Summary
Tram shelter, 1901-1904.
Description
Tram shelter, 1901-1904
MATERIALS: timber-framed with cast iron columns and timber partitions; Welsh slate roof with terracotta ridging.
PLAN: rectangular of two by four bays.
EXTERIOR: the shelter occupies a site that slopes gently to the north with two-three wide steps up to it at this end. It is a timber-framed structure with chamfered and fluted detailing to its principal uprights. Slender cast-iron columns with fluted bases and crocketed capitals support ornamental arch braces to the boarded ceiling. The end screens have two top rows of small-paned glazing bars (missing to two windows) and one large row at waist height; the original glazing has been removed. The low pitched roof with a mixture of standard and fish-scale slates, has wide eaves with end, louvred half-gables, a plain terracotta ridge and the stumps of former ball finials. End ventilator shafts rise from the public conveniences below and the original rain water goods are retained.
INTERIOR: there are head-height central partitions along both axes creating four compartments, which would have allowed shelter whatever the wind direction. The partitions are boarded and have replacement low bench seating carried on original cast-iron supports.
History
The Sunderland Tramways Company had operated a horse-drawn tramway in the town since 1879, which in 1900 was bought by Sunderland Corporation. Electrification of the service followed rapidly with the first converted service opening from Roker to Fawcett Street in August 1900. Work started on extensions to Grangetown, Fulwell and Sea Lane (Seaburn) the following year, and all had been upgraded by 1904. The tram shelter is depicted on the Third Edition Ordnance Survey map surveyed 1913-1914 (published 1919). The tram system closed on 1 October 1954, but the tram shelter has continued in use as a sea-front shelter and bus shelter.
Reasons for Listing
Seaburn tram shelter, 1901-1904 is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* it is a rare, in a national context, and largely intact example of an early-C20 tram shelter;
* it is an elegant and attractive tram shelter design with notable cast-iron work and internal seating.
Historic interest:
* an example of tram-era public transport in Sunderland, enhanced by its association with the heyday of the English seaside.
External Links
External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.
Recommended Books
Central Leinster: Kildare, Laois and Offaly (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Gloucestershire 1: The Cotswolds: Cotswolds Pt. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]
A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide