A stunning building that once graced a Liverpool street would have been an asset to the city's film industry had it survived, it's been claimed.
Built in the late 19th century, Cope's Tobacco warehouse once stood on St Vincent Street in Liverpool city centre. Built in the Gothic Revival style of architecture, the foreboding building wouldn't not have looked out of place towering over a village in Transylvania.
The building was designed by English architect, John Douglas, who created over 500 buildings in Cheshire, North Wales, and northwest England. His other work designs included churches as well as shops, banks, offices, schools, memorials and public buildings.
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Douglas worked during the period of the Gothic Revival, and many of his buildings incorporate elements of the English Gothic style. His work on Cope's Tobacco warehouse was no exception, featuring large pointed arches and pointed turrets, more akin to a castle or cathedral than a warehouse.
The building was part of Liverpool's Cope Brothers Tobacco company who manufactured tobacco products from 1848 until 1952. The company was started in 1848 in Old Post Office Street by Thomas Cope and George Cope.
In 1853, the business moved to the Old Church for the Blind in Lord Nelson Street and obtained more buildings, including the Tobacco Warehouse close by on St Vincent Street over the following decades. By the 1880s, they was employing nearly 2,000 staff and producing snuff, cigars, cigarettes and tobacco.
Employing mostly women and girls, the company was regarded as a model employer of the age with better working conditions than other organisations. They also held an annual Soiree and ball that was often reported on in the local press.
A leader in the British market for advertising at the time, their adverts promoted smoking for its health benefits promising "smoke not only checks disease but preserves the lungs." Something which now seems bizarre in light of our modern understanding of smoking and its detrimental effect on health.
However, there's no doubting the building's incredible architecture. When old photographs of the building were posted recently on the public Facebook page Collecting Old Photographs Of Liverpool Places, people commented to express their sadness of the loss of such a magnificent building.
Keith Price said: "I can't imagine how many films that building would have be in. The location agencies would go nuts for the places we've knocked down."
Ruth Dickie agreed, posting: "This building could have 'starred' in so many films!" While John Osborne said: "What a fantastic building, gone forever."
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Commenting on its foreboding architectural style, William Henry said: "Reminds me of the TV series, or might be the film, of the Addams Family home." Jane Gerwitz replied: "Exactly what I said!"
Sadly the incredible building no longer stands on St Vincent Street. It's not known exactly when or why, but Cope's Tobacco warehouse on St Vincent Street is thought to have been demolished some time around the late 1960s/early 1970s.
Do this story awaken any memories for you? Let us know in the comments section below.
However, had the building survived, it's easy to see how it would have been the perfect filming location for a Gothic horror, or a fantasy film like Harry Potter.
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