York Historic Environment Record

The building was constructed in circa 1920 as the depot for a trolley-bus service. This opened on the 22nd December 1920 with a fleet of four single deck cars operating along a 2km route between Pavement and Heworth to the north east of the city centre. The trolley bus service did not prove to be a success and was discontinued at the end of 1929.

In 1931 the redundant trolley bus depot was rented to Airspeed Ltd. A new company set up by ex-employees of the Airship Guarantee Company which had been wound up following the R101 airship disaster in 1930. Airspeed's founders included Nevil Shute Norway, Alan J Cobham and Lord Grimthorpe.

The former Trolley Bus depot is not thought to have been retained by Airspeed after 1933, but reverted to being a public transport depot for motor buses.

The building is primarily of brick construction around a steel frame, hidden from the outside, the whole capped with a corrugated sheet roof, seemingly of asbestos. In plan the building is broadly rectangular but with a slight curve in its long elevations, where it follows the road north. The original brickwork is largely covered by a later pebble-dash render. The interior layout consists of a large hall open to the roof with two distinct areas in the south-east corner of the building. A mezzanine floor has been inserted in the south end which contains several small rooms of breeze-block construction.

Identified as a Building of Merit in the Historic Core Conservation Area Appraisal 2011. Recorded ahead of demolition in 2015.

On-Site Archaeology, 2014, 31 Walmgate EXC (Unpublished document). SYO1834.

AOC, 2015, 19-21 Piccadilly (Unpublished document). SYO1766.

On-Site Archaeology, 2015, Rear of 31 Walmgate (Unpublished document). SYO1781.