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The building we call the Old Parcels Office originated as waiting rooms and other facilities for excursion passengers and opened for this use in 1883 It was built by the North Eastern Railway and designed by its in house architects department, under William Bell.

 

As with many seaside towns, Scarborough saw a massive increase in excursion trains in the second half of the 19th century and the decision was made to provide separate excursion passenger facilities in a new building.

 

The NER’s provision for excursion passengers at Scarborough was lavish compared with most railways. This building provided large rooms containing lavatories and waiting rooms. The waiting rooms are all double height spaces with yellow glazed Burmantofts bricks to the lower parts of the walls. The former general waiting room has a large raised timber and glass lantern light, creating the airy spatial qualities we still see today.

 

Even these facilities proved inadequate and in 1908 a completely separate excursion station was provided at Londesborough Road. Our building subsequently changed use to a Parcels Office and in 1925 alterations were made such as insertion of double doors and openings between the large rooms.  However, as these uses declined the building became less and less used until by the early 21st century it had become derelict.

 

In the meantime it was designated a Listed Building in 1990.

 

Such was the decline in the condition of the building that in 2008 it was declared a Listed Building At Risk. As a holding operation, an internal structural scaffolding was inserted to hold up the decaying roof and efforts were made to find a new use. A volunteer run not for profit social enterprise named Scarborough Studios Ltd was set up and worked hard to put together a funding package comprising Railway Heritage Trust, English Heritage, Arts Council England and Network Rail. With this funding, works were put in hand to start phase 1 of our project, the restoration of the fabric of the building which was carried out in 2013.