The former Lancaster Carriage and Wagon Works is located in Caton Road, Lancaster,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, England. The works produced railway rolling stock and trams. The buildings were designed by the local architect E. G. Paley. After the company moved its business elsewhere, the building was used during the First World War for the internment of

enemy alien In customary international law, an enemy alien is any native, citizen, denizen or subject of any foreign nation or government with which a domestic nation or government is in conflict and who is liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured and ...

s. It is

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

at Grade II, and, as of 2011, is in use as an office, warehouse and factory.

History

The Lancaster Railway Carriage and Wagon Company originated in 1863. Offices and workshops for the company were designed by the local architect E. G. Paley, and built between 1863 and 1865 alongside the North Western Branch of the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It am ...

. The works manufactured railway carriages and wagons, trams, wheels and axles, and provided wagons for hire. It closed in 1908 when its business moved to the

Ashbury Railway Carriage and Iron Company Ltd The Ashbury Carriage and Iron Company Limited was a manufacturer of railway rolling stock founded by John Ashbury in 1837 in Commercial Street, Knott Mill in Manchester, England, near the original terminus of the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne an ...

. During the First World War the buildings were used for the internment of

s. At one time the officer in charge was

Robert Graves Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was a British poet, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were both Celtic ...

, who later included his experiences in Lancaster in his autobiography ''

Good-Bye to All That ''Good-Bye to All That'' is an autobiography by Robert Graves which first appeared in 1929, when the author was 34 years old. "It was my bitter leave-taking of England," he wrote in a prologue to the revised second edition of 1957, "where I had ...

''. In 2011, the buildings were being used as an office, warehouse and as part of a factory.

Architecture

The building is constructed in

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

and has

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

roofs. The front which faces Caton Road consists of a long range of single-storey workshops with ventilation provided through a

clerestory In architecture, a clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, ''clerestory'' denoted an upper l ...

. It has a central entrance gateway with a tall clock tower. The tower is in three stages. In the bottom stage is the wagon entrance with a rusticated segmental arch, above which are four round-headed windows and a clock face. The tower has a steep pyramidal roof on the top of which is a timber

bellcote A bellcote, bell-cote or bell-cot is a small framework and shelter for one or more bells. Bellcotes are most common in church architecture but are also seen on institutions such as schools. The bellcote may be carried on brackets projecting from ...

, also with a pyramidal roof. The office block is in two storeys. It has a wide central bay between two semi-octagonal windows. The front range of the works and the office are recorded in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, an ...

as a designated Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

References

{{City of Lancaster Buildings and structures in Lancaster, Lancashire Grade II listed buildings in Lancashire Railway workshops in Great Britain E. G. Paley buildings Transport in the City of Lancaster

History

Architecture

See also

References