The Floral Pavilion, New Brighton, Wirral- Building Assessment

This report outlines the results of a building assessment carried out at the Floral Pavilion, New Brighton, Wirral (SJ 310 941) during early September 2007. Plans to demolish and alter the existing structure were subject to a planning condition imposed by Wirral Council. Oxford Archaeology North was commissioned by Tweeds Construction Company on behalf of the council to carry out the work, which was executed to English Heritage Level I-type standard.
The desk-based assessment element of the building investigation revealed that the Floral Pavilion was part of the Victoria Gardens opened in 1913. Map evidence revealed the site of the pavilion to have been occupied by terraced housing as late as 1909. Originally, the Gardens comprised a pavilion, covered arcade and bandstand. These were subsequently joined together by a glass roof, with seating installed in the 1920s when it first became a theatre. Evidence for this still survives in the form of an internal cast-iron frame and trusses.
Further alteration was carried out in the 1960s when the glass roof was replaced with a more permanent structure. Alteration and additions continued to be carried out until the late twentieth century as evidenced by the building assessment.