Wythenshawe Bus Depot

Wythenshawe Bus Depot, now used as warehousing, was built between 1939 and 1942 by the Manchester City Architect's Department, under the direction of Chief Architect G Noel Hill. The innovative concrete structure was devised by Messrs Chisarc and Shell D Ltd, with consulting engineer H G Cousins. The depot’s principal feature is its reinforced concrete arched construction utilizing shell concrete barrel vaults, incorporating central top lights of individual square prisms. The garage arches have a 165-foot span, a rise of approximately 42 feet, and are 42 feet apart, with the roof shell being 2.75 inches thick. A repair hall and washing bays, located to the rear and now separately occupied, are of rendered brick and have a roof formed of seven longitudinal shell cylinders, with a 22.6-foot radius, incorporating roof lights, rigid end frames and deep edge beams; the central bay includes expansion joints. Long strips of glazing are present in the side walls of the main garage, with folding doors to the front.

Originally planned to accommodate one hundred double-decker buses for Manchester Corporation bus services to the Wythenshawe Housing Estate, the depot was taken over in 1942 by the Ministry of Aircraft Production for the manufacture of A V Roe’s Lancaster aircraft. It represents one of the earliest examples of reinforced concrete shell roof construction in England. While Chisarc and Shell D Ltd held British patents for the system, its novelty and perceived German origins hindered its adoption in the late 1930s. It is smaller but earlier and more daring than the shell roof at Bournemouth, and foreshadowed the better-known bus garage at Stockwell in Lambeth. The construction of numerous bus garages was common in the late 1930s and early 1950s, reflecting the decline of tram services, and shell construction offered a cost-effective solution for wide, uninterrupted spans. The depot's innovative design was significantly influential following the war, particularly when steel, timber, and bricks were scarce.