DERBY ROUNDHOUSE
Derby Roundhouse may now be part of a university, but you’d almost believe it was restored for steam,
How Derby College gave this historic building a new lease of life
As far as places to study go, you’d have to go a long way to find a location as impressive as Derby College. The campus now occupies the former Midland Railway No. 1 roundhouse and other beautifully restored railway buildings alongside Derby station.
Built in 1839 by four rival companies (including the North Midland Railway, engineered by the Stephensons), it became the home of the college 169 years later, following a huge restoration and rebuilding project that has transformed the roundhouse and associated structures from a derelict and decaying blot on the East Midlands landscape into a truly stunning modern campus that is more than sympathetic to its history and heritage.
Central to the campus is the roundhouse – a vitally important survivor and the oldest survivor of its kind in the world. Although small in comparison to the vast sheds at Kentish Town or Old Oak Common, the lack of locomotives emphasises the vast space. Today it is used as a social space by students during the day and available for private hire for functions outside of college hours.
The building retains its rails embedded into the concrete and wooden floor around the building leading to a central 40-foot turntable, with an overhead crane still in place standing as a lasting tribute to its former life. Stepping inside, it is very easy to imagine steam locomotives stabled on the 16 roads, filling the cathedrallike roof with smoke, while others undergo repairs. Happily, the restoration has made no attempt whatsoever to disguise what this building was once used for; epitomised by one of the inspection pits, still viewable and covered in glass.
Director of estates Iain Baldwin explained to Steam Railway how Derby College first hit on the idea of establishing a new campus on the former railway land in its quest to bring the institution onto one central site. The college was previously made up of three separate entities, which were located outside of the main city centre, often necessitating two or sometimes three separate bus journeys for students who were attending the campuses.
The college had long wanted to find a larger central location that was close to the city centre, where students could make just one train or bus journey from the suburbs.
ReTAINING INTeGRITY
The answer to their quest was staring them in the face. Anyone standing on the station platforms waiting for a train at Derby station couldn’t fail to notice the imposing but then-derelict roundhouse adjacent to the station with its attractive red brick frontage and imposing stone entrance and clock tower. The vast site could provide the space needed by the college, but it would take imagination, determination and big ticket funding to bring it back into use.
Although various parts of the former works had been
demolished following closure as part of the Pride Park redevelopment around the station, the roundhouse and ancillary railway buildings surrounding it remained in silent slumber, slowly decaying while awaiting their saviour… or the wrecking ball.
At one time, the erstwhile Waterman Railways had toyed with the idea of establishing an operating base on the site, but ultimately it was not to be and the company concentrated its efforts on Crewe, leaving Derby in limbo once again.
What to do with the roundhouse had been a conundrum for many years for the City Council, and a number of possible alternative uses for the site were considered, but all failed to materialise. It was only when Derby College came along to view the site as a possible location for their new central campus that its long term salvation seemed to be finally assured.
By the time Derby College purchased the site, the Works had lain out of use for a number of years, and this was not going to be a restoration for the faint hearted, especially as every aspect of the restoration had to feature authentic materials, or suitable replacements.
The buildings are Grade II*-listed and any restoration work carried out would involve full consultation and agreement with English Heritage to ensure that the integrity and historic nature of the structures would not be compromised or destroyed in the quest to establish a modern college building.
However, the historic nature of the buildings was one of the aspects of the project that had originally appealed to the college.
Work began on the project in January 2008 and took 88 weeks to complete, which is an impressive timescale considering the scale and scope of the work.
Funding for the £48 million project came from a variety of sources, including Derby City Council, the European Regional Development Fund, the
East Midlands Development Agency and the then Heritage Lottery Fund. The main contractors were Bowmer and Kirkland, who oversaw the project throughout its duration.
Having been empty for over 20 years by the time contractors first set foot in the buildings, it was inevitable that the buildings had suffered. The roundhouse had been on the English Heritage ‘At Risk Register’ for a number of years and needed a lot of attention to bring it back into a usable condition once more.
No part of the building was left untouched during the project and a huge amount of money had to be spent just making the buildings watertight again, reversing the many years of decline that had seen the roundhouse fall into such a perilous state of disrepair. Tons of debris and rubbish was disposed of during the initial phase.
OLD AND NeW
The project also involved the construction of new buildings, linking the restored structure and each named after famous railway engineers from history.
The 2008 buildings were designed to look ultramodern and in stark contrast to the originals, with steel and unique colour-changing glass chosen. While tempting to build a faux-railway structure to match the original buildings, the more modern glass and steel structures, it is argued, complement the older parts, helping to showcase the stunning Victorian architecture of the original works buildings.
Both the college and English Heritage were keen to ensure that the railway buildings could retain their
individual identity, rather than becoming lost among new ‘lookalike’ structures, and the addition of the modern buildings certainly fulfils that brief.
As with many buildings of the period, the roundhouse features windows and doors that were not built to standard dimensions, so everything had to be made specially so that it would fit the space for which it was designed. The building also still has an element of structural movement within it and, while small, has to be carefully monitored.
Modern heating equipment does not lend itself easily to such an elderly structure and compromises have had to be made. To counteract the fluctuating temperatures, some of the study areas are contained in large glass ‘pods’. Indeed, there has been much use of glass to make maximum use of the natural light that floods into the building through the restored cast iron windows.
Following completion of the work, the college moved in during July 2009 and thousands of students have since passed through, learning new skills and trades in this historic industrial setting that typifies the heritage of this former Midland Railway heartland.
All the while, the attention to detail of the rebuild remains the highlight, helping to breathe new life into this listed building that not too long ago was in danger of being lost forever.
It is pleasing that an institution that educates the engineers of tomorrow has paid a suitable tribute to the engineers of yesterday within their grounds.
Iain Baldwin explains: “The project gave the college a unique selling point with an iconic campus that would have the ‘wow factor’ and provide a unique setting for students to study in. People now know Derby College as being where the roundhouse is and it has set us apart from many of the other colleges around the country.
“The building gives us the recognition that you couldn’t manufacture.
“People have an impression of Derby College and it is an iconic centre that the city is proud of. There are issues surrounding maintenance, as you might expect from looking after a building that dates back to 1839, but we deal with these as best we can and it is a fantastic location to study, and we’re really proud of it.”
INDUSTRIAL SKILLS
The building is now an eye-catching 21st-century technical and professional skills college that teaches students many skills, such as electrical works, gas fitting, plumbing and various aspects of engineering. The college works with a number of railway contractors and operators to provide training for the railway engineers of the future, with many rail companies also providing work experience placements for students attending the college.
And it isn’t just industry skills; hairdressing and beauty courses are also offered in this unique setting.
The roundhouse has also become a popular location for events and can be hired out for corporate and private events, such as blue collar boxing matches, fashion shows, exhibitions and even weddings and wedding receptions.
Derby College has shown just what can be achieved when an organisation seeks to sympathetically restore a former railway building for a new purpose.
But with rails still spread all over the roundhouse, it is perhaps not wishful thinking to hope that we might see steam inside this Victorian temple once again.