Liverpool's Hidden Abandoned Auction House! - Urbex Lost Places UK - YouTube

In the 19th century the Liverpool docks were the central hub for trading around the world.

Tobacco, cotton, timber and sugar came to Liverpool because of this, and were then transported

around the country.

However, in today’s exploration, our focus is on fruit, which was another cargo sent

to Merseyside.

Lying in ruins in Liverpool’s city centre is a historic structure which was used as

an auction house for the exotic material.

In our first explore of the year we decided to head inside to see what we could find.

Walking down this busy street, if you didn’t know the auction house was beyond these buildings,

you would never realise.

It truly is a hidden gem of the past lost in modern developments.

In the 1880s, the building was constructed as a railway goods depot for the North Western

railway.

Only in the 1920s, the property was repurposed as what became known as the fruit exchange.

We managed to make it inside along with photographer Rik, who’s links you can find in the description.

Surprisingly, unlike the pictures we had seen of the building in the past, it now looked

like a construction site.

The best was yet to be found.

A central lift shaft ran down this half of the building, but the cart was long gone.

As for the rooms, every single one was completely stripped.

There have been plans to convert the structure into apartments but as of yet, nothing has

been confirmed.

With a second glance, we started to notice multiple holes on the floor as well as signs

of decay.

This shows that although at some point, work must have taken place in the building, it

has been long forgotten.

It could have been many years ago when anything constructive occurred inside the property.

As expected, we were bored of the same bland rooms and we wanted to see something of an

older architect.

One the stairs we began to find glimpses of the past grandeur this building had to offer,

because the tiling featured was awesome.

It is very unlikely that you will find tiling like this in buildings from the modern generation,

so we really felt like we were stepping back in time.

Down these stairs, we were taken to the old entrance hall, which also contained some stunning

architecture.

This area would have welcomed hundreds to the fruit exchange when they would come to

bid for the fruits all those years ago.

We couldn’t believe our eyes at the sight of our first auction room of the exploration.

During our time of urbex, we have experienced many grand structures but this was one, of

not the best.

All of the seats remained, as well as the holding area for the fruit, towered over by

a magnificent glass dome.

You may notice the lack of light fittings in the room.

That is because the structure was cleverly designed so it could function without any,

therefore it would be only be open in the daytime.

Back in the 1900s, the room would’ve been crammed with rich business men, ready to shout

out their limited price in the attempt to gain the produce before them.

With the high layers of dust it really felt like we were looking in a structure frozen

in time.

Buildings like these gave Liverpool it’s name, so it is sad to see them so neglected,

covered in cobwebs.

'This thing here is where all the fruit would be weighed when it was being sold to work

out the cost...probably.'

'So we are currently above a club so all the noise comes through in here and at night,

there have been stories that when the music is going fully, this room vibrates.'

After we had finished documenting the impressive room, we moved on because there is still another

hall to see, simply through a door.

Due to the circular design of the opposing auction room, we found this one even more

photogenic than the last, however the comparison is very difficult.

In basic terms, the room is identical in layout, with the fruit being placed in the box at

the front of the room below the auctioneers platform.

When this fruit exchange was opened this room would have linked up to a warehouse via these

bricked up corridors.

The produce would be stored there and brought in during auctions for display.

The main difference between this hall and the first is that this one features a balcony.

In full the room isn’t even very large and it is amazing how the architects that created

it made such a small space able to cram so many people inside.

All in all, the two auction houses are the best of the best for UK abandonment, because

they were built specifically for one reason, and it is unlikely you will find much like

them in the world.

When we were ready to leave, we headed out, stopping by the roof to observe the ever changing

city.

We hope you enjoyed joining us on a viewing of a fragment of history.

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