The restoration of Tynemouth Railway Station canopy

Abstract

Tynemouth railway station was built in 1882 and characterises the zenith of the railway age in Britain. The elegant cast and wrought iron roof is a Grade II* listed structure, an important regional example of its type. It fell into disrepair in the 1960s through lack of maintenance and by 2008 the larger part of the eastern canopy was in an appalling state with widespread corrosion. This paper describes the restoration. Basic calculations of capacity were undertaken prior to survey, to inform observations and the measurements of residual thickness. A comprehensive survey of defects was carried out and a document outlining the conservation philosophy was compiled, which formed the basis of the listed building consent. Almost all iron columns were found to have cracked near the top of the casting. Replacement of columns was considered to be too great a loss of historic fabric and unnecessary; the reasons for this are discussed. The paper concludes with an appraisal of the project's successes.