A SISTERHOOD of nuns has hit back over their controversial plans to sell an historic collection of Roman marbles, after they lost the support of English Heritage.
The marbles – housed in the Grade II-listed Ince Blundell Hall, near Crosby – are set to be removed under a planning application to Sefton Council.
The Augustinian nuns, who now run the estate as a nursing home, want to sell the £10m antiquities and replace them with replicas amid upkeep and vandalism fears. But they have now lost the support of English Heritage, which initially backed the application.
The trust is fearful of supporting a scheme which could see the collection broken up and moved from Merseyside. But the nuns said they intend to sell the relics to a public buyer to fund much-needed renovations at the Hall. There is understood to be interest from private buyers.
A spokesman said: “Any funds raised from the sale will be used to renovate two listed buildings in the grounds – the Old Hall and the Stable Block – which are near the top of the Heritage At Risk register and are well-placed for the provision of much-needed additional nursing care.
“Unexpectedly and despite their best efforts, the process has proved fraught with difficulties. The Sisters regret that English Heritage has bowed to pressure from non-statutory bodies, many of which are ill-informed.
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Around 500 of the 600 marbles were moved to Liverpool Museum after the nuns came into ownership of the estate. About 70 marble reliefs were left embedded in the walls of the buildings with a few pieces in the grounds, many of which have since been stolen. The spokesman added: “The Sisters are fully aware of the significance of the remaining heritage items and have done their best to preserve and protect them.
“They are distressed to witness the progressive deterioration of the artefacts from a combination of vandalism, theft, pollution and extremes of climate.
“The reliefs are now in danger of deteriorating to the point that it will no longer be possible to conserve them.”
English Heritage had initially said it was in the best interests of the marbles to be removed for conservation and replaced by high-quality replicas. But it now wants to look at practical ways of retaining the collection at Ince Blundell.
The issue is set to be looked at by Sefton in the coming months.
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