The restoration of one of the most unusual railway structures in Britain was rewarded on 8 April. The unveiling of the plaque awarded to Network Rail for winning the Great Western Railway Craft Skills Award for work completed on the tiled waiting room at Worcester Shrub Hill was undertaken by Lord Faulkner of Worcester in the presence of the city’s Mayor, Councillor Roger Knight, and representatives of Network Rail and London Midland. The award, announced at the ceremony held in London in December 2015, reflected the considerable complexity in restoring the Grade II* listed structure, which dated originally to about 1860. Long regarded as a ‘Building at Risk’, work started on a restoration project in early 2014. As the award citation noted: ‘The result is an outstanding example of what is best in building conservation and restoration, from research and recording through to masterly execution’
From left, the Mayor of Worcester, Councillor Roger Knight, Lord Faulkner of Worcester and John Ellis, chairman of NRHA, with the newly unveiled plaque at Worcester Shrub Hill station on Friday 8 April.
The newly restored tiled waiting room at Worcester Shrub Hill — the winner of the Great Western Craft Skills Award in the 2015 NRHA competition.