Former Station master's house (and waiting room)

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Large two storey former station master’s house of 1897 with attached single storey former waiting room, all in typical late Victorian railway style with polychrome brick and overhanging gables. The building now contains two dwellings and is situated on a slight rise to the S side of Ballydugan Road, c.4 miles SW of Downpatrick. The station itself closed in 1950 and the former railway cutting to the rear of the property has been filled in.

To the right of the N front is a two storey gabled bay which projects forward slightly. The front door is located to the right of the bay within a small projecting gabled porch. It is set in a brick segmental arch headed opening with chamfered reveals with a plain fanlight and a four panel door with each panel infilled with diagonal boarding. The verge is finished with an overhanging decorative bargeboard.

To the left of the porch is a segmental arch headed window with sash frame without astragals. To the first floor are two similar evenly spaced windows. To the right of the two storey bay is the side of a further two storey gabled bay (whose gable faces W). To ground and first floors is a single window as before. To the right of this is a single storey flat roofed projection with one window as before.

To the left of the two storey bay is the long former waiting room area. This is single storey and is gabled. To the centre of the front is a door opening as before but with a modern glazed door with side. Either side of the front door are two windows as before. To the far left is a partly demolished wall which appears to have been a screen wall to a small yard. To the right of the waiting room door is an Edward VII wall mounted post box.

The E gable of the waiting room has a right of centre door opening. To the left of this marks on the wall suggest that a lean-to was recently removed. To the apex of the gable is an oculus feature with a ventilation grill infill. The exposed E sections of the main house which show above the waiting room roof are blank.

The W gable of the two storey section which shows above the single storey flat roofed section is blank. The W gable of the single storey flat roofed section has a left of centre window opening with chamfered reveals but no drip moulding.

The rear S face of the waiting office has eight openings. That to the far left is a door opening as before but with a modern door with glazed panel. To the right of this are two windows as before while the right again are three door openings as before but the openings are now built up with concrete blockwork. To the far right are two further window openings as before.

To the left of the single storey section is a projecting two storey gabled section. This has a ground floor window to the right side and two evenly spaced first floor windows all as before. To the left of the ground floor there a was a door which was blocked in matching facing brick some time ago. To the left of this is the side of a two storey gabled section which has a window each to ground floor and first floor all as before. To the far left is a flat roofed single storey section with a modern window to the left and a modern panelled door to the right .

The building is finished in red facing brick and has numerous string courses formed in dark blue engineering brick. The string courses at ground and first floor window level are paired and slightly projecting. The roof is covered with Bangor Blue slate and the overhanging eaves have decorative barge boards. The ridge is finished with fire clay coxcomb style ridge tiles. The two storey section has one large chimney stack. This may have been altered some time ago with the loss of some of the brick detailing. The single storey waiting room has two chimney stacks each with brick corbelled details. The facing brick of that to the E side has been badly eroded.

The platform edging has been retained to rear.

Historical information

This station was built in 1897, probably to designs by B&CDR engineer G.P. Culverwell. It replaced an earlier station of 1871 constructed a short distance to the north by the DD&NR, and was intended to cope with the increase in traffic to and from Ballykinlar army base. The goods sidings were extended for military traffic during WWI.

The station closed in 1950 and the station master’s house became a private dwelling, with the former waiting room converted to another house.

Secondary Sources:
1 Desmond Coakham, Belfast & County Down Railway (Midland publishing Ltd, 1998), p.54

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

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

Criteria for listing: historic interest

V. Authorship
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A good example of a large two storey former station master’s house of 1897 with attached single storey former waiting room, all in typical late Victorian railway style with polychrome brick and overhanging gables. The building now contains two dwellings, one situated in the former waiting room.