Listed building consent granted for latest work at Science and Industry Museum

Manchester architectural practice, Atelier MB, has received the green light for works at the city’s Science and Industry Museum.

Manchester City Council has given the firm listed building consent to carry out important upgrading works within the Grade I-listed 1830 Station and the 1830 Warehouse at the site.

Atelier MB and Atelier Heritage were commissioned by the board of the Trustees of the Science Museum to lead on fire door and fire compartmentation projects which form part of the wider multimillion-pound conservation project at the museum, with work expected to begin in autumn this year.

Laura Jessup, from Atelier Heritage, said: “The Science and Industry Museum contains some of the most treasured and historically significant buildings in Manchester and it is an honour for the team to be working on them. Making sure these buildings meet modern standards while respecting their history is so important to ensure they can be enjoyed for many, many years to come.”

The Liverpool Road site was home to the first steam-powered inter-urban railway for passengers and goods and boasts the oldest remaining passenger railway terminus in the world. Opened in 1830, the railway was revolutionary, allowing the public to access faster transport between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester.

When passenger services shifted to the new station at Hunt’s Bank (Victoria) the railway continued to move significant amount of freight, linking to national routes. Following its closure in 1975, the site was eventually reopened as a museum and continues as a highly valued visitor attraction, with 2023 marking the museum’s 40th anniversary.

The 1830 Station is currently closed for conservation. The first £1.9m phase of work, funded by DCMS and led by Manchester-based Buttress Architects, was completed in spring 2022, and has given the building a new roof, gutters and rainwater pipes to protect the building for future generations to come.

The museum is now planning for further internal repairs alongside the creation of new learning spaces alongside the development of a revolutionary railroad and locomotive experience to tell the railway story.

The restoration work is part of a much wider multimillion-pound development project at the historic site and buildings that Science and Industry Museum inhabits, and it is all part of a plan to create a more sustainable museum.