Can A Petrol Station Be Beautiful - Redhill BP Petrol Filling Station, Birstall Leicester
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- čas přidán 10. 09. 2024
- #petrol #architecture #driving
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Even the mundane can be beautiful surely? In this video we look at a petrol station. Yep, that's it... but it's quite an interesting one I promise! It's a left over from the "good ol days" of motoring and the 1960s/70s and it's so rare they made it a listed structure... but it's just a petrol station!?
I swear, Jon could make watching paint dry interesting and humorous.
Have you watched his, grass growing video? It's to die for.
@@stevekelly5166😂😂😂😂
I agree, but don't give him ideas ;)
Those canopies could do with a coat of rust remover and paint on the top.....
I agree. John is brilliant
These feel like bonus episodes or directors commentary you'd get on old dvds. Absolute quality content no matter the subject. Best part of the day when I see auto shenigans has posted
DVD's old? Old? That's new technolo...oh wait it's 2024 now 😂😭
It's 3am in February. The 'low fuel' light has been on for the last 40 miles. You are over an hour from your destination.
The weather is foul, blowing a gale with horizontal rain.
ANY Petrol Station that is open is a beautiful sight
And it could be worse… You could be driving an EV 😂
Even at 15p per litre more than the high street it is indeed a VERY beautiful sight.
@@cheekychappy1234, alright, but petrol stations usually have 20-30 bays for cars 😂
but you're in a Tesla, so you're fked!! 🤣😂😅
@@cheekychappy1234 Most fuel stations have EV chargers now, but they’re never as many chargers as fuel pumps are there ?
So let’s say there’s and 80/20% split at each garage, that works out at ….. thinking… maths….
A hell of a lot more real fuel pumps.
My memories of filling stations in the 60's and 70's was the 'ding ding' as you drove onto the forecourt - and the big clunky levers on the side of the pump to select 2,3 or 4 star. Oh, and you nearly always came out with freebies, usually tumblers. Most kitchens has acres of the damn things.
Weve still got glasses and at one time had stupid soup bowls with recipes on 😂
My first Saturday job while I was still at school was to run out at the ding ding and do the filling up at the village garage in the early 70's. It helped pay for my motocross hobby as my parents weren't rich.
They were still doing those damn glasses in the 80s, and if you were really lucky, Smurfs.
or Smurfs. "National" garage near us used to give away Smurfs, had about 20 of them all different. Probably be worth a pretty penny these days. (I'm not sure if they were given away because of purchases, or because my dad was mates with the owner, but I was like 7 , what did I care...)
Green Shield Stamps! Save up for a Moskvitch...
"Rare as rocking horse shit." Absolutely fuckn brilliant 🤣
I feel like that might be the first time you’ve heard this common uk saying 👍🏻
Someone needs to get up there and give the roof a good painting. I remember these stations and the comment about not protecting customers from the weather is spot on.
The most iconic petrol station I remember is (or was) the Markham Moor petrol station on the A1 in Nottinghamshire. It was built in the 1960s and closed as a petrol station in 1989, when it became a Little Chef. I believe its a Starbucks nowadays, but the structure it is Grade II listed, so should be around as a spectacle for many years...
Thanks - that's the one that Jon's video brought to my mind and you've pinpointed where it was for me. I used that part of the A1 a lot in the eighties.
I remember these Mobil garages being everywhere. Once they became Esso and were repainted they lost a lot of their look and just seemed to fade away without anyone noticing.
Oddly enough, I passed this yesterday afternoon. As I was on the bus (another design classic - the Optare Solo) there was chance to have a good look whilst in the traffic queue.
A gem of a structure indeed.
The Optare Solo is a classic design, but reading that makes me feel old as I still remember (and miss) the buses it mostly replaced, the Mercedes-Benz O.814 Vario.
There’s a 3-circle one of these on the corner of Box Lane and Chester Road in Wrexham. It’s a used car dealership nowadays, but the canopies and shop building are still there. When it was a petrol station, we used to call it The Starship Enterprise; it used to look ace all lit up at the top of the hill. I remember buying petrol there in 1993/94, but think it closed not long after. A shame, as I had loads of Premier Points racked up: I really was “only 24 toasters from Scunthorpe”.
Good job i watched the Video 🤣 i was gonna say theres one on the A6 in Leicester, well here we go...
One of the most unique and interesting fuel garages in the UK has to be the Starbucks / former Little Chef at Markham Moor. The roof of the building was originally a canopy for a filling station with the cafe being added underneath later
I remember walking to that petrol station on Christmas day 1996 from close to the city centre because it fit the criteria of being open, and being willing to sell cigarettes to anybody without ever asking for ID 🤣
I do love when a functional piece of architectural structure becomes a listed building as with this petrol station. Moving up to date Fastned charging station canopies are very stand out structure with wooden uprights and yellow time to match their electron pumps.
They certainly stand out, especially when they are buried in a car park somewhere. Trying to spot the EV charging in a car park can be quite tricky.
It was night and day using charging on the French motorway network, where companies like Engie have canopies everywhere, making their charging more like a petrol station. In the UK, it’s usually some uncared for and inoperative Gridserve machine in a flooded dark corner of the car park.
I've always loved the 60's concept of the 'designer'.
"We've just got an order for a toothpick holder" "Ok, I'll just finish off this suspension bridge and I'll get on with it" 🙂
3:40 Architect here. It's actually a common misconception that only part of a building is listed. That's not actually possible and the listed status means everything within the curtilage is listed. Listed Building Consent is needed for anything more than repairs and maintenance.
Only the canopies are listed at this location. No other buidlings.
@@bignosemac1The canopies might be the thing mentioned in the listing, but the whole site will be subject to listed planning consent. Take the situation where I converted my garage into an annex - it was a modern building (originally constructed in 2004) but because the barn in which I live (which is 12 meters from the garage and not connected) is grade 2 listed (1650-ish) I had to get listed building approval for the conversion. The listing consent required the garage to be “in keeping” with the barn meaning expensive custom made wooden windows etc. The architect is correct - it’s called curtilage listing.
I've spent quite a lot of time touring around central Asia over the past decade. Their petrol stations are crap, but man, you should see the bus stops. Glorious mini architectural wonders. There's a lot to be said for taking pride in what might be considered insignificant structures.
Like Forton, Markham Moor, Grafton multistorey and Preston Bus Station, architecture from a time when transport was exciting and worthy of challenging design...
Cheers Jon!
With our work vans we can only fill up with BP (bit of a pain but hey ho).
Of the many BP’s I’ve used up and down the country I’ve never used this one.
Cheers Jon 👍🏼
If you use the BPme app, it usually doesn't work at this one.
@@Technaudio Really ? I do have the app, I’ve learned that the further southwest you go, the sparser they become “Bloody Pain” 😂
A still-photo of your drone shot of the canopies’ rusted roofs is worthy of entry into a photography contest.🥇
A great video of a great story!
I live in Leicester and have used this petrol station many times. I hope it stays around for years to come. A great video abs explanation.
Never did I think Auto Shennanigans would make its way so close to home..! To think that I drive by this daily.. woah
We have a few in Australia that has moderne funky designs. And a few with circular forecourt covers.
ive been by it so many times and always wondered why it was like this! thank you for sharing! :)
Hi Jon, i hope you’re having a great day? New series idea… uk bumpiest asphalt road. I’m gonna suggest Harts Farm Way (bottom of the A3 (M)) where it meets the M27.
But it cuts down the speeding
@@ap9970 in all honesty it’s like riding a horse that’s running away on you….and you’ve never ridden a horse in your life! Teeth chattering and whiplash is to be expected lol
@@MrBLUEDEVILUK my sister used to keep her horse on Brockhampton Road (before the farm became a housing estate), but I never rode it along Harts Farm Way lol
Harts Farm Way is great in a 26t truck! I could go via Solent Rd to get where I’m going but where’s the fun in that. 😂
.....and here comes yet another social media outlet with "our potholes are bigger than yours" ego headbutting crowbarred in for no reason.....🙄
My office building, a Washington DC Brutalist example that on the National Register of Historic Places also can not be altered. It has white donut shaped canopies in the front plaza.
I remember those cirkular petrol pumps. It was SH*T easy to overcome unmanned stations automats. You pressed the plexiglass on the pump to the side and it popped open then you put a 100 swedish krona bill in the automat. Then before the pump was started you inserted a small screwdriver in to the counting mekanism to let it skip the coggs. You could fill up a whole convoy of cars for almost nothing.🤣🤣
Nice. reminds me a little of Lancaster Services. thanks for making the effort to entertain and educate us. it’s appreciated very much matey
Forton services with the Pennine Tower :)
Forton ?
@@Satters That’s the one. Hilton park services has an upper level so you can view the lovely Wolverhampton 😂
@@Dan23_7 first time in my life I see 'lovely' and 'Wolverhampton' in the same sentence, never mind side by side.😂
John, loved this presentation on the filling station designs. Please do one on the flying wing on the A1. Used to see this a filling statoon as a kid. Now the roof is part of the roof of a restaurant. Great work with your channel. Hope it makes to millions! Neil
Excellent video - I miss the era where the industrial designer was king (I trained as an industrial designer, then worked in architectural design for many years) - now it’s all about cost. Thanks again!
Used to deliver to this station a few years back, always thought it looked cool but didn't know how rare it was
*I filled up there the other day and had my Car deep cleaned for my wife's 80th Birthday !* 🎂🥞
I’ve just come back from driving down to Le Mans 🇫🇷 then across Luxembourg 🇱🇺 and into Germany , one small thing I like todo when driving across the county’s is looking for unique petrol station and I swear country’s in the main land take a load of pride in them (on the motorways).
I was surprised when you didn’t mention this in the Market Harborough to Melton Mowbray video - makes sense now! I used to drive past this place every day, it is a brilliant structure, great to know more about it, thanks John! 😊
There is a forecourt across the road from my parents in Wrexham with these. An ex Mobil site with the cylindrical
Pumps that I did use when I first passed my driving test in 1990. Now it’s a car sales place.
How interesting. I remember the Mobil Station in Wrexham with this design in the 90s. I don’t recall it becoming an Esso I think it just became a used car lot when Esso took over. The structures are still present today and I think it looks fantastic
Thanks, Jon. FYI, in 1950's & early '60's San Diego, California USA, we had a few Mobil stations. But I don't think any had the circular island covers. (BTW, the IBM Selectric was amazing!)
That surprises me, I thought there'd be loads over there!
This used to be my regular station. Didcot know that it's listed and rare. Thanks for posting
Didcot?
@@willtricks9432 "Didn't" I assume. They don't have a petrol station like that in Didcot...
@@raystimpson I get it.
Thank you. I put off watching the vid as it seemed a dull subject but I was very wrong. Great video
For those noting the top condition the brown is protective paint rather than rust. Painting that area white is not going to be an issue for most passing people.
Little gems like this (we never knew we needed but so pleased we have) is why our John is fast becoming a Nation's Favourite 🤗
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, get it out with Optrex", Spike Milligan.
Jon, your content is getting better and better. This is a gem. Well researched and informative, and with your trademark delivery too.
Just excellent! And what a great petrol station.
a petrol station is ALWAYS beautiful when the dash fuel light has been on for what seems like ages
Perfect for roof top gardens to green the environment ! hmmm.. I wonder if there is any desire to do that? 🤔
That’s like rubbing germoline on skin cancer.
My old village! I remember it being Mobil station with the pegasus sign (Circ early 1980s)
Hi Jon, another left over is the Starbucks on the A1 near Newark, it has amazing roof, it used to be a little chef but after years of being empty was turned into a Starbucks and the amazing roof remains
Reminds me a bit of the Flying saucer gas stations in Kyiv. Without the very weird overhead pumps.
A nice red/yellow colour scheme, a few polka dots and you'd have yourself a level in Super Mario Bros.
I like this video so I pressed the button specifically for that 👉🏻
I like making comments about peoples comments on You Tube videos,
so I made this comment about your comment
about pressing the button specifically for liking this video.
(IF you too, like making comments,
about peoples comments, about other peoples comments, on You Tube videos,
feel free to add your very own truly unique comment about that in the space below)
@@organickevinlondon adam always presses the button specifically for that. I've started scrolling down the comments to see if he has commented that he has specifically pressed the button for that. If he hasn't then I know he's not yet pressed the button specifically, but may do and will do, because he always does.
@@kevinmothers904 And I am right behind you, If he did not I would be saddened. Thanks adamjolley.
That's beautiful. They need to change them all back to this design. When I saw Redhill I hoped it was the Redhill in Surrey so I could go see it easily as I stay in London.
In the village of Asfordby is a lovely Georgian House, that, I think, in the 1930s, it was, had its front garden concreted over to make way for a petrol station and canopy. The house becane part of the village petrol station. In more recent years owners of the house wanted to tear the old eyesore of a canopy down and return the frontage of the house to its former beauty, but were told they couldn't because when the house was listed, it was listed with the canopy in situ, so the canopy is protected and has to stay.
I clearly remember the Mobil station at Lytham StAnnes. I bought my first car from the used car dealer there who took over when they lost / gave up the Lancia franchise
I drove past there last week and I thought ooh thats unusual.
Thanks for again pointing out something I’ve been past many times and never noticed 😳🤣
Another good video 👏👏👏👍👍👍👍
I live very close to that petrol station and I never know that. THANKS!
I have driven past that filling station many times on the way to/from watching Rugby and had never noticed. Thank you - now I have some more golden nuggets of wisdom to keep my fellow car occupants entertained.
That petrol station is such a masterpiece and it should never be demolished and replaced by a new petrol station shelter. That is so iconic.
Excellent - please do more of these.
Thanks
Thanks a lot mate, appreciate it!
There's a former Mobil petrol station in Fletton, Peterborough right by the bridge on London Road (the one that actually goes between Peterborough and Yaxley) that has the same circular designs, although it seems somebody has plonked a standard canopy over the top of them.
It hasn't been a filling station for some years now, but the structure is still there.
2 points:
1) I'm glad the building is Listed - as we will NOT see it disappear during our lifetime!
2) I definitely do not use a petrol station daily (I'd have no money left), more like weekly.
I remember a mobil petrol station in Spondon, Derbyshire which had what we called mushrooms, but they were more like those iirc
You should bill BP for that aerial survey.
My favourite unusual filling station canopy is the concrete gullwing or, more accurately, hyperbolic paraboloid at Markham Moor (also a listed building).
Preserved but also somewhat spoiled when a Little Chef was stuffed underneath it. It's now a Starbucks. Maybe you've already covered it.
That petrol station should remain as a listed building and not be demolished and replaced. Very interesting design I would say.
I remember them building that. I’m from Birstall 😊
I don't honestly remember ever seeing one of these filling stations in real life, but I have seen one on the music video for 'Sueperman's big sister' by Ian Dury and the Blockheads from back in 1980.
Thats it i’ve binge watched everything Auto Shenanigans and it was hwicked sweet awesome..
Brilliantly explained sir,
Thankyou.
👍👍👍👍👍
A circular perimeter covers a larger area - than say a rectangular structure for a more expensive wall length. ❤ Design and Economy Synchronised….
I've lost count of the number of times I've filled up at that petrol station in the 80s and 90s. I remember being flabbergasted when I BBC news reported it as being listed.
If you're still in Leicester, Jon, maybe you could make a video about the vanishing flyover.
Which one? Is it already gone or due to be knocked down?
@@AustinoInc It's the flyover on the A607 which used to go over Belgrave Circle roundabout. I'm old enough to remember them building it and then they knocked it down.
See also the once-amazing pedestrian underpass which went under the Magazine in Leicester.
This is an example of the exact purpose of the listing classification. I never knew about this exquisite petrol station and props to BP for being its loving custodian for us. Probably a labour of love.
The other example of listing preserving notable examples of architectural design is the parabolic roof of the, now, coffee house on the A1 North of Peterborough. It was the inspiration for the parabolic roof my father designed for our family holiday house in Scotland that we built with our own fair hands.
I've used the fuel station loads of times, even had the dirt scraped off my car in the car wash and never noticed the architecture
From above you can see they are divided into hexagons and heptagons. Heptagons are my favorite polygon.
Thats a beautiful design. Thanks for another class video
The Chinese garage on the south circ (A205) springs to mind
It's definitely an oddity but it's not on the A205, it's at Kelsey Park just south of Beckenham at the B230/B251 roundabout, otherwise know as the Chinese Garage roundabout 😁
@@Clueless_agency_monkey my mistake, A205 is just down the road
I remember those old circular pumps….
Wow, have not seen an awning like that for a really long time.
Fascinating! Many thanks.
That was fricking awesome!
For any Danes watching, he's saying "Skovshoved" at 1:52. It was designed by Arne Jacobsen and took inspiration from Myren (the chair)
It has its own wikipedia page: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skovshoved_Petrol_Station
I hear him prononce it "Skovshead" 😅 Jon needs to remember the potato in the mouth next time then it's going to be spot on 😉😂
*Love the outro music!* Oh yeah, great video too etc.
That brings back memories of my childhood in the 80s, we had 2 Mobil filling stations with the round canopie like that. The pumps were the same 1980s style that every other petrol station used though.
Wicked Schweet awesome 🙌
In the 1960’s filling stations were much more interesting to the motoring public. When a new one opened everyone rushed to get the freebies on opening day.
I should of guessed it was a listed building by the "About to collapse" look.
this is fascianting, shame ther are not more of these as they a very cool looking
Very cool and well described.
Looks like something a flying saucer might land on in an alien invasion movie!
I love the way the canopies have aged on top.
I had a model of one of these when I was a kid - who knew it was iconic and that a petrol station like this could get Listed status. Great video.
Lovely design.
I have used that station many a time until 1990 when I moved out of Birstall and never noticed it.😊
No there's a listed building I likes. The profits the Fuel Companies makes more of them should be doing this sort of interesting design.
Absolutely agree
Thank you Jon
All this talk about canapes has made me hungry, grab us a Ginsters pasty please Jon.
Almost certain the same designer did the wonderful "Hyperbolic Paraboloid Concrete Roofed building design for Nottinghamshire's Markham Moor Starbucks on the A1. I made many visits to it when it was a Little chef. On one visit I arrived , ordered, was served , ate and paid with no other customer arriving during the experience. I believe all Little Chef's are gone now. Mmmmmmm!
Architect of the Markham Moor Little Chef was Sam Scorer from Lincoln
It was also originally designed as a petrol station, before it was converted into a Happy Eater!
@@glenjones6980 Thanks for this info
Thanks for the video. I remember this style of petrol
Station, and especially the pumps being relatively common in New Zealand as a kid in the 80’s. Good bit of nostalgia.
Amazing, thanks!