Crescent Waggon Repair Shop

Railway waggon repair shop, built circa 1870 by the Midland Railway, with alterations in 1950 and 1970. This large building is predominantly timber-framed and clad with vertical boarding, featuring an asbestos sheet and glazed roof. It has a rectangular plan with four parallel gabled ranges. Three ranges have paired double timber doors, creating six roads for waggon repair, while the fourth gable has a single, large iron-framed window with 8 panes over 7. One long wall includes twelve windows, each with 6 panes over 7, serving the main repair shop. The wall to the workshops and offices has fewer windows, either 6 panes over 7 or 6 panes over 4. The opposite gabled elevation repeats the six double doors to the through roads, with two 6 x 7 pane windows in the workshop bay on the left. The building's main structure is largely unaltered, with only minor brick additions dating from 1950.

The interior clearly reveals the timber framing, featuring three rows of twelve timber posts, bracketed in four directions to support the roof trusses and gutter plates. The trusses are wide-span kingpost designs. The roof has purlins supporting boarding beneath the original slate covering, with continuous glazing along both sides of the ridge. Originally the building had timber floors, which were replaced with concrete in 1970.

Historically, the building is a notable example of a large, mid-19th century timber-framed industrial structure, remaining in use for its original purpose. It demonstrates a high standard of Victorian carpentry skills, evolving from earlier timber-framed railway goods sheds like Brunel’s design at Bristol Temple Meads. Its timber construction in Peterborough, an area known for brickmaking, is unusual. The building is believed to be the only surviving all-timber wagon shop in Britain.