The Roundhouse, cobbled ramps and tunnel (formerly stables for the City of Birmingham Engineers Depot)

Summary

Horseshoe shaped stables built in 1873-1874 for the Birmingham Corporation.

Reasons for Designation

The Roundhouse, a horseshoe-shaped former stables built 1873-1874 for the Corporation of Birmingham, with associated cobbled ramps and tunnel to the canal are listed at Grade II* for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* for the sophisticated and unusual horseshoe-shaped design by W H Ward which makes clever use of the site while referencing the original function of the building as stables;
* for the survival of key elements that illustrate the former function of the building, including the central loading door with hoist above, horse stall partitions and coffin-shaped lamp recesses;
* for the survival of the original courtyard arrangement with cobbled ramps, and a tunnel providing access to the canal, workshop and the arcaded undercroft below.

Historic interest:

* as a remarkable example of an urban stable yard which forms the heart of a complex of buildings associated with Birmingham Corporation

Group value:

* as the principal element in the Sheepcote Street complex, it forms a cohesive group with the listed gatehouses, workshop and storage building.

History

The Birmingham to Wolverhampton canal was constructed in 1766-1769 with engineering from James Brindley and was the first canal to be constructed in Birmingham. The canal was later ‘straightened’ by engineer John Smeaton in order to create a more direct and cost-effective route for goods transportation.

Prior to development, this site of the Roundhouse functioned as a canal wharf for stone deliveries, such as Rowley Rag, and possibly for other materials such as coal. The complex of buildings on the junction of Sheepcote Street and St Vincent Street and on the side of the newly straightened stretch of canal first appears to have been developed in the 1870s, when the stable and Gatehouses were built for the Corporation of Birmingham on the land in 1873-1874 following a suggestion by the Lamp and Paving sub-committee that the wharf become the principal depot for the Public Works committee. The development was the subject of an architectural competition in the early 1870s, which was won by W H Ward, an architect based in nearby Paradise Street. Ward was also the architect responsible for the Great Western Arcade, the Gazette Buildings and Queen’s Corner, Corporation Street.

It is thought that, owing to slight differences in the design and brickwork, that the former workshop was constructed at a slightly later date than the stables and gatehouses. However, the stables, gatehouses and former workshop all appear on the 1890 OS map as a complete group. Whilst the stables and gatehouses appear to remain largely unchanged throughout the map regression, the former workshop is depicted with the western and northern end notated as open sided. By the early-C20, these have been enclosed.

The 1914 Kelly’s Directory references the existence of the Corporation Lamp Department, as well as the Corporation Weighing Machine as being present within the Stables. The last reference to the Weighing Machine was in 1923, and it is understood that it was removed after this time.

The site was still in use as the City of Birmingham Engineers Department when the stables and gatehouses were first designated in 1976. The former stables, gatehouses and adjoining former workshop were then acquired by British Waterways (now the Canal and River Trust) in 2001, and in 2017 funding was secured for a programme of conservation works. The stables now house offices in the upper floor, whilst the lower floor houses a visitors centre and restaurant.

Details

Horseshoe shaped stables built in 1873-1874 for the Birmingham Corporation.

MATERIALS: constructed of red brick in Flemish garden wall bond with Welsh slate roofs.

PLAN: a two and three storey crescent shaped building which occupies the majority of the site.

EXTERIOR: the building has a symmetrical composition of horseshoe design built of red brick with some stone trim, with a Welsh slate roof covering. There are two ribbed ramps laid from the entrance at the junction of St Vincent Street and Sheepcote Street, one straight down and under an arch at the crown of the horseshoe, the other around the horseshoe and over the arch.

The central wing has three bays. Each has a plank door with glazed fanlight to the centre with a centrally placed half glazed loading door above. Flanking these are two round-arched windows in red and blue header bricks to the ground floor with a single centrally placed round arched window above. The windows are replica iron. The central loading door has surviving loading hoist above. The flanking wings also have plank doors with glazed fanlights above, with matching fenestration to the central block.

The outer face of the asset has an additional visible lower storey with unfenestrated brickwork in Flemish Garden wall bond. The lower storey has contiguous barrel-vaulted chambers with intervening brick buttresses. There are three round arched windows with red and blue brick detailing located at the upper storey of the central section. Located directly below the south and southeast facing windows are two modern floor-ceiling windows; one is a protruding angular bay.

INTERIOR: whilst the interior has been substantially modernised for office and hospitality use, there are a number of surviving historic features. The interior is a series of interconnecting rooms, with some modern inserted partitions dividing the spaces. Modern staircases have also been inserted to create partial upper floors in the southern end of the building. Within the lobby for the visitors centre, there is a surviving patch of exposed cobbles, demonstrating the buildings former stable use. Throughout the building, there are historic timber beams and roof supports.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: the circular yard area enclosed by the stables is surfaced in granite setts, with some basalt sets and granite kerbs.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

217603

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Kelly's Directory: Birmingham, (1914)

Other
First edition Ordnance Survey Map, 1890
Researching the Roundhouse: A Volunteer Project, Canal and River Trust

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