Former Tram Station

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Exterior description;
Substantial single storey gabled former tram station constructed in 1885 to transport workers and raw/ finished materials from the adjacent Bessbrook mill complex to and from Newry. The building is L-shaped in plan and is orientated North/South with the main opening for the trams on the North end.
Walls are random rubble granite stone with multi coloured clay brick dressings to the openings and also used for projecting cornices at each gable.

North elevation is symmetrical with a central opening with triple segmental arches taking up most of the elevation. Above is a small central roundel.

The South elevation faces towards the mill complex and is gabled with a brick cornice to match the North end. There is a large central opening with a exposed steel beam above, and a recessed panel that shows the granite structure. This opening may have been added in the twentieth century. This elevation has been roughcast rendered and there is a blocked up pedestrian door to the left.

The East elevation is a plain granite wall without openings but with a concrete block lean-to added at the North end.

West elevation has a projecting wing covering approximately half of the side. It has regularly spaced window and door openings dressed with brick. The door openings have been blocked up and the windows are largely 1/1 timber sliding sash with wire grilles attached.

Roof is covered with corrugated iron sheeting.

The former tram station sits beside the wooded banks of the Bessbrook River where it crosses the Derrymore Road. To the NW is the now cleared site of the former Army helicopter base and across the Derrymore road is the important Bessbrook Mill complex with which it has group value.

Historical information

This tram (or 'car') shed was built in 1884-85 as part of the Bessbrook & Newry Electric Tramway. This opened in October 1885, was the world's second hydro-electric powered tramway, preceded only by the Giant's Causeway - Bushmills line, which commenced operations in 1883. The venture was promoted by the Richardson family, the owners of Bessbrook mill, and trams ran from this terminus (directly opposite the mill) to Edward Street in Newry, conveying mill workers as well as coal and flax. The line continued in operation until January 1948. The goods wagons used flangeless wheels so that they could operate on the roads as well as the tram track a system devised to save time by henry Barcroft of the mill.. The weels ran on an extra rail either side of the main rails but at a slightly different level.were kept in place by the main rails.

The shed is marked on the 1906 OS plan of Bessbrook as a depot, with station platform to the north-west side. Photographic evidence, (from c.1930), shows that the large opening to the north gable had what appears to have been a fixed timber double door to the left hand third of the opening, a large sliding timber door occupying the remainder, and a square column between the two. The larger lean-to to the north-west seems to have been the station (or depot) manager's office / ticket office, as it originally had a chimneystack. A small lean-to to the south-east is shown on the 1906 map, however, the present structure is a later 20th century rebuild.

The fate of the shed after the closing of the line is uncertain. Judging by the appearance of the brick in-fill, the large opening to the north-east seems to have been blocked up in or shortly after 1948. It is likely that the building was used as a store for the mill. Following the requisitioning of the mill by the army in 1971 the area to the north-west of the building was utilised as helicopter pads, however it is not known whether the building itself performed any role or was left unused.

References- Secondary sources
1 McCutcheon, W.A., 'The industrial archaeology of Northern Ireland' (Belfast, HMSO, 1980), p.185
2 Ferris, Tom, 'The Irish narrow guage- A pictorial history', (Belfast, Blackstaff Press, 1993), pp.112-13
3 Kilroy, James, 'Irish Trams', (Omagh, Colourpoint Press, 1996), pp.63-65
4 Johnson, Stephen, 'Johnson's atlas & gazetteer of the railways of Ireland' (Leicester, Midland Publishing Ltd., 1997), p.129

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
G. Innovatory Qualities
H-. Alterations detracting from building
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Z. Rarity
W. Northern Ireland/International Interest
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance

Evaluation

Substantial single storey gabled former tram station constructed in 1885 to transport workers and raw/ finished materials from the adjacent Bessbrook mill complex to and from Newry. As well as having group value with the adjacent listed mill complex and village of Bessbrook it is the last remaining artifact of the tramline that was Irelands' second hydro-electric powered tramway, preceded only by the Giant's Causeway - Bushmills line. Despite some alterations this buildiign exhibits an architectural presence with granite walls and richly coloured brick dressings to the openings

General comments

This record was previously numbered HB16/22/023 as part of the 1st Survey AJK 15/05/2008