Roundhouse, Birmingham

A design competition was held by the Corporation of Birmingham in the early 1870s for a local authority depot to be located between the Birmingham Canal and Sheepcote Street. The winning design was from Birmingham Architect, William Henry Ward who was also responsible for designing many building in the city, amongst them Great Western Arcade in 1876. The crescent shaped building was constructed in 1873-74 with the two gatehouse buildings fronting Sheepcote Street constructed in 1885.

Originally named Corporation Wharf the building was built as a local authority depot which took advantage of its strategic location adjacent to the Birmingham Canal and the large railway goods depot for the London and North Western Railway on the Stour Valley Line.

The site was arranged to create a highly secure internal storage environment and an external working environment for open air storage, horses and maintenance. The design allowed horse drawn carts to pass from the lower level outer yard through the enclosed core, via a tunnel and ramp, for the purposes of loading and stock control.

The building was in use by the City of Birmingham Engineers Department until the 1980s when it became redundant and the site was subdivided and sold. The site was acquired by British Waterways (now Canal and River Trust) in 2001.

In 2017, the National Trust partnered with the Canal and River Trust to create a new hub for leisure and enterprise. Plans include transforming the Grade II* listed building into a base from which to explore the canal network including a cycle hire and repair workshop, café, kiosk to buy tickets for boat tours and a shared working space for conservation organisations. The new look Roundhouse will also house an enterprise hub containing a flexible series of offices spaces aimed at start-ups and small companies.

• Architecture of Birmingham

• National Trust - Roundhouse