Wythenshawe Bus Garage
Wythenshawe Bus Garage is a Grade II* listed building [1] in Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester.[2]
Designed by Manchester City Architects Department, under G. Noel Hill and completed in 1942[3] the garage was a pioneering example of its type of construction. It was the second largest reinforced concrete shell roof structure to be constructed in England. The building’s structure was particularly innovative for its time, its concrete arches have a span of 165 ft (50.3m) from side to side, are 42 ft (12.8m) high and spaced 42 ft (12.8m) apart. The tensile concrete shell roof between these concrete arches is just 2.5 inches (63.5mm) thick and is daringly punctured by large rooflights. Wythenshawe Garage proved to be the model for much larger buildings using the concrete shell roof structure technique, which was an economic method of achieving large uninterrupted roof spans.
Originally designed to garage 100 double-decker buses, the building on completion in 1942 was immediately commandeered by the Ministry of Aircraft Production for the building of Lancaster Bombers in support of Britain’s World War II efforts.
The building is now in private ownership and is used for warehousing.
Notes [edit]
- ^ http://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-487891-wythenshawe-bus-depot-manchester
- ^ Wythenshawe Bus Depot, Heritage Gateway, retrieved 26 December 2009
- ^ The Buildings of England: Lancashire - Manchester and the South-East, page 498
References [edit]
- Hartwell, Clare; Hyde, Matthew; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2004), Lancashire: Manchester and the South East, The Buildings of England, New Haven, CT; London: Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-10583-5
- Harwood, Elain (2003), England: A Guide to Post War Listed Buildings (2 ed.), London: Batsford, p. ?, ISBN 978-0-7134-8818-0
Coordinates: 53°24′04″N 2°15′22″W / 53.40100°N 2.25624°W
