The Roundhouse - Chalk Farm Road, London, UK
N 51° 32.607 W 000° 09.103
30U E 697500 N 5714107
This theatre, known as The Roundhouse, used to contain a turntable that was out grown as locomotives increased in size.
Waymark Code: WMENQ4
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 06/20/2012
Views: 4
The
Transport Heritage website tells of the history of the railway to London and
the need for the roundhouse:
"Birmingham experienced rapid economic growth in the
1820s and by 1830 was sending one thousand tons of goods every week by canal to
London.After the success of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway, the business
community therefore contemplated their own railway. George Stephenson advised
them on the most appropriate route and recommended the appointment of his son,
Robert Stephenson, as Chief Engineer in 1833.
The London & Birmingham Railway Company paid Stephenson £1,500 a year to build
what was the first railway into London. The 180 km. (112 mile) long London to
Birmingham line took 20,000 men and nearly five years to build. The total cost
of building the railway was £5,500,000 (£30,000 a km). The railway was opened in
stages and finally completed on 17 September 1838. The line started at
Birmingham's Curzon Street Station and finished at Euston Station in London. As
the Grand Junction Railway had been finished in July 1837, the four major cities
in England, London, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool were now linked
together.
In 1846 the L&BR merged with the Grand Junction Railway and the Manchester and
Birmingham Railway to form the London and North Western Railway, which in turn
was later absorbed into the London Midland and Scottish Railway, before finally
passing into the hands of the nationalised British Rail in 1948 to become part
of the West Coast Main Line as it is known today. The major change to the line
during this period was electrification, which was carried out during the mid
1960s as part of BR's Modernisation Plan.
Neither of the L&BR's original termini, both designed by Philip Hardwick, has
survived in its original form. Curzon Street station in Birmingham closed to
passenger traffic in 1854 (the original entrance building remains) when it was
replaced by New Street station and the original Euston station in London was
demolished in 1962 to make way for the present structure which opened in 1968.
However, the roundhouse at Camden has survived intact and is one of the first
examples of such structures in the world.
The Roundhouse was built in 1847 as a turntable engine shed or roundhouse. The
architects were Robert Stephenson and Robert B Dockray; the builder was Branson
& Gwyther. Roundhouses are large, circular or semicircular structures that were
traditionally located surrounding or adjacent to a turntable, which offered
access when the building was used for repair facilities or for storage of steam
locomotives.
Early steam locomotives normally travelled forwards only; although reverse
operations capabilities were soon built into locomotive mechanisms, the controls
were normally optimized for forward travel, and the locomotives often could not
operate as well in reverse. A turntable allowed a locomotive or other rolling
stock to be turned around for the return journey - steam locomotives of the time
could not run safely in reverse, as their tenders obscured the drivers' view,
and the turntable allowed engines to be turned round to point in the forward
direction. The design also allowed engines to be kept under cover in a number of
radial sidings within the shed.
The Grade II listedbuilding is regarded as a notable example of mid-19th century
railway architecture. The original building, 48 m. (157 ft) in diameter, is
constructed in yellow brick and is distinctive for its unusual circular shape
and pointed roof. The conical slate roof has a central smoke louvre (now glazed)
and is supported by twenty four cast-iron Doric columns - arranged around the
original locomotive spaces - and a framework of curved ribs. A central 12 m. (41
ft) turntable served 23 stalls for locomotives. The interior has original
flooring and parts of the turntable and fragments of early railway lines.
Within twenty years of opening, locomotives became too large for the facilities
to handle, and the Roundhouse underwent a number of changes of use. For many
years it was a gin store for the firm of W & A Gilbey Ltd until it fell into
disuse shortly before the Second Eorld War. It re-opened in 1966 as an arts
venue, when the playwright Arnold Wesker established the theatre company 'Centre
42' in the building. The then owners, the Greater London Council, handed control
to Camden Council in 1983 when Centre 42 ran out of funds, and the building
remained unused until local resident Sir Torquil Norman bought the Roundhouse in
1996 for £6m and spent ten years raising a further £27m to turn the derelict
engine shed into a state-of-the-art concert venue and added an educational wing
for the performing arts.
The renovation was supported with conservation advice and funding from English
Heritage and with grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Arts Council
England. The project included the addition of seven layers of sound-proofing to
the roof, re-instating the glazed roof-lights, and added the steel and glass New
Wing which curves around the north side of the main building to house the box
office, bar and café, and an art gallery foyer and offices."