Source/Archive record SCH5361 - Former Tram Depot, Tramway Street, Chester, Historic Building Recording

This report contains the results of historic building recording undertaken on the site of the former L. & N.W. Railway Buildings built in the 1840s period and Chester Tram Depot built in 1879, which subsequently became the site of the city bus depot. Planning permission was granted to Watkin Jones Homes for substantial residential development on the bus depot site together with underground car parking and the conversion of the former GPO Sorting Office to apartments with the condition that a programme of building recording be undertaken for both the former GPO building and the Tram Depot, together with a scheme for the retention of the tram rails that survive on the site. This report comprises Stage 2 of the programme of building recording for the development as a whole, focussing on the Tram Shed and the tramlines. During the 1840s, Chester was linked to the expanding national railway network and the first railway passenger terminal was built on the development site by the L. & N.W. Railway. After the existing station was built in 1848, the passenger terminal was utilised as a Wagon Repairing Depot. These buildings were demolished in the 1970s / 80s period and in 1983 the existing engineering workshops were built over part of their site. The remainder of the Wagon Works site is currently used for staff car parking. In 1879, the existing Horse-Drawn Tram Shed was built on the northern part of the site together with the decorative Company Offices that adjoin the west side of the Shed. The original 1879 Offices in red brick and terracotta trim have survived alteration, apart from the possible enlargement of the entrance door. Trams arrived at the south side of the Tram Shed via the former Tramway Street, which now forms part of the rear yard of the bus depot and exited via Car Street on the north side of the shed. In 1902-3, the first major phase of alterations took place on the site of the Tram Depot with the introduction of the electric tram system. The larger trams required the shed entrances to be enlarged and the roof of the Tram Shed to be raised. The extensive workshops on the west side with north-facing lights were subsequently built to cater for the new fleet. The 3ft 6” gauge rails laid for the electric trams in 1902 still survive along Car Street and the former Tramway Street. These rails have been surveyed as part of the current programme of work. Proposed plans include retention of the existing entrance to Tramway Street and the exit to Car Street and re-instatement of the tramlines within the development, as far as these aims are possible. In 1930, the electric tram service was replaced by motor buses. The 1879 tramway manager’s house, part of the north side of the Shed, was demolished and replaced by the angled wall on site today and, east of the wall, the steel-framed bus shed was added during the 1937-8 period. During the 1970s/80s period radical changes were made to the rear of the 1879 Shed. The 1840s Wagon Works were demolished and the engineering workshops built; the staff car parking area was laid out and Tramway Street became incorporated into the bus depot yard. Although the 1879 Tram Depot comprises some of the oldest premises in the country still in use for passenger transport purposes, the buildings had not fulfilled the normal criteria for statutory listing by English Heritage. The buildings no longer formed a complete horse-drawn or electric tramway system. The Tram Shed itself has been altered and the former manager’s house removed from the east side. The only relatively unaltered elevation is that of the 1879 Tram Company Offices. While this facade is of architectural interest, the visual aspect of the offices is masked by the modern building that now fronts Station Road. The partial demolition, alteration and rebuilding work undertaken since the 1840s, however, serve as evidence of the technological change that has taken place in the provision of public transport in the city and the buildings required to service those needs over a period of c.170 years. Despite the history of the site and the survival of part of the 1879 building, it has not been possible to retain these structures within the development plan. The buildings have a considerable asbestos content, and are not deemed worthy of retention. Finding a suitable re-use for large industrial buildings, workshops, warehouses and similar is a national problem in general, even for those that have fulfilled the criteria for statutory protection. Watkin Jones Homes recognise the historic importance of the site as a whole and retention of the façade of the GPO Sorting Office built in 1911 fronting Station Road is already underway as Stage 1 of the development. The current programme of work funded has ensured that a record has been made of the existing building on site prior to development.