Britain's first mosque to be reborn – after more than a century

The small brick building in a Liverpool terrace is falling apart, it even needs a new roof, but this ramshackle structure at 8 Brougham Terrace, West Derby Street, was Britain's first mosque.

The Grade II listed building has not been used as a place of worship for at least a century but the historical site is to be rebuilt and restored by the Abdullah Quilliam Society, a private organisation that says the whole project will cost £3m.

Henry William Quilliam opened the mosque on Christmas day in 1889. He was the son of a wealthy man who converted to Islam in 1887 after a visit to Morocco, adopting the name Abdullah. The building of his Islamic centre also included an orphanage as well as a printing press in the basement.

The new structure, when work is completed in 2011, will include the restored mosque, a new mosque, a courtyard, museum, art gallery, learning centre for interfaith work, library and cafe. Work is expected to start this month.

The mosque ceased to function when Quillam decided to go travelling in 1908. Bu,t almost 90 years later, Mohammad Akbar Ali, a retired doctor who is now 85, decided to restore the historical structure and created the Abdullah Quilliam Society. Galib Khan, who is the current chairman of the Abdullah Quilliam Society and lives in Aigburth, Liverpool, said he hoped part of the building could be opened within the next six months.

He said: "It's a heritage site for us. This truly is the birthplace of Islam in Britain. We will start on the refurbishment once we have finalised the lease arrangements with the city council and want to make it into a heritage centre for Islamic culture and interfaith dialogue."

The emergency repairs to the roof will cost about £100,000 and £2.5m still needs to be raised for the work.

Mumin Khan, the chief executive of the Abdullah Quilliam Society, said: "We have reached a milestone and breakthrough by raising more than a quarter of a million pounds in pledges for the work with one of the Bangladeshi-language channels, Channel S. This allows us to start the refurbishment phase of the project while carrying out further fundraising."

Dr Akbar Ali said: "We found out there used to be a mosque here and, with a little research, we found it was at No 8 Brougham Terrace and so we said we would have to do something about it." He adeed: "It is extremely important especially for the younger generation who are searching for roots in this area. We can say your roots are here. You have become a Muslim, you have adopted the whole heritage of the Muslim nation and you have something concrete to look to, which is Brougham Terrace, the first mosque established by an Englishman on English soil."

A spokesman for English Heritage, the Government's statutory adviser on the historic environment, said: "It is an immensely important monument to Islam in Britain and it is believed to be England's earliest mosque."

The refurbishment work is due to begin this month.