Derby Conference Centre

The Derby Conference Centre, a former Railway School of Transport built in 1937-38, was designed by William H. Hamlyn, principal architect to the London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSR). The building is constructed of brick with Portland stone dressings and a pantile roof to the principal range.

The principal three-storey range faces north-east towards London Road and is rectangular in plan, with two-storey wings at either end. Single- and two-storey wings project to the rear. The main façade comprises eleven bays: five on each side of a full-height entrance bay that breaks slightly forward from the main façade in two steps. A fairly steeply pitched hipped roof rises from behind an incised coped parapet. Recessed links either side, each with a single circular window at first-floor level, separate the main block from a pair of rectangular two-storey wings with flat roofs and obelisks rising from the parapet at the angles. These wings are expressed as one storey. The southernmost wing genuinely contains only the large lecture theatre on one floor, but the northern wing has what was originally staff accommodation on two storeys, with the fenestration linked vertically to provide symmetry to the façade.

The ground floor of the main block has a Portland stone-faced arcade of finely recessed and pilastered bays framing the recessed fenestration (a range of ten six-light 'swing' casements). Between these windows are eight shallow-carved bas-reliefs designed by the sculptor Denis Dunlop but executed locally. Each rectangular relief represents an aspect of the LMSR's activities: locomotive building, rolling stock construction, signals and telegraphs, civil engineering, architecture, research, marine transport and traffic operations.

The first and second floors each have ranges of ten metal six-light 'swing' casement windows, identical to those on the ground floor. Each window is framed with red bricks that contrast with the darker brick of the walling. The second-floor windows have keystones. The central entrance portico in Portland stone projects slightly forward. Its sides are formed by flat pilasters with quarter columns to either side, supporting a frieze bearing the motto 'STET FORTUNA DOMUS' ('may the fortune of the house endure'), topped by a parapet with urns at each end. The outer doors, door casing and inner doors are original, as are the lamps mounted on the portico pilasters. Above the portico is a full-height staircase window with multiple lights set within an architrave with a carved stone cartouche bearing the crest of the LMSR, reaching to the parapet.

From the roof above the portico rises a slender lantern in two stages. The first stage is louvered with columns at each corner, and the second is capped with a modest cupola bearing a restored weathervane topped by a gilded star, which the Railway Gazette reported 'symbolises the continued optimism and faith in the railway service'.

To the rear, the side wings are single storey and plain, set against the three storeys of the west extension. All rear roofs are flat. The wings containing the lounge to the dining room, games room and a classroom extend further back than the links containing the less prestigious rooms opening off the central part of the building, creating recesses between. The recess to the north-west has been subsequently filled in with extra accommodation. Detailing is sparse on the rear wings other than the recessing of the brickwork at the angles and plain coped parapets, but the quality of the original build is high.

The main entrance gives access to a round hallway with terrazzo floor and skirting (now carpeted over) and retains original circular ceiling lights. The twin curved doors opening off the hall are also original. Rising above the front half of the hall to the top floor is a fine curving unsupported staircase with chromium-plated tubular metal railings that continue across the landings on each floor. The semi-circular stairwell is lit at first and second floor level by original wall sconces. On either side of the double doors leading from the ground-floor hall through into the heart of the building are two striking painted mural panels. The painting on the left depicts an LMSR ferry leaving port; the one on the right shows three generations of locomotives spanning a century of steam as embodied by the LMSR in 1938: the Rocket, a late 19th-century coal engine, and a then-new streamlined Princess Coronation Pacific in full blue and white livery. The artist, whose signature survives on both murals, was Norman Wilkinson CBE (1878-1971).

The lateral corridors and those on the floors above give access to student accommodation and have been remodelled to provide en-suite facilities. An original service lift survives in the west wing.

The doors between the murals lead through the reception to a large rectangular room originally called the Hall of Transport and now known as the 'sunken lounge'. It measures approximately 35 metres by 14 metres and is top-lit by a series of seven skylights. The panels within the skylights are replacements of the originals with fewer lights. The centre of the room is sunken and colonnaded all round, and artificial lighting is provided by original chrome-stemmed globe electroliers and portable brushed chrome 'bunch of tulips' standards. This room was originally built to house a very large electric gauge 'O' model railway that ran within the colonnade and on which students could learn the rudiments of signalling and train operation. It was a key space in the building. The foundation stone and opening plaque are set into the walls either side of the entrance to the games room. The working model railway was removed in the 1960s and the room divided into three by partitions. These were removed in the 1990s and the room restored as much as possible to its original state. This necessitated replacement of the original ceiling lights with a design bearing a wheel motif taken from the ironwork on the London Road gates. The two short flights of stairs down to the sunken floor are in a different position to the originals.

At the north-west end of the former Hall of Transport is the dining room, which still retains its original chromium-plated light fittings. At its south-west end and originally partitioned off was a lounge, now incorporated into the dining room to make a larger L-shaped space. In the former lounge's south-east wall is an 8.5 by 1.8 metre painted mural designed by William Hamlyn and executed by three of his assistants, John Carter, John Ferguson Cooper and Harold Haynes Matthews. It shows the development of road and rail transport from 1838 to 1938, with an architectural backdrop centred on the Euston Arch and a range of other famous buildings and structures.

The final room is the lofty lecture theatre with original seating and a projection room. Lighting here has been replaced but the decorative plasterwork and architectural joinery survive, as do the original projection boards.

Some Art Deco features survive elsewhere in the building, such as curved door cases and skirtings, though most of the doors have been replaced in line with fire regulations. The classrooms are largely unaltered but relatively plain in design.

To the west of the main building and sharing the same alignment is a brick, flat-roofed block with garaging for six cars, workshops behind and a boiler house beneath. The main façade comprises three bays with folding garage doors either side of a central tower-like stepped stack.

The London Road boundary wall to the site is in brick with an incised coped parapet identical to that on the main building. The central iron gates have brick piers and are flanked by pedestrian gates. Each gate incorporates the circular wheel motif used in the design of the modern lights in the former Hall of Transport.