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BOROUGH COUNCIL OF WELLINGBOROUGH AGENDA ITEM 4 Development Committee 17 February 2020

Report of the Principal Planning Manager

Local listing of the Roundhouse and proposed Article 4 Direction

1 Purpose of report

For the committee to consider and approve the designation of the Roundhouse (or number 2 engine shed) as a locally listed building and for the committee to also approve an application for the addition of an Article 4(1) direction to the building in order to remove permitted development rights and prevent unauthorised demolition.

2 Executive summary

2.1 The Roundhouse is a railway locomotive engine shed built in 1872 by the Midland Railway. There is some concern locally that the building could be demolished and should be protected. It was not considered by English Heritage to be worthy of national listing but it is considered by the council to be worthy of local listing.

2.2 Local listing does not protect the building from demolition but is a material consideration in a planning application.

2.3 An article 4(1) direction would be required to be in place to remove the permitted development rights of the owner. In this case it would require the owner to seek planning permission for the partial or total demolition of the building.

3 Appendices

Appendix 1 – Site location plan Appendix 2 – Photos of site Appendix 3 – Historic mapping Appendix 4 – Historic England report for listing Appendix 5 – Local list criteria

4 Proposed action:

4.1 The committee is invited to APPROVE that the Roundhouse is locally listed and to APPROVE that an article 4 (1) direction can be made.

1 5 Background

5.1 The building is located just off the new Roundhouse Way connecting the railway station to Finedon Road.

5.2 The Roundhouse is a locomotive engine shed built in 1872 for the Midland railway by architect John Holloway Saunders. An identical roundhouse was built nearby in 1868 but was demolished in 1960 and replaced with a replacement storage shed that has also now been demolished.

5.3 The building is square in form and covered by a roof in three parts that provides a distinctive triple gable at the South and North elevations.

5.4 The building was entered by locomotives from the North and then manoeuvred on a turntable to one of 24 roads within the building. The locomotives were then repaired and maintained as necessary. The turntable gives the name of ‘roundhouse’ to the building.

5.5 After 1966 the building was not used by the railways and became a storage and distribution warehouse, most notably for the Totectors company. A large sign still remains on the Northern elevation.

5.6 Internally the turntable has been removed and or filled in and the smoke ducts have been removed.

5.7 The windows have been bricked up from the outside but internally the steel frame windows remain.

5.8 English Heritage (now Historic England) in 2011 was requested to list the building as a building of national importance. In the report attached Appendix 4 the architectural and historical significance of the building is discussed. The conclusion was that the building did not meet the criteria for national listing.

5.9 In the Pevsner book ‘Buildings of Northamptonshire’ 2011 the building is described as a ‘rare Locomotive Roundhouse of 1872’.

5.10 Local concern has been raised regarding the possible demolition of the roundhouse. The possibility of demolition been raised on social media platforms and in the local newspaper. The planning department and conservation officer have been contacted by worried local interest groups.

6 Discussion

6.1 The current status of the building is that it is within the area known as Stanton Cross and is owned by the developer Bovis Homes (now Vistry Homes).

6.2 The building is not listed or within a conservation area, and as such is vulnerable to being demolished by the owner who could do so without requiring planning permission.

2 6.3 The owner has not described any intention to demolish the building and is currently working with the council’s planning team to develop an end use for the building that would be sustainable.

6.4 A structural survey and an asbestos survey are being undertaken to inform this process.

6.5 In order to strengthen the position of the roundhouse in planning terms and to protect it from demolition, other than approved by a planning application, a two stage process would be required by the council.

6.6 The first stage would be to locally list the building in line with the local list of heritage assets SPD as adopted by the council in October 2013. The SPD sets out selection criteria for local listing based on age, design, history, archaeology and condition. These criteria have been considered and the roundhouse does meet the standards required as described in Appendix 5. The SPD envisaged validation by an Advisory Panel before being submitted to Development Committee for approval. However given that this proposal relates to a single property this stage is not considered necessary. Should the committee agree to list the asset a letter will be sent to the owner explaining the implications of the decision and the entry shall be recorded into the Northamptonshire Historic Environment Record (HER).

6.7 The second stage is to add a non immediate article 4( 1) direction for the removal of permitted development rights, in particular demolition of the building in part or as a whole. The process requires the serving of a notice on the owner, a site display and an advertisement. The secretary of state is also notified. The process is not immediate and allows representations from the owner to be considered. This process would take a minimum of seven weeks at which point the Article 4 (1) is confirmed.

6.8 An immediate article 4 (1) direction would not allow the owner to make representations and would be open to claims of compensation from the owner. It is not considered that the building is at immediate risk.

7 Legal powers

7.1 The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Amendment) (England) Order 2010 (Statutory Instrument 2010/654).

8 Financial and value for money implications

No planning fee would be liable should a planning application follow the article 4 direction.

3 9 Risk analysis

Nature of risk Consequences Likelihood of Control if realised occurrence measures The building is Reputational This is currently Discussion with demolished damage to the considered the owner and the council for not unlikely, but this implementation of seeking to could change an Article 4(1) protect the upon the result direction. building. of the structural survey. The building is The building is This is Continued demolished prior lost, and there is considered discussion with to an article 4(1) reputational unlikely as the the owner. being in place damage to the owner is council. responsible for a much wider site. Compensation Financial Unlikely due to A non immediate is sought by the compensation the type of article 4 direction owner would be Article 4 used. is recommended required. to allow representation from the owner.

10 Implications for resources 10.1 An amount of officer time is required to prepare the Article 4(1) direction.

11 Implications for stronger and safer communities None

12 Implications for equalities 12.1 An initial EqIA screening was completed which determined that a full EqIA would not be required.

13 Author and contact officer John Udall – Design and Conservation Officer

14 Consultees Liz Elliott, Managing Director Vicki Jessop, Assistant Director Victoria Phillipson, Principal Property and Projects Manager Martyn Swann, Principal Planning Manager Sue Bateman, Senior Planning Officer Louise Jelley, Senior Development Management Officer Emma Granger, District Law Eric Symons, Assistant Director

15 Background papers None

4 Engine Shed 2, The Roundhouse

Scale: ± 1:2,500

Author: J Udall Date: 27/01/2020

Cities Revealed Aerial Photography copyright: GetMapping PLC 1999 Show new road layout 5

6 7 8 9 10 11

12 Engine sheds 1 and 2 in 1882

Scale: ± 1:3,500

Author: J Udall Date: 27/01/2020

Cities Revealed Aerial Photography copyright: GetMapping PLC 1999 Shows both engine sheds and associated buildings with the track and sidings 13

E N G L I S H H E R I T A G E

EAST OF ENGLAND REGION

Mr Paul Boatman Our Ref: 164178 Bovis Homes Group Pie Bromwich Court Highway Point Direct Line: 01223 582725 Gorsey Lane Coleshill Email: donna.martin@english- Warwickshire heritage.org.uk B46 1JU

14 December 2011

Dear Mr Boatman,

PLANNING (LISTED BUILDINGS AND CONSERVATION AREAS) ACT 1990 BUILDINGS OF SPECIAL ARCHITECTURAL OR HISTORIC INTEREST

OLD WELLINGBOROUGH MOTIVE POWER DEPOT (15A) OR ROUNDHOUSE, MILL ROAD, WELLINGBOROUGH, WELLINGBOROUGH, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE

I refer to the application to add the above building to the list of buildings of special architectural or historic interest, which we believe has not been notified.

The Secretary of State has consulted us in our role as the Government's statutory adviser on the historic environment with responsibility for listing. We have considered all representations made, and completed the assessment of the above building. Having considered our recommendation the Secretary of State decided not to list the building on 2nd March 2011.

I enclose a copy of our advice report, prepared for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), which gives the principal reasons for this decision.

If you consider that this decision has been wrongly made you may contact the DCMS within 28 days of the date of this letter to request that the Secretary of State review the decision. An example of a decision made wrongly would be where there was a factual error or an irregularity in the process which affected the outcome. You may also ask the Secretary of State to review the decision if you have any significant evidence relating to the special architectural or historic interest of the building which was not previously considered. Further details of the review criteria and process and how to request a review are contained in the annex to this letter.

Yours sincerely

BROOKLAND S 24 B ROO K LAN D S AVEN UE CAMB RIDG E CB2 8BU Teleplzo11e 01223 582700 Facsimile 01223 582701 www.e11glislz-lzeri1age.org.11h Tlze Nationa l J\!Io 1111111ents Record is the pu blic archive of E11glislz Heritage 15

E N G L I S H H E R I T A G E

EAST OF ENGLAND REGIO N

Donna Martin Designation Co-ordinator, East [email protected],

Data Protection Act 1998

The information you provide, including personal details, and any information obtained from other sources will be retained by English Heritage, in hard copy form and/or on computer for administrative purposes and future consideration, where applicable. English Heritage will not release personal information to a third party if its disclosure would contravene any of the data protection principles in the Data Protection Act 1998

BROOKLANDS 24 BROOKLANDS AVENUE CAMBRIDGE CB2 SEU Telephone 01223 582700 Facsimile 01223 582701 www.e11glish-lie ritage.org.11h The National 1\tio1111111e11ts Record is the public archive of English Heritage 17

E N G L I S H H E R I T A G E

EAST OF EN GLAND REGIO N

Annex: Review Criteria and Process

A review will only be carried out in the following circumstances :

(1) there is evidence that the original decision has been made wrongly . Examples would include:

- where there was a factual error, eg. the wrong building was listed; or - where there has been some irregularity in the process which has affected the outcome, eg. relevant considerations were not taken into account or irrelevant considerations were taken into account.

(2) there is significant evidence which was not previously considered, relating to the special architectural or historic interest of the building, as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990. An example would be where new evidence relating to the date of a building has been discovered which might make a material difference to the architectural or historic interest of the building.

Having conducted a review, the Secretary of State will either affirm or overturn the original decision. It is important to understand that the original decision will stand until the Secretary of State has made a decision on whether the original decision should be affirmed or overturned. If the original decision is overturned, this will not have retrospective effect.

How to request a review of a listing decision

Reviews are carried out by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and review requests should be made on the Department's 'Listing Review Request Form'. The Form is accompanied by Guidance to assist you in making a review request. Both the Form and the Guidance can be downloaded from the 'Reviews of Listing Decisions' page of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's website at: wwW .culture.gov.uk/what_we_do/historic_environment/6294 .aspx

If you are unable to access the website please contact: The Listing Review Officer Heritage Protection Branch Culture Team Department for Culture Media and Sport 2-4 Cockspur Street London SW1Y 5DH.

Review requests should normally be made within 28 days of the date of this letter. Requests made beyond this period may be considered in exceptional circumstances .

BROOKLAN DS 24 BRO O KLANDS AVENUE CAMB R IDGE CB2 8BU Telephone 01223 582700 Facsimile 01223 582701 www.euglish-heriwge.org.uk The National /11Ion 11111ems Record is the public archive of English Heritage 19

,1 I English Heritage (Listing) Advice Report 01 MAR 2011 ADDRESS

OLD WELLINGBOROUGH MOTIVE POWER DEPOT (15A) OR ROUNDHOUSE, MILL ROAD, WELLINGBOROUGH

Parish WELLINGBOROUGH Case UID: 164178 District WELLINGBOROUGH County NORTHAMPTONSHIRE

Date First Listed: Formerly Listed As:

RECOMMENDATION

Outcome: No, do not list Recommended Grade: NL 09-NOV-2010 BACKGROUND: After examining all the papers on this file and other relevant information and having carefully considered the architectural and historic interest of this case, the criteria for listing are not fulfilled. CONTEXT English Heritage have been asked to consider the former no. 2 locomotive shed, or roundhouse off Mill Road, Wellingborough, for listing. The applicant believed the site, now part of an industrial estate, was under threat of demolition to allow for an extensive housing development, known as Stanton Cross. The planning application was approved on 8 March 2006 but to date has not been . implemented. The roundhouse does not stand within a Conservation Area, and there are no other relevant statutory designations.

HISTORY The first C19 engine maintenance sheds, known as roundhouses, were built in two forms; square or rectangular, with parallel lines of tracks; or circular in appearance although sixteen-sided polygons; with a central turntable serving radiating tracks, or roads, onto which individual locomotives were rolled for maintenance. Circular ones fell out of favour in the 1870s because they were very difficult to extend to cope with the increasing size of locomotives and their coal tenders. The turntable in the Wellingborough roundhouse, also known as no. 2 locomotive shed, was seventeen metres in diameter serving twenty-four roads, each road with one, or often two, funnel- shaped chimney flues discharging through the roof above. Several roads also had continuous inspection pits for maintenance of the engines. The Ordnance Survey Maps of 1888 and 1925 indicate that locomotives entered the shed through the archway in the centre of the north elevation, and that there were workshops attached to the extreme ends of the facade. There are identical examples at Wigston (1873), Carnforth (1874), Staveley Barrow Hill (1870), and Derby.

Page 1 of 5

English Heritage (Listing) Advice Report 01 MAR 2011 distribution warehouse by the flour millers Whitworth & Co. Durig this period, full length clerestories were added to the roof to provide ventilation.

DESCRIPTION The Roundhouse is a large building, sixty metres square, constructed of red brick in English bond with dressings of blue engineering brick, covered by three parallel gabled roofs running north- south. These are clad with corrugated iron as are the clerestories . Each gable end has triple round-headed stepped lights above three round-arched windows linked by stringcourses at the base of the arches. All the windows are blocked with brick. The north and south central gables have wide segmental arches for the entrance of locomotives in place of the central window, and to the east and west elevations are eleven blocked round-headed windows. Above them is a corbelled eaves cornice.

INTERIOR [

ASSESSMENT: CONSULTATION The consultation was carried out in-line with departmental procedure. A response was received from Network Rail commenting that as a post 1860 building the English Heritage Selection Guide for Transport Buildings dictates rigorous selection; That this is far from being a rare building type, and that the building has been heaviliy altered over time with integral features such as the turntable and roads having been removed. The roof has also been replaced. All of these factors have been taken into consideration in preparing the advice. There were no other responses.

ASSESSMENT The development of the railway network was one of the greatest achievements of the Victorians and marked the C19 culmination of the transport revolution which had begun in the middle of the C17 with improved roads and in the following century with turnpikes and canals. The railways had major consequences for the economic, social and cultural development of the country and fall into four phases. The early pioneering phase beginning with the Stockton to Darlington Railway in 1825 to the completion of the Great Western Railway from 1841, gave way to the heroic age of railway building between 1841 and 1850, often called the period of railway mania. This period established the principal routes which make up todays rail network and evolved into the third phase of railway development, consolidation of the network, and the opening of the Settle to Carlisle line which carried the Midland Railway into Scotland. The fourth phase up to 1914 saw the completion of the network.

The Transport Buildings Selection Guide (English Heritage, March 2007) indicates that normal considerations apply when assessing buildings that are of outstanding architectural or technological importance, or exceptionally early in the history of the railways. Pre-1840 buildings will be of international significance as being among the earliest railway structures in the world, and even partial survivals need to be assessed carefully. The 1840s saw a massive expansion in the network and while the Italianate style was favoured, many designs were eclectic. Great care should be taken in seeking out work of this date because, although much survives, it is often hidden by later alterations and extensions. Rigorous selection is required for buildings after c.1860: this reflects both the quantity of what remains and the standardisation of design.

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English Heritage (Listing) Advice 01 MAR 2011 Report Roundhouses were for the maintenance of railway locomotives, the most celebrated of which are the early examples at Camden (1846-47), by Robert Dockray, at Leeds (1847), by Thomas Grainger and John Bourne, and Derby (c1830), by Francis Thompson, all listed at Grade II*. The most complete Midland Railway square roundhouse is at Staveley Barrow Hill (1870), listed at Grade II. There are a number of surviving roundhouses built by the North-Eastern Railway, including the National Railway Museum in York (1876-77). Approximately forty-two of the surviving examples and most of the listed roundhouses either retain their turntables or have evidence for them.

The Roundhouse at Mill Road does not retain the twenty-four roads, the internal smoke ducts above each one, the inspection pits, and its ancillary workshops such as the blacksmith, coppersmith, and machine shops or the boiler houses, although one remained until fairly recently. The roof was replaced in the 1960s when the chimney flues were removed, but the iron glazing bars of the windows, for which Midland locomotive sheds of this period were noted, survive internally, although the openings are bricked up. Unfortunately the survival of the windows is incidental and does not compensate for other losses. Rigorous selection is required for railway buildings after c1860, reflecting both the quality of what remains and the standardisation of design. A number of factors should be taken into account when assessing buildings of the latter half of the C19, including approaches to construction, distinctiveness of house style, and rarity of survival, group value is also significant. The Roundhouse off Mill Road, Wellingborough, was one of a pair, the other having been demolished. Although the building has some fine brickwork, it has lost its turntable and associated mechanism, as well as the key functional buildings once attached to it. In recent years it has also undergone significant internal alteration and conversion to light industrial use.

CONCLUSION The Roundhouse, Mill Road, Wellingborough, also known as the Old Wellingborough Motive Power Station (15A), is too altered to meet the criteria and should not be listed. It belongs to the later phases of railway development and, although the Wellingborough roundhouse of 1872-73 retains its plan and external elevations, there have been substantial alterations and all of the internal fittings and equipment have been removed. It does not have the special interest of Grade II listed examples such as the Engine Shed, off Campbell Drive, Chesterfield (UID 325059), which retains its turntable, twenty-two roads, and inspection pits, and does not meet the criteria for more than special interest of The Roundhouse, Chalk Farm Road, Camden (UID 476873) or The Roundhouse, Wellington.Road, Leeds (UID 465714) both listed at Grade II*. Unfortunately, The Roundhouse known as No. 2 Locomotive Shed, Mill Road, Wellingborough does not have the special architectural and historic interest to merit listing in a national context.

SOURCES Saunders, J.H., 'drawings of the Wellingborough no. 2 shed' (13 March 1871) Public Records Office, Kew, RAIL 491/608 Fawcett, 8., A History of North-Eastern Railway Architecture, Vol. 2: A Mature Art (2003), 108 Hawkins, C. and Reeve, G., LMS Engine Sheds Vol. 2: The Midland Railway (1981), 228-232 http://www.abtrail.co.uk/good shed guide, accessed on 22 June 2010

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION DECISION: The Roundhouse, Mill Road, Wellingborough is not recommended for designation for the following principal reasons:

* Architectural Interest: It is of standard design for the period, of a type replicated throughout

Page 3 of 5

. '

English Heritage (Listing) Advice Report 01 MAR 2011

England and not of the quality of those examples represented on the List. * Alterations: It has been substantially altered internally and the roof has been replaced, and chimney flues removed. Although the iron glazing bars remain, the window openings have been bricked up. * Intactness: The functional features, such as the turntable roads, and ancilliary buildings that distinguish this building type have all been removed.

VISITS

09-MAY-2008 Full inspection Visit by Adviser Dr Dale Dishon

COUNTERSIGNING

Countersigning Comments: Agreed, no do not List.

The Roundhouse is a large and impressive structure, but is of a late date for railway buildings, and is too altered, with the loss of historic fabric, to merit listing.

24 February 2011

Second Countersigning Comments:

HP Director Comments:

Proposed List Entry

MILL ROAD

Page 4 of 5

English Heritage (Listing) Advice 01 MAR 2011 Report OLD WELLINGBOROUGH MOTIVE POWER DEPOT (1SA) OR ROUNDHOUSE

Case UID: 164178 Proposed LBS UID: 503730

Page 5 of 5

' I

APPENDIX B: LOCAL LIST NOMINATION FORM

An expert panel considers all nominations, which are then confirmed by elected members. Decisions are based on a majority view of whether a nomination meets set criteria to then be ratified by Development Committee. A letter will be sent to you notifying you of the Council’s.

Local listing does not protect a feature in the way that statutory listing does, but the local list is a material consideration in planning applications and is also aimed at informing land owners of the local interest of their property. Full details are available in Wellingborough’s Local List Supplementary Planning Document (SPD), which is available at the Council Officers and online.

Please return your completed form to the address or email in the footer of this page.

Details of person making the nomination: Name John Udall

Address BCW, Conservation Officer

Telephone 01933 231918

Email [email protected]

Details of the owner / occupier of the heritage asset, if known: Name Vistry Homes

Address

Telephone

Details of the structure or landscape feature If available Description / Brief description of the Heritage Asset: Type The Roundhouse is a square brick built locomotive engine shed built for Midland Railways in1872. The roof is a three part pitched roof giving a distinctive triple gable at each end.

Address The Roundhouse, Roundhouse Way, Wellingborough

Actual Age 1872 (if known) Is the asset No occupied? 

Note, age categories are not applicable for archaeology.

Age Category Implications Tick buildings only box Before 1700 All buildings that contain a significant proportion of their original fabric are listed

From 1700 to 1840 Most buildings are listed that contain a significant proportion of their original fabric

After 1840 Because of the greatly increased number of buildings erected and the much larger numbers that have survived, progressively greater selection is  necessary. After 1945 Particularly careful selection is required.

Less than 30yrs Normally listed only if of outstanding quality and old under threat

Age Category. Implications Tick Landscapes only box Before 1750 Sites formed before 1750 where at least a proportion of the original layout is still in evidence

From 1750 to 1840 Sites laid out between 1750 and 1840 where enough of the layout survives to reflect the original design. After 1840 Sites with a main phase of development post-1840 which are of local interest and relatively intact, the degree of required local interest rising as the site becomes closer in time. After 1945 Particularly careful selection is required for sites from the period after 1945.

Less than 30yrs old Sites of less than 30 yeas old are normally registered only if they are of outstanding quality and under threat.

Design: To be of local design interest, a heritage asset must be of importance in its architectural, landscape or artistic design and decoration and craftsmanship. Local interest may also apply to locally important example of particular heritage asset types and techniques, including the local vernacular and technological innovation or virtuosity. The appearance of an asset– both its intrinsic design merit and any group value, i.e. grouping of assets with a clear visual, design or historic relationship – is a key consideration in judging listing proposals, and the intrinsic design value of an asset will be considered in relation to local styles, materials or any other distinctive local characteristic. The local interest of a heritage asset will not always be reflected in obvious external visual quality. Assets that are important for reasons of technological innovation, or as illustrating particular aspects of social or economic history, may or may not have external visual quality.

Describe the local design interest, if applicable: The turntable in the Wellingborough roundhouse, also known as no. 2 locomotive shed, was seventeen metres in diameter serving twenty-four roads, each road with one, or often two, funnel- shaped chimney flues discharging through the roof above. Several roads also had continuous inspection pits for maintenance of the engines. The Ordnance Survey Maps of 1888 and 1925 indicate that locomotives entered the shed through the archway in the centre of the north elevation, and that there were workshops attached to the extreme ends of the facade. There are identical examples at Wigston (1873), Carnforth (1874), Staveley Barrow Hill (1870), and Derby. The Roundhouse is a large building, sixty metres square, constructed of red brick in English bond with dressings of blue engineering brick, covered by three parallel gabled roofs running north- south. These are clad with corrugated iron as are the clerestories . Each gable end has triple round- headed stepped lights above three round-arched windows linked by stringcourses at the base of the arches. All the windows are blocked with brick. The north and south central gables have wide segmental arches for the entrance of locomotives in place of the central window, and to the east and west elevations are eleven blocked round-headed windows. Above them is a corbelled eaves cornice. The central turntable and twenty-four roads with their pits and chimney flues have all been removed, and the floor has been covered in concrete . Two lines of four cast-iron octagonal piers with trumpet capitals run north to south and support deep cast-iron lattice girders under the valleys of the roofs.

History: To be of local historic interest, a heritage asset must illustrate important aspects of the local social, economic, cultural or military history, or provide archaeological value. They may have close historic associations with important people, events or customs or by reason of being a local landmark. They should be perceived as a source of local identity, distinctiveness, social interaction and coherence, often residing in intangible aspects of heritage contributing to the “collective memory” of a place. There should normally be some quality of interest in the physical fabric of the asset to justify listing.

Describe the local historic interest, if applicable:

The Midland, North Eastern, and Great Western Railway Companies, all favoured square locomotive sheds from the 1860s and the Midland Railway Company built them at nineteen sites between 1867 and 1900, often with more than one at each location. There were originally two at Wellingborough, Wellingborough No. 1 built in 1868 to the north was demolished in 1964. There were two at Burton of exactly the same design and date. Before the 1890s locomotive sheds were quite elaborately detailed, with decorative brickwork, corbelling and diamond-pattern glazing bars in the windows, and this was the case at Wellingborough, ·designed by John Holloway Saunders of the Midland Railway Architects Department in 1871, under Chief Engineer, John Crossley, and built in 1872-73. The surviving roundhouse went out of use in 1966, following which it was used as a distribution warehouse by the flour millers Whitworth & Co. Given that only 19 such buildings were built and that two of them were in Wellingborough suggests that the locomotive maintenance department at Wellingborough was important. There are few intact remaining examples which include only one example that is listed in Chesterfield that now houses a railway museum. Other non-listed examples are at Wigston, Carnforth, Staverley Barrow Hill and Derby. In the series of architectural guides by Pevsner the Northamptonshire edition describes the 1857 station and then goes on to mention ‘not only the station itself but other ancillary buildings survive including a rare locomotive Roundhouse of 1872 off Mill Road’

Alterations: Modern interventions can be sympathetic or detract from the local interest of a heritage asset. Alterations should be noted. A value judgement should then be made as to whether enough of the asset’s local interest remains to justify listing. N/A Detrimental Neutral Beneficial 

Describe alterations, if necessary, with dates if known.

Alterations to the building took place after the railway use and included, filling in the pits for the turntable, blocking up windows and removing the small side buildings. The chimney funnels have also been removed. What remains is the brick square structure with the three pitched roofs giving the distinctive triple gables at each end. Most of the window frames remain intact behind the bricked up openings. It is fair to say that enough original material has been removed to exclude the Roundhouse from a position of national importance. But it is fair to say that enough remains for the Roundhouse to have significant local importance and to b locally listed.

Condition: The state of repair of a heritage asset is not a relevant consideration when deciding whether a heritage asset meets the test of local interest. Repair issues should however be noted to inform potential management proposals.

At Poor Acceptable Good Risk 

Describe the condition, if necessary

The Roundhouse building remains intact and there have been no collapses or rebuilds. The roof appears to be in good order and there are no major water ingresses. There are some concerns about some areas of the brickwork.

Evidence: Map Photographs Other  

Please list source of information and evidence. You may also draw a map on this page or overleaf if the location is difficult to find:

Historical maps dating 1892-88 and 1925-26