Saving Signal House, one of Darlington's most curious shaped buildings

Signal House in Whessoe Road once stood right beside the level crossing over which the 3,000 locomotives built in the North Road workshops went out – all bright, shiny and new – to join the railway network.

A new engine leaves the North Road works going past Signal House

So close did they come to Signal House that on the ground floor, its corner is chamfered away to allow them to pass, which meant the smoke from their chimneys must have billowed in through its upper floor windows.

Was Signal House built in this curious way, or, some time after it was built in the early 20th Century, was it necessary to widen the level crossing and rather than demolish it for the sake of a few inches, the ground floor was simply taken back a brick or two?

Francis Ward outside Signal House

Francis Ward, the owner of Signal House was granted permission a couple of years ago to demolish it for a new development, but seeing all the other railway restoration works going on in the area, he has decided to convert it into “luxury co-living”.

Signal House with the 1861 shed behind it. Top right is the new home of Tornado next to North Road station. Picture: Andy Wallace

Immediately behind the property is the 1861 Stockton & Darlington Railway engine shed which is currently being restored by Darlington council so that it can once again have a useful life. And it is just down Whessoe Road from where the A1 Trust is building an adjunct to the Head of Steam museum for its engines Tornado and Prince of Wales to use.

Francis said: “If I had known about the incredible development happening just next door as part of the Rail Heritage Quarter, I would have never looked to demolish Signal House. But here I am, three years later, desperate to ensure that this building, which formed part of that original history, is given a new life as a unique living space that compliments the surrounding area.

“I hope that as well as contributing to the development, it will serve as a reminder of the importance of preserving our heritage for future generations."

Looking north-west off the Whessoe Road passenger footbridge with a J94 68010 using the level crossing beneath, in 1963. Picture by Maurice Burns, of Yarm, and from the Armstrong Trust.

The pictures of the level crossing were taken from the footbridge on the right which looked down upon it. This picture was taken looking north up Whessoe Road in 1933 when the level crossing was being rebuilt. Picture courtesy of the JW Armstrong Trust

Signal House must have had a railway usage, but it is just the wrong side of the tracks to have been part of the North Road shops. The shops opened on January 1, 1864, and at their peak just after the Second World War, employed more than 4,000 people. Their job was to maintain British Rail’s fleet of 1,724 locos as well as build new ones – in North Road’s 102 year life, it built nearly 3,000 mainly steam locos.

Signal House on Whessoe Road

It closed as part of the Beeching Axe on April 3, 1965, with the last employees leaving on April 1, 1966, and the tracks over the Whessoe Road level crossing being removed soon afterwards. Morrisons, Darlington’s first out-of-town supermarket, opened on the site in 1980 and surviving links to this gargantuan works are rare.

Indeed, one of the last, the open-topped male urinals (above), which used to be near Signal House, has just been removed as the 1861 engine shed is opened up.

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The 1861 shed on the left and Signal House on the right. Picture: Andy Wallace

The shed is a great survivor, built in 1861 by William Peachey – the architect who designed the fabulous Zetland Hotel in Saltburn, Middlesbrough’s impressive station and the Baptist church in Grange Road, Darlington.

But when North Road opened up nearby three years later, it quickly became clear that it was in the wrong place and so it was converted into a paintshop. On August 17, 1908, Albert Hudson, 24, was killed inside it when a runaway train careered off the Bishop Auckland line and smashed into the shed.

It was restored after that and, for much of the 20th Century, was just a store shed, with its latter years being spent as a scrapyard.

Now, though, it is being restored and will become the home of rail heritage groups as Darlington gears up for the 2025 celebrations.

And now it will have Signal House alongside it. Mr Ward has submitted an application for permission to save the building and convert its upstairs into accommodation with some of the ground floor having a commercial use – Harry’s Handcrafted Donuts will continue baking there.

He said: “There are so many incredible buildings in the town that are at risk of being demolished because it’s easier for a developer to start from scratch. Well the reward from repurposing our history far outweighs any other concerns for me on this site, and I have no doubt that it will be a great success, in time for 2025.”

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