituary in
The Guardian:
“I well remember Quentin telling a shocked member of the Bundeswehr while visiting some fortifications in Würzburg that he so enjoyed his experience of the Gestapo because they were such gentlemen.”
But Wayne Collude? Never. Wayne Colloon for ever. Just to prove it, here I am not colluding with the evil Quisling monsters of the Merseyside Civic Society. As you can see very clearly, I am in every way Quentin’s erudite and genial sucessor (read to the bottom for some more reflection):
Friday, 23 April 2010
The Merseyside Civic Society-Heritage Collaborators.
The LPT was formed by Professor Quentin Hughes and myself after long deep conversations into the impending gloom that was to befall the WHS [even though it hadn't been declared before he died, see above]. Quentin who wrote Seaport and LIVERPOOL City of Architecture was more than qualified to meet with the UNESCO officials on their visit to decide whether to award World Heritage Site Status to Liverpool in 2004. He had asked me, as their Chairman to join the Merseyside Civic Society but I had refused. I was asked to give a talk to the MCS council in February 06 [not by Quentin, obviously, who was nearly two years dead by then] after kicking up a fuss about the then proposed museum in the local and national press. Even the Times were writing about it. And more was to come. The lottery funding would be refused for the interior fit –out, (which they have now spent) because as all there was to look at for the fit out was some sketches on the back of a ciggy packet.
I did my talk in the offices of Edmund Kirkby here in India Buildings who gave the offices for free. Edmund Kirkby are surveyors with lots of clients and conflicts of interests in the city but I presume it was with good intentions that they laid on the tea and coffee. It was a good turn out I was told, 15 or 20 of them. I thought to myself there was a definite pull in the room as I tried to persuade them that the museum disaster was funded by the then proposed Three Grotesques at Mann Island. Quentin had not long passed away [well, two years isn't a long time, is it?] and the current Chairman was and still is Dr Peter Brown was even arguing against me. He would later show his true colours [by arguing against me even more - oh, the cheek of it!]. One of the members was an archaeologist working for the museums who would go on later to do the dig on Manchester Docks [proving that they weren't reliable, I mean - an archaeologist doing a dig? Jeez!].
There was a trustee of NML present if I am not mistaken was the Earl of Derby, and the vice chair of MCS was also the chairman of the Friends of Liverpool Museums. Andrew Pearce a worry constantly going on about the museum arranging wine and cheese presentations on it, promoting it [Oh no! someone promoting a museum? what pit of Hell have we descended into here?]. He was commended by David “Fuzzy Felt” Fleming in a yearly review. He and the friends were later binned by him as being an extremists. With a few stalwarts in the room such as Pat Moran who is always honest if not a little loud [pot, kettle, but Pat Moran has shut up now] and Tony Moscardini, I did the best to explain what World Heritage meant as quite a few of them, who had bothered to turn up seemed to be lacking in what it meant to have such an accolade [as indeed do I, but it doesn't stop me]. I gave all my best in a frantic exchange at times, thought I had pulled some in. Dr Knobolis, who teaches at Liverpool Uni. (well some Greek sounding name [ooops! bit racist there, still, all those foreigners who helped make Liverpool what it was in the glory days probably had funy names too, like, erm, Colquhoun]) Who I later found is a property owner of two apartments in the “Plassy Flats” the saddest block of flats at Kings Dock, asked if I would like to become a council member. I was cheered and seconded in, and there began part of the most frustrating relationship I have ever had.
I was keen; I even gave up my busy lunchtime for meetings. At great financial cost. I would watch as the most foolish things were discussed while world heritage disaster had started. Occasionally people such as Hilary Burridge who I would find out has quite close connections to her low-ness the Dame of Dereliction Louise Ellman. Burridge would turn the meeting into a Tesco bash….a nimby [you see, it takes one to know one]. Tony Moscardini always seemed to get it spot on. Patrick Moran used to get annoyed, he stormed out once in anger, only to have to come back 10 minutes later because he had forgotten his shopping [not like me at all, I just left my shopping when I did the big flounce]. A Grosvenor mole Trevor Skempton turned up at the planning meeting for One Park Worst on behalf of Grosvenor. Now call me old fashioned but is this the reason he was there [well, yes, obviously it was, the idea that a developer might have a meeting with a local interst group is, however, absurd. Clearly the only thing to do in such circumstances is to refuse to have anything to do with them, then whinge about not being involved after it's been built]. He would want to talk and he would spend a lot of time trying to discuss how great Grosvenor were. Even when Private Eyes, Piloti give it a bashing, he was there to defend it even writing in to BD [Hellfire, a developer's representative defending their scheme - I bet Quentin never had to deal with that]. Writing in about the LPT’s warnings proclaiming the need to blend the old with the new…Yeah, as if we don’t know this. The MCS even put it on the website [because, obviously, if you put something on your website, it means you support it, not that you want it to get a wider audience and a full set of views] A delegation including Peter Brown, Charles Hubbard of Edmund Kirby were allowed 10 minutes with the Unesco mission whitewash in October 06 as I had persuaded some to get on board, well those that turned up, some meetings had as little as three people, its hardly a gathering [though one person is definitely a Trust, provided it's me and mine]. One MCS council member said to me he couldn’t argue with the planners because he has to work with them.
Its called Lying Down to be Counted.
Peter Brown who teaches at a Liverpool University stitched us up with a consultaion evening there presented by Neptune Developments [Oooh! a consultation evening! much better not have one]. One of Neptune’s whose directors trained at the Liverpool Uni and so did the architect of disaster Matt Brookes [because we would prefer architects who had no connection with Liverpool to be involved. Liverpool Uni didn't get its reputation as one of the world's great schools of architecture by letting its graduates actually build stuff in the city, except for India Buildings, obviously - and all the other buildings they built before I was born and which are therefore great].
Neptune donated the model to the University [such bribery! such scandal!]. Oh and Brian “Mad Hatter” Hatton an educated idiot who couldn’t put a shelf up who also teaches there lined us up on the developers behalf. He would later edit an Architectural Review Jan 08 entitled Liverpool Work in progress and he never upset a developer or architect once. Remember how it was all going to be Iconic. Pulling them all in to help the decimation of WHS, in fact promoting it. It’s funny reading that now. Anyhow it wasn’t long I was thinking this Brigade are like the Vichy Government, Collaborators with the establishment who are in fact the enemy, on the wrong track, they represent vested interests.
I resigned and renamed them the Merseyside Inert Society [I couldnt think of anything beginning with "C" for the middle word] they are worse than the developers in my opinion. Only, in my opinion, they are not that inert when they are helping their friends. They all turned up for the wine and cheese evenings that were frequently arranged as smoothers [just like Quentin did, only he never lost his temper in the first five minutes and ended up ignored as a nutter]. They actively tried to get one laid on from Peel Holdings who refused [result! a developer refusing to talk to a concerned local group - that's what we want! that's the way forward!]. Peter Brown became entertainments organiser...yes. Gave an evening for Henry Owen John to give a talk who was lambasted by some of the more brave.
Peter Brown was mates with John Hinchliffe.
I said to him stop writing letters Dear John these people are getting away with it and you are letting them. Or Dear Nigel to Nigel Lee the Chief Planning disaster.
Now I am not saying anything illegal has taken place, other than. [other than what? oops, guess I said too much] They have been a shadow of themselves, they were indeed Civic under Quentin’s chairmanship.
They had a civic duty.
There is an old saying for evil to succeed it takes good men to do nothing the Merseyside Civic Society, what a waste of a good name.
I would prefer to be in the resistance than side with the collaborators, I hope they can all sleep at night. a>
Reflection(While I remember, it turns out I WAS on the council of the Merseyside Civic Society but as they were not willing to do exactly what I said, teddy left the pram and I rightly went my own way, with such subsequent success
http://www.liv.ac.uk/mcs/lfs/docs/mins%2006.09.19.pdf
d) WC argued strongly against the acceptability of the museum building and even more strongly against the Mann Island scheme. Differing views were expressed about the virtues or otherwise of the schemes themselves and how far an extremely restrictive policy to development in the WHC area and its buffer zone is either desirable or should be pursued as vigorously as some have advocated.
e) PB suggested that there should an agreement to disagree on some of the issues raised. He noted that the process of delivering development is complex, involving much negotiation etc and that a certain amount of change is inevitable. When development does take place, it is important to strive to protect an area’s character and to ensure that only the highest standards of design are employed.)(Oh, incidentally, Liverpool Preservation Trust still hasn’t achieved anything)
