1980-2015 Woolton Hall, Liverpool. Given recent events I realised I never added this one to my Then & Now archive but unfortunately this no longer represents the 'now' after this month's arson attack. The bottom image was from my last visit, back when the hall was codenamed Katie's House by explorers who wished it to remain unknown. I never revisited through fear of adding to it's increased online exposure. The top image is one of the last known records of the hall in its non derelict form as a weddings and events venue. Around the time Historic England granted the building the highest possible Grade I listed status. The owner carried on caring for the hall after it's closure despite having sold it in 2005 to property collector and infamous care-homes-from-hell businessman Abid Chudary who played games with Liverpool Council (who refused to add it to the heritage at risk register) for the next two decades while the building fell into disrepair due to a total lack of investment in it's maintenance due to uncertainty in guaranteeing a return on the costs. Both parties are equally to blame for it's demise, which in my mind qualify as crimes against heritage. Our country on paper has some of the best protection for historic buildings in the world, but moments like this prove how little that can mean when the question of money (and above all, profit) is put above everything else. A new law is needed in the UK that forces owners to perform essential maintenance on listed properties or face compulsory purchase orders. Until then, this will carry on indefinitely. Rant over - RC