Liverpool’s Bluecoat will today (3 May) celebrate the 300^th anniversary of the laying of the building’s foundation stone.

Construction began on the city centre’s oldest building, which is now a Grade I-listed cultural attraction, on the same date in 1716.

To mark the occasion guests including the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Councillor Tony Concepcion and Rector of Liverpool, Reverend Dr Crispin Pailing will visit the iconic venue. They will represent their 18th Century counterparts William Squire, who was Lord Mayor, and Reverend Thomas Bell, the then Rector of Liverpool.

The celebration comes ahead of next year’s 300^th anniversary of the dedication of the Bluecoat site, which started out as a charity school before becoming the UK’s first arts centre.

Bluecoat is lining up a 300-day programme of special events and exhibitions to honour the milestone next year, and is also calling on the public to share their memories of the Liverpool landmark in an  ambitious Heritage Lottery Funded ‘My Bluecoat’ project.

Ahead of today’s special event Gavin Davenport, project manager for My Bluecoat, says: “It’s very exciting for us to welcome Tony Concepcion and Crispin Pailing to Bluecoat, as their counterparts played such an important role in founding the building.

“Bluecoat is a very special building that has reflected many of the changes Liverpool as a city has gone through over the years, and the anniversary of the laying of its foundation stone is a great opportunity to celebrate its significance and its history.”

Visitors can share their memories of Bluecoat by filling in a card at the venue or via Twitter and Facebook with the hashtag #MyBluecoat, and the project will also digitise archives held at the building, the Blue Coat School in Wavertree and Liverpool Record Office.

Gavin adds: “It’s also very exciting for us to begin gathering people’s memories of Bluecoat through the My Bluecoat project, ahead of our tercentenary celebrations in 2017. We know people will have many varied and interesting recollections of the building, and we hope to use these to help build a rich and comprehensive history of Bluecoat.”

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