Signal Box

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Substantial, two storey, brick and timber-built gabled signal box of 1906. The building is one of a collection of contemporary structures originally belonging to Ballyward Station, and is set near the E end of the S platform, to N of Station Road, roughly 5 miles NE of Castlewellan.

The lower storey of the structure is red brick with the upper storey in horizontal timber cladding with large areas of glazing. The gabled roof is slated and has an overhang supported on decorative brackets. The barges are shaped and pierced and have spike finials. The brick chimneystack to S has a projecting base and pronounced ‘cornice’ course. The RW goods are missing.

The building is entered on the W side, where there is an external timber stair (without rails) which leads up to a panelled door. To the immediate left of the door is a large six light horizontally sliding window with curved corners to the upper lights. Above the doorway are raised letters spelling ‘Ballyward.’ To the lower storey (beneath the doorway) is a large central recessed panel, (the other lower story faces have a similar panel), with a timber door set to the right of centre.

To the lower storey of the N elevation there is a small segmental headed window set in the centre of the recessed panel. The frame of this window partly boarded over. The frame appears to be double sash (with vertical glazing bars to the upper lights at least). The whole of the window is covered by a grille. The upper storey is wholly glazed with mullions and transoms breaking the ensemble into three lower windows of two-lights, three-lights and two-lights, with larger upper windows of six-lights, nine-lights and six-lights. The central upper window has a horizontally sliding opening section.

The lower storey of the E elevation is as that to W. The central and right hand two thirds of the upper storey are glazed with two small lower windows of two-lights each, and a large upper nine-light window with central horizontally sliding section. Above the window ‘Ballyward’ is spelt out in raised lettering, as W elevation.

The S elevation is devoid of openings, but has a central projecting chimneybreast, which rises through the overhanging verge.

Historical information

Ballyward railway station formed part of the line between Ballyroney and Newcastle. This line was opened in 1906 and was jointly operated by the Great Northern Railway and the Belfast & County Down Railway. The buildings themselves are believed to have been designed by the GNR’s company engineer, William Henry Mills. The line (which for the last five years of its life was run solely by the GNR) closed in 1955. After this, the Ballyward station buildings were acquired by a private owner.

References- Primary sources
1 PRONI OS/6/2/35/4 OS map, 6in County series, Co Down, sh 35, 1921

Secondary sources
1 S. Maxwell Hajducki, ‘A railway atlas of Ireland’, (David & Charles, Devon, 1974), map 9
2 H.C. Casserley, ‘Outline of Irish railway history’ (David & Charles, Devon, 1974), p.225
3 W.A. McCutcheon, ‘The industrial archaeology of Northern Ireland’, (Belfast, 1980), p.161

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
E. Spatial Organisation
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Z. Rarity
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Substantial, two storey, brick and timber-built gabled signal box of 1906. The building is one of a collection of contemporary structures originally belonging to the no-longer functioning Ballyward Station. The collection of buildings is unusual both in the survival, relatively unchanged, of each structure and of the whole ensemble.