Former Railway Station, Chambre Park, Dungannon, Co Tyrone, BT71 5JB

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

This is a detached single-storey and two-storey former railway station and station masters house, built c.1878. The single-storey former railway station is located to the South, and the two-storey stationmaster’s house is located to the North. There is a further single-storey lean-to extension to the North. The building is set adjacent to Chambre Park Road to the South of Stweartstown. A grass lawn has now covered the former platform to the rear West.

Former Stationmasters House:
The front East elevation is double gable-ended, and faces onto the former entrance road to the station.
The two-storey block has a projecting entrance porch to the ground floor with a segmental-headed doorway. The porch has a pitched natural slate roof. The door is timber and glazed, and is set on a cut stone step.
Windows are segmental-headed 1/1 top hung timber windows , with cut pc concrete sills. There are projecting yellow brick drip mouldings surmounting the windows. There are two further small square-headed windows to the first floor above the doorway.

The side South elevation is abutting the former station, and contains no openings.
The side North elevation has no openings. The lean-to extension is abutting this elevation at ground level.
The rear West elevation is double gable-ended. It has an irregular assortment of segmental-headed windows as previous.

The roof is natural slate and has a double pitch. There is a rendered chimney to the South.

Former Railway Station:
The East elevation faces on to the former entrance road to the station.
The single-storey block has three windows to the North elevation. Windows are segmental-headed 1/1 timber-sliding sash, with cut stone sills. There are projecting yellow brick drip mouldings surmounting the windows.

The side South elevation is gable ended. There is a single round-headed window to the centre, having a timber casement window. The window has a yellow brick drip moulding, as previous.
The side elevation

The rear South elevation has segmental-headed with dressings as previous. Two windows to the centre do not have drip mouldings.
There is a square-headed entrance doorway to the right.

External walls are painted white render with a cut stone base.
The roof is pitched with artificiall slate; eaves are and verges are overhanging There are two-storey simple rendered chimneys with profiled stepped capping to the roof.

Extension:
The single-storey lean-to has two-storey square-headed doors to the North elevation. There is a tall chimneystack to the centre.
The East and West elevation has a distinctive red and yellow brick wall abutting the stationmaster’s house. It is partially knocked down, suggesting the location of a former outbuilding.

Setting:
The former railway station is located at the end of Chambre Park Road, near the junction with Hillhead. It is situated South of Stewartstown. There are large concrete and metal sheds to the West. The former rail track is set to the West of the house on a North South axis.

Historical information

This former railway station was built in 1878-79 to designs by W.H. Mills. It was originally constructed part of the Dungannon and Cookstown Railway (later part of the GNR), which opened for business in July 1879, and closed in January 1956. The façade of the building was originally polychrome brick, in the same style as the (also W.H. Mills-designed) former GNR station in Molesworth Street, Cookstown.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI VAL/12B/37/20B Annual valuation revision book, Stewartstown ED, 1864-78
2 PRONI VAL/12B/37/20C Annual valuation revision book, Stewartstown ED, 1879-81
3 PRONI VAL/12B/37/20D Annual valuation revision book, Stewartstown ED, 1882-92
4 PRONI VAL/12B/37/20E Annual valuation revision book, Stewartstown ED, 1893-1901
5 PRONI VAL/12B/37/20F Annual valuation revision book, Stewartstown ED, 1902-11
6 PRONI VAL/12B/37/20G Annual valuation revision book, Stewartstown ED, 1912-29
7 PRONI VAL/3B/7/5 First general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Stewartstown ED, 1935
8 PRONI VAL/3C/7/5 First general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Stewartstown ED, 1936-57
9 PRONI VAL/4B/6/6 Second general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Stewartstown ED, 1957-72

Secondary sources
1 McCutcheon, W.A., 'The industrial archaeology of Northern Ireland' (Belfast, HMSO, 1980), p.164, plate 32.5
2 Johnson, Stephen, ‘Johnson’s atlas & gazetteer of the railways of Ireland’, (Midland Publishing Ltd., 1997), p.99

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Although some of the external detailing has been lost with the addition of external render the overall form of the former station has been preserved. It is a pleasing and well composed example of a station and station masters house combined but not as good as example as the listed Cookstown station.

The setting is somewhat degraded with the presence of a commercial development to the west side.