Building 17, former fitting shop at Elsecar Central Workshops

Workshop, 1850s for Earl Fitzwilliam. Renovated 1990 as part of Elsecar Heritage Centre.

MATERIALS: well-dressed, coursed sandstone with deep horizontal tooling, inner-wall facing mainly brick. Welsh slate roofs.

PLAN: tall central nave, with large central locomotive accesses at either end, with lean-to side aisles, the eastern aisle cut short to accommodate the adjoining boiler house, chimney and engine house (listed separately).

EXTERIOR: the side aisles (of ten bays on the western side, seven bays on the eastern) have regularly spaced, recessed, round-arched windows linked by a string course at impost level. The western aisle has a near central double door in place of one of the windows. The walling to the nave above the aisle roofs is blind, but divided up with simple pilasters. Rising from the southern end of the western aisle is a short stone-built chimney. The rebuilt gable ends are quoined, raised and coped. They each have a central, large, round-arched entrance with a circular ventilation opening high in the gable above. Above this there is an 1850 date stone, with an inscribed plaque below. The northern plaque reads ‘A stitch in time saves nine’, the southern ‘A place for everything and everything in its place’ these plaques being 1990 reproductions.

INTERIOR: the nave and side aisles are separated by arcades of cast iron columns supporting round, brickwork arches. The timber roof structure of queen post trusses is exposed. There is a small, low arched opening through to the former boiler house.