The Belle Époque Today: The National Conservation Centre

The National Conservation Centre, Liverpool
at the Midland Wailway Goods Offices

While part of the work of a museum is to purchase objects of art and display them in a pleasing and interesting manner, a museum has a greater responsibility. Museums must not only house art, but preserve and protect it as well.


It’s in that spirit that The National Conservation Centre of England was founded in Liverpool. The Conservation Centre is dedicated to the care, preservation, repair and respectful handling of the artistic and cultural objects that define who we are as a people.

The Liverpool Museums found an abandoned Victorian warehouse, The Midland Railway Goods Offices, and rescued the building—renovating it so that it could be the permanent home of The National Conservation Centre. The Centre was open to the public until December of 2010 when the doors were closed to visitors due to budget restraints. However, the National Conservation Centre continues to thrive. Behind their locked doors, they’re still devoted to being good stewards of our past so that future generations can see where we’ve been and where we’re going.

Though closed to the public, the staff at The National Conservation Centre are happy to answer questions from collectors of art and antiques who are looking to discover the best way to care for their precious objects. For more information, visit the Web site of The National Conservation Centre.