North West

Bury Transport Museum will stand the test of time

bury transport museum

An exciting project to carefully restore the early Victorian Castlecroft Goods Warehouse has created a popular visitor attraction in Bury Town Centre.

Dating back to 1848, the goods shed provided handling and distribution facilities for over a century until it was closed by British Rail in 1963. Over the years, the progressive failure of materials and the discharge of rainwater led to significant water ingress within the building and the extensive dilapidation of the roof structure and fabric.

Following the closure of the building, British Rail demolished the remaining external/ancillary buildings and removed the internal corner spaces. Bury MBC purchased the site and building in 1965 and then use was transferred to the East Lancashire Railway Preservation Society in 1972 in order to create the Bury Transport Museum.

With the financial backing of HLF, NWDA and Bury MBC, the £2.27 million restoration project commenced in October 2008 and was completed in December 2009. Main contractor for the scheme was Irwins of Leeds and the architect was Brock Carmichael Architects.

Bury Transport Museum features a Welsh slate roof with a timber truss and cast iron column structure. Roof glazing has been reinstated in order to create effective internal lighting, whilst the large door openings on each elevation facilitate ease and flexibility of access by rail and road vehicles.

The building envelope has been accurately restored, whilst the internal elements of the building have been retained, repaired and restored. Additional facilities include a reception area, a large education room and toilets.

Sustainable features include solar heating for the hot water and low-energy electrical fittings.

David Watkins, Brock Carmichael Architects, explained:

“The approach of the project was to sensitively reinstate the original building in order to accurately reflect the existing details. In addition, new elements were required to facilitate the change in function from a goods warehouse to a museum; therefore modern materials were incorporated in the design.”

Lime-washed masonry walls, the exposed timber roof structure and new lighting has provided a stunning backcloth to the road and rail vehicle exhibits, which are arranged on the two original raised platform areas and within the large central ground floor area. Safe access for visitors is ensured by a combination of stairs, platform lifts and bridge links.

In December 2011, the project won an award at the prestigious National Railway Heritage Awards.

David Watkins commented:

“The building was dilapidated and large areas of the roof structure had begun to collapse. As a result, one of the biggest challenges was to repair the large timber trusses that were rotten and severely displaced. We used a system of resin and stainless steel reinforcement within the repaired timbers, which has restored the original appearance. In addition to this, a new boarded deck was added over the rafters and the slate roof and original rooflights and cast iron valley gutters were repaired and reinstated. All such details were carefully researched and analysed before they were put into practice.”

“Common Pipstrelle bats were also recorded as nocturnal visitors to the building, and the scheme carefully considered any impact in order to minimise disturbance and ensure that roost opportunities would not be lost as a result of the restoration work. A number of bat boxes were integrated within the south wall of the building externally at eaves level to maintain and encourage further roosting.

“Bury Transport Museum has exceeded projected visitor numbers, and has proved very popular with the local residents. It is a pleasure to know that we have been a part of this important project.”

About the author

Roma Publications