The Three Horseshoes, Killinghall
Pub to be demolished near Harrogate:
Villages with two pubs are cursed. It seems that one of them must be lost. On this occasion, The Greyhound Inn over the road won out. And again we will see a village lose a dichotomy of alehouses.
From a design perspective. the pub is a vital component of the geometry that makes up the village centre located at the junction of Otley Road and Ripon Road. The building adds vital flare to the street frontage, with bright pantiles, a jet black arched doorway, and exposed window quoins all adding to the landmark quality of this village centre building. If the developer could see the value of this, and then add another building onto the terrace, this would be an enhancement of the village form of Killghall. Undoubtedly the application should be refused on grounds of poor urban design. Please don’t ruin another English village.
Fountains Hall, Bradford
Plans to demolish what’s left of this grade II listed building:
Sad to see this former Friend’s Meeting House in such a state of ruin following a fire around 25 years ago. Listed as an example of bold civic-mindedness by Victorian Quakers, the building was clearly sited to make a statement in the centre of this mercantile city.
If some miraculous civic benefactor could summon £10 million, with no illusions of a return on investment, then yes it would be fantastic to salvage this building. But of all the buildings I’ve longed to see saved, this one is undoubtedly the most unlikely.
Nonetheless, it would have been great to see the new development integrate the Victorian facade into a new scheme. Such a postmodern visual gesture would convey a deep reverence to (and investment in) the heritage, whilst segueing into a renewed identity of the city as the ’20s come around for the second (…or twentieth?) time.
The Demolition Register 