Site Event/Activity record ECH6599 - Historic Building Investigation: The Old Coal Masters Building, Chelford, Cheshire

An historic building investigation (Historic England Level II) was undertaken in 2018 for the 'Old Coal Masters Building', Chelford, in advance of proposed redevelopment of land at the Chelford Agricultural Centre (centred NGR 381400 375000). The proposed development involves the demolition and remodelling of existing buildings on site and the development of 89 residential dwellings and 140 square meters of business floor space along with associated landscaping. The Coal Masters Building, formed part of a coal yard, built adjacent to Chelford Railway Station, during the construction of the Manchester and Birmingham Railway, which opened in 1842. The structure was placed at its access point from Knutsford Road, and served as the entrance lodge for the coal yard, controlling the movement of coal between the rail and road networks. Although disused, and in a relatively poor state of preservation, the building represented a good visual example of early railway architecture, and an increasingly rare survival of a small ancillary building associated with the early Victorian railway network, also reflecting the emergence of Victorian ‘railway architecture’, having greater architectural detailing than a building of such status would typically merit at this time. (1)