Engine Shed (theatre)
| The Engine Shed | |
|---|---|
 Engine Shed, looking along the River Witham | |
  Location within Lincolnshire | |
| General information | |
| Type | Music venue |
| Architectural style | Opaque glass facade with tinted glass openings |
| Location | University of Lincoln Brayford campus |
| Address | Greater Brayford Quarter, Lincoln, LN6 7TS |
| Coordinates | 53°13′44″N 0°32′58″W / 53.229°N 0.5495°W |
| Elevation | 10 m (33 ft) |
| Inaugurated | September 2006 |
| Renovation cost | £6 million |
| Client | University of Lincoln Students' Union |
| Landlord | University of Lincoln |
| Dimensions | |
| Other dimensions | 1,500 (seating capacity) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor area | 3,850 sq metres |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Nigel Stevenson |
| Renovating team | |
| Architect | Stem Architects (UL Architects)[1] |
| Structural engineer | Ward Cole[2] |
The Engine Shed is a music and entertainment venue on the University of Lincoln campus in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England, and is operated by the University of Lincoln Students' Union.
History
It was opened in September 2006 and takes its name from the locomotive shed that used to lie[3] in its current location, immediately adjacent to the railway line to Nottingham. The venue sees bands play and then opens to the students as a nightclub following the bands' performance. The venue has a capacity of 1,500 in the main hall side and approximately 800 in the Upper and Lower Tower Bars.[4]
The venue has recently renovated the balcony area above the venue bar area to create a smaller, intimate venue called The Platform. The venue can hold a capacity of approximately 300 persons and will showcase local and national talent but can double up as a balcony to larger gigs and events on removal of the acoustic wall.
The first live gig was Embrace on 18 September 2006.[5] It has also staged careers fairs, and hosts the University's freshers' fair; the LPAC also serves this function. In February 2007 it launched its website.
Construction
The building was originally constructed in 1875 for the Great Northern Railway (GNR) as Shed 40A, with four railway tracks. It had been disused since 1964. Although the Brayford site had been derelict for many years, there had been vast regeneration plans for the site including a new theatre since the early 1970s, which were killed off by Lincoln City Council in the mid-1970s for being too financially extravagant. It was too far-fetched for the financially strapped 1970s.
For many years Lincoln only had the Theatre Royal as its main venue. Although the local council had no enthusiasm for a theatre or venue on the Brayford site, the University resumed plans for a much-needed music venue.
The building is at the eastern end of the university campus, and is near the point where the River Witham joins Brayford Pool (Foss Dyke) from the south.
Design
There were two phases in the design - 1 and 2. 1 became what is now the Engine Shed, and Phase 2 was the LPAC. The consulting engineers were Ward Cole, who designed many other new buildings in the Brayford area.
The architects were Stem Architects (then known as UL Architects) who are based in Sparkhouse Studios, and have designed most (if not all) of the other buildings for the University.
Construction began in February 2005. The topping out ceremony was on 16 May 2006.[6]
Facilities
It is a 1500-seat venue. It is part of the University of Lincoln's campus and lies next to the university library, which is another former railway building, built by the Great Central Railway.[7] The Tower Bar offers hot food on two levels and is open from 10am.
Tours
It has hosted a number of high-profile rock bands including The Wombats, Stereophonics, Embrace, The Zutons, The Charlatans, Ocean Colour Scene, Editors, Beautiful South, LostAlone, Deftones, Shiny Toy Guns, Babyshambles, Feeder, The Cribs, Athlete, Kings of Leon, Dirty Pretty Things, Kasabian, The Hoosiers, Razorlight, Dizzee Rascal, Fratellis and The Damned, Marina And The Diamonds.
In addition to this, it played host to Thirty Seconds to Mars. The concert was broadcast on Radio 1, for their Radio 1 Student tour.
The venue has also played host to a number of top comedians, including Jason Manford, Russell Howard, Rhod Gilbert and Stewart Lee.
