Carnatic Hall

Carnatic Hall was an 18th-century mansion that was located in Mossley Hill, Liverpool, England. The house was built in 1779 for slave trader Peter Baker, who served as Mayor of Liverpool in 1795. Originally on the site of Mossley Hall (home of the Ogden family) it was renamed Carnatic Hall by Baker after the French East Indiaman Carnatic, which the privateer Mentor, which Baker owned, had captured in October 1778. Carnatic was said to be the richest prize ever taken and brought safe into port by a Liverpool adventurer, being of the value of £135,000. In 1891 the house burned down and the then owner, Walter Holland, had a hall built in the same style. In 1947, The University of Liverpool purchased Carnatic Hall as a home for the University of Liverpool Museum. In 1964 the mansion was demolished and replaced with student accommodation, the Carnatic Halls of Residence. This consisted of six residences: McNair Hall, Salisbury Hall, Rankin Hall, Morton House, Lady Mountford Hall, and Dale Hall. In 2018, it was announced that the Carnatic Student Village would be closing.

1. Redevelopment and closure of the Carnatic site

Following its decades of use as a residential hub for undergraduates, the Carnatic Halls of Residence became increasingly outdated. The architecture and layout, which included shared bathrooms and limited accessibility features, no longer aligned with contemporary standards for student living. According to statements from University of Liverpool officials in 2018, the site was considered inefficient and increasingly expensive to maintain, prompting a broader re-evaluation of the university’s accommodation strategy. Later that year, it was formally announced that the Carnatic Student Village would close permanently in the summer of 2019, with all remaining students moved to newly developed or refurbished facilities, including the Vine Court and Crown Place residences.

1. Proposed redevelopment

In 2023, proposals emerged from housebuilder Bellway to redevelop the former Carnatic Halls site into a residential estate. Plans included the construction of approximately 70 new homes, with initial designs indicating a mix of detached and semi-detached houses. Bellway’s vision reportedly aimed to retain the leafy character of the original estate while integrating modern housing typologies, although some local conservation groups raised concerns about the impact on the site’s historical value.

1. Archival records

The architectural and administrative history of Carnatic Hall and its subsequent use by the University of Liverpool is preserved in the university's special collections and national archive networks. The Archives Hub contains extensive documentation, including floor plans, institutional correspondence, and photographs from various stages of the site's development and use.

1. Heritage considerations

Although the original Carnatic Hall no longer survives, the site continues to hold heritage interest due to its layered history—spanning Georgian elite domestic architecture, Victorian reconstruction, 20th-century academic repurposing, and current urban redevelopment. Historic England assessed the site and surrounding features for listing but did not designate them due to significant alteration and demolition.

1. References