An iconic Liverpool landmark which found a “new lease of life” during the pandemic has gone on to scoop a tourism award.
The Visit England Awards for Excellence celebrate the "very best of English tourism", recognising standards across the country. On Wednesday June 7 the winners were announced with a number of gongs heading back to Merseyside after the ceremony.
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One of these went to the team behind St Luke’s Bombed Out Church CIC who picked up gold in the Resilience and Innovation category. The Titanic Hotel also came out on top in the Large Hotel of The Year category.
St Luke’s Church, known to locals as the ‘Bombed Out Church, suffered catastrophic damage during the May Blitz of 1941. The carcass of the building was all that was left standing and for more than 60 years it lay derelict before being cleared and transformed for cultural events - reopening to the public in 2007.
Kate Jones, 38, Director of St Luke’s Bombed Out Church CIC, joined the team in 2018 and picked up the award earlier this week. While many cultural venues struggled or closed as a result of the pandemic, the director told the ECHO that the challenging period enabled the building to find “a new lease of life.”
While the venue had hosted events, plays and film screenings previously, in 2020 the team had to “use their imagination” and so its outdoor offer was expanded. This included moving into the wider grounds to provide a garden bar and cafe, with the venue now licensed to hold weddings.
Kate previously lived in apartments overlooking the grounds and was always struck by the possibilities of the space. On the transformation, Kate said: “Tourism was keeping it going.
“If I had a pound for every time someone said ‘I have passed that building but never been inside’ we would have been able to put a roof on it. It has now got a new audience [and] a new lease of life.”
Kate dedicated the award to Mark Hensby who passed away a few weeks ago. Mark was one of the founding directors of St Luke’s Bombed Out Church CIC and had the original idea to open the garden bar and cafe, according to Kate.
As for the future, the next ambition for the team is to secure heritage funding. The team are also exploring plans to make the Bombed Out Church more accessible.
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