Restoring Maryfield Tram Depot - Sponsor a Brick

An important part of Dundee's built heritage

Dundee Museum of Transport opened its doors to the public in 2014. The following year it purchased the former Maryfield Tram Depot, a Victorian tram depot and B-listed property, built in 1901 (the same year as RRS Discovery) with further extensions added in 1913 and 1920. The building has been on the Buildings at Risk Register since 2010.

Since opening at Market Mews the museum has become a popular visitor attraction within the wider mix of Dundee, consistently ranking amongst the most popular things to see and do in the city on TripAdvisor.

The museum has long held ambitions to relocate to a restored Maryfield Depot with essential structural repairs to the roof of the 1901 section of the building commencing in January 2023. These repairs have secured the near-term integrity of the oldest section of the building and position the project to now commence a full restoration and fit out prior to the newly relocated museum reopening. The project secured full planning permission in April 2023. Once fully completed the restored site will house the new museum, vehicle storage, archive space, community spaces, a training space for staff and volunteers, workshops and staff/volunteer facilities. 

While in many ways an obvious move for the museum, saving the Maryfield Depot is important for a number of reasons:

Historical Significance: Maryfield Tram Depot is a historical landmark that played a crucial role in the development of Dundee's public transportation system. Preserving it allows for the conservation of this history and a better understanding of how transportation infrastructure has evolved in Dundee over the years.

Cultural Heritage: The depot is a part of the city's cultural heritage. It represents a bygone era of transportation that holds sentimental value for many residents and visitors. Saving it ensures that this cultural heritage is not lost.

Tourism Potential: Preserving the Maryfield tram depot and creating a new museum of transport for the city will draw visitors to Dundee, creating jobs, contributing to the local economy and enhancing the city's tourism offer.

Educational Value: The depot will serve as an educational resource for schools, students, and the general public. It, along with the museum, will be used to teach about the history of transportation, industrial heritage, and the role of trams in urban development.

Community Engagement: Efforts to save and restore the Maryfield tram depot will engage the local community. It will provide significant opportunities for volunteer work, community events, and involvement in preserving a piece of their city's history.

Preservation of Architecture: The depot's obvious nod to the Victorian era, accompanied with a scale that was designed to house 70 trams must be preserved. Saving the Maryfield Depot will contribute to the city's architectural diversity.

Urban Regeneration: The restoration and adaptive reuse of the Maryfield tram depot will act as a catalyst for urban regeneration in the surrounding area, attracting businesses, residents, and further investments.

Overall, saving the Maryfield tram depot in Dundee is essential for its historical, cultural, educational, and economic significance. It will enrich the city's heritage and provide opportunities for future generations to appreciate and learn from its history.

A new museum for the city

The full Maryfield building is three times larger than the current museum premises. Expected to be delivered in two phases, the first phase will restore both 1901 and 1913 sections of the building, creating a vibrant new museum of transport that will tell the story of the development of Dundee's transport system over the last 120 years. This phase will create a new social history museum for the city and an additional draw for tourists that is expected to create a £2m annual impact for the local economy. 

Phase two will see the restoration of the 1920 section of the building, creating new storage facilities, archive space, workshop facilities and spaces for staff, volunteers and the wider community.

With total project costs estimated to be in the region of £5.5m our initial work, to deliver phase one, is expected to cost in the region of £3.2m.

The newly relocated museum is expected to create up to thirty jobs peak season (currently three) and support an expansion in volunteer numbers from thirty to up to one hundred.

Important next steps

Having secured the structural integrity of the roof over the 1901 section of the building we now need to undertake further work on the Victorian section of the building including further roof work (replacement of rotten wood, sarking and purlins), removal and replacement of roof tiles, new guttering, redress of damaged brickwork and the recommissioning of services to the building.

An estimated 2,500 bricks within the Victorian building have been identified as in need of either restoration or replacement and will be a very visible means of bringing the building back to its former glory.

While our wider fundraising efforts are going well and will continue it is essential that we secure strong public support for the project. Your support will go directly to the restoration of the building and make an important difference in moving our project forward.