Former Trent Bridge Tram Depot

Former Nottingham Corporation Trent Bridge Tram Depot

The former Nottingham Corporation Trent Bridge Tram Depot was built by Arthur Brown, the City Engineer, and opened in 1901.

The building is constructed of red brick laid in Flemish bond with rubbed brick and stone dressings. The roof covering over the former car house is slate with glazed strips on each pitch, whilst the rear repair shops have raised glazed ridges, and the stable roof is clad in plain red clay tiles.

The depot is a very large building occupying an entire block within an area of late 19th-century and early 20th-century housing, bounded by Bunbury Street to the north-east, Pyatt Street to the south-east, Wilford Crescent East to the south-west, and Turney Street to the north-west. It has a rectangular plan consisting of the former car house at the north-east end, repair shops, stores and a yard at the south-west end. Along the south-eastern wall of the yard is the former cart shed with a recreation room above, and in the southern corner is the former stable.

The depot is relatively plain architecturally but is embellished with some delicate neo-classical detailing. It has a plinth of engineering brick, a dentilled brick eaves cornice, stone quoins, and moulded stone coping at the gable ends. The former car house, which faces north-east onto Bunbury Street, has a triple span roof with segmental pediments at the three gable heads, moulded stone kneelers, and two stone bands spanning the façade. The nine tall entrance openings are divided by wooden piers in the form of panelled pilasters with a fluted frieze to the capitals, although not all of these are intact due to the fifth, sixth and seventh openings having been modified. A continuous stone architrave above the openings has a dentilled cornice and segmental pediments at each end. An exhaust extraction has been inserted in the semicircular window in the central gable head. At the far left of the façade, the former mess room is lit by a three-light mullion and transom window with a quarter round moulding to the brick jambs. The mullions are ovolo moulded with a fillet and the plain stone lintel has a moulded cornice. At the far right, the offices are lit on both floors by similar two-light windows. To the left, the stone lintel above the door is in the same style but the door itself has been replaced.

The long north-west elevation is 32 window bays wide. From the left, the first 19, which light the car shed, have tall recessed cross windows with wooden glazing bars, rubbed semicircular brick arches, stone hoodmoulds and sills. A moulded stone band runs across at lintel level. Two of the openings have doors, neither of which is original. Adjoining this is the former paint store which has a lower roof and is six window bays wide. A further range, added at some point between 1916 and 1954, is seven window bays wide and has similar detailing.

The long south-east elevation has, from the right, two cross windows lighting the former mess room, followed by 19 windows to the car shed, and 12 windows to the repair shop. To the left, the three-bay gabled section which houses the ground-floor store and recreation room above, is lit by cross windows on both floors. A moulded stone band demarcates the floors and two stone bands adorn the gable head. Following this is a longer range with a four-panelled door in a rebuilt brick surround which leads up the stairs to the social areas of the depot. Above, the WCs on the landing and first floor are lit by pairs of small two-over-two pane sash windows with wide stone lintels. The ground floor is then blind, as the cart sheds are behind, and the billiard room above is lit by four cross windows. Adjoining this is the gable end of the stable which has a pair of small semicircular windows with brick arches and stone lintels, and a three-light stone mullioned window to the hay loft. The left return of the stables, which is at the right-hand side of the rear south-west elevation, is lit on both floors by three small semicircular windows. Adjoining this is the wall enclosing the yard which incorporates the gable end of a small building, probably the repurposed oil store which has a raised glazed roof ridge.

In the rear yard, at the northern end are the remains of the foreman's cottage, now just two blocked up fireplaces and the short section of wall that divided the two main rooms. To the south of this is what may have been the oil store, followed by the stable in the south corner which has plain barge boards. This retains a panelled door with a three-light mullioned window above, and on the left return, a two-part stable door with a hay loft opening and hoist above. Adjoining this to the east are three cart sheds with wide openings, none of which are original. The billiard room and store above are lit by five cross windows and retain a very ornate iron bracket, presumably for a gas lamp. To the left, at a right angle, is the four-bay range containing the two stores. The openings are irregular, some containing cross windows whilst other have been blocked up or altered. To the left are the two gable ends of the main parallel ranges which have tall, wide openings with 20th-century concertina doors. The opening on the left range is flanked by tall semicircular windows with wooden glazing bars.

The large open spaces within the car sheds and repair shops have exposed brick walls, painted overall, and lightweight metal trusses supporting the roofs. A floor has been laid over the original floor in the car shed to cover the long narrow pits but some of the original low brick supports are revealed by the creation of later repair pits. The two travelling cranes remain in situ in the repair shops. The offices in the right corner at the entrance retain a moulded ceiling cornice and some panelled doors but have been considerably extended. The former mess room in the left corner has been altered except for two plank doors and the brick-lined floor.

The social area of the depot to the rear is accessed via a dogleg stair within a stairwell lined in glazed brown tiles. The stair has a tiled spandrel, stone steps, stick balusters and a shaped newel post, both of iron. The WCs situated on the landing and first floor also have tile-clad walls, and retain ceramic urinals and two ceramic wash-hand basins, one in a decorative style supported by ornate metal brackets. The large billiard room has a woodblock floor laid in herringbone and a modillion ceiling cornice. The panelling to dado height consists of arched panels below and small square panels above. At one end is a shallow plinth with fitted wooden benches supported by shaped brackets. Two fireplaces are positioned opposite each other halfway along the room. These have moulded wooden surrounds surmounted by a three-panelled overmantel and an iron grate with hood. The cheeks and hearth are lined in red tiles. One of the original pair of highly ornate neo-Jacobean style billiard tables remains, along with the wooden score board in the same flamboyantly carved style, which is affixed to the wall. The recreation room above one of the stores has a similar woodblock floor and a canted ceiling covered in matchboard cladding with lightweight Queen post roof trusses. It is divided from the adjacent store, which has the same roof construction, by a panelled and glazed partition.

The walls of the stables are lined in glazed brown tiles and the floor slopes towards a central channel. The ladder up to the hayloft remains but the stall dividers and mangers have been removed. The cart sheds have a jack arch roof and brick-lined floor but no other fittings survive.