Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB17/15/057

Address :
Former stationmaster's house 102 Church Street Dromore BT25 1AA

Townland:
Ballymaganlis

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Survey 2:
B1

Date of Listing:
06/11/2009 00:00:00

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:

Former Use
Railway Station Structures

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:
Yes

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
No

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OS Map No:
202-3

IG Ref:
J1965 5335

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Owner Category

Private

Exterior Description And Setting

Two storey former railway stationmaster’s house with attached waiting room / ticket office, in typical red brick Italianate style, built in 1861-62 for the Banbridge, Lisburn and Belfast Railway Company by Thomas Jackson. The building, which closed with the railway in 1956 and now in use as a play school / nursery, is located on the western edge of Dromore, prominently set on a rise set off the southern side of Church Street. There is a large tarmac car park to east beyond which is a the former goods shed which also belonged to the station. The building is of irregular plan and consists a two storey hipped-roof block to the east, to the rear (west) of which is a long, reducing single-storey hipped-roof return. Like many other railway buildings of the mid 19th century it has an Italianate feel with overhanging roof on brackets, an abundance of semicircular-headed window and door openings and red brick (Flemish Bond) walls with purple (engineering) brick dressings and ‘quoins’, and a sandstone base course. The east front façade of the main block is symmetrical with a central doorway to the ground floor. This, like all of the openings, this is semicircular-headed with purple brick dressings and a sandstone keystone, and has a wide timber door with fielded panels. To either side are windows with 1/1 timber sash frames and painted stone sills, with three shorter windows to the first floor, much as before but with 2/2 timber sash frames. The south elevation is composed of the side of the main two-storey section (to the right) and the side of the return. The ground floor of the main section there are four windows, symmetrically arranged with the middle two paired. At first floor there are three symmetrically arranged windows. Three of the ground floor windows and one to the first floor have modern replacement frames; the rest correspond to those to front. The south side of the return is devoid of openings. A lean-to extension has been added to the right hand end of this side of return. To the south of the return is a long narrow yard. This is enclosed by a tall brick wall, constructed on top of a rock-faced sandstone string course which in turn is on top of a random rubble retaining wall. The west elevation of the main building is mainly obscured by the returns; visible portions are without openings or other features. To the west end of the end return, there is a recent lean-to open canopy and an original open archway. Originally, the north elevation faced the platform (now removed). The northern face of the return has three small high level windows (which originally appear to have been two taller windows and a doorway) to the left, then a doorway, two taller windows, with another doorway and another tall window to far right. The doorways have panelled timber doors whilst the windows have modern replacement frames. The northern face of the main building has a doorway, as previous, to left on the ground floor. To the immediate right of this is a full-height canted bay, with a single window to each of its side facets and a grouping of three windows to the central one. To the right of the bay is a short window similar to those to the return (created by blocking most of what was a doorway), with a pair of taller windows to the right of this. To the first floor there are seven windows- one to far left, four to the bay, and two to right. Most of these windows have retained 1/1 sash frames, a few have modern timber replacements, whilst the central window to the ground floor of the bay has an usual frame which consists of a roundel over a semi-circular headed light. Some of the ground floor windows have security bars. To the left hand end of the north elevation there is a high brick wall. This extends eastward, and would thus have originally secured the platform; there is a flat-headed door opening to the immediate left and a wide gate opening (gates removed) farther left. The roofs are all hipped, overhanging and covered with natural slate with clay ridge tiles. The overhangs are supported on paired brackets. There are three brick chimneys stacks whose plain caps are probably replacements. To the east, the building is set on a three step sandstone plinth, with modern metal railings now guarding the edge of the steps. The former station master's house is bounded on one side byChurch Street and due to the difference in ground levels there is extensive walling alongside this road. The walling is of random rubble and is a significant feature of the former railway complex and serves to unite the listed house and single span bridge.

Architects

Jackson, Thomas

Historical Information

These buildings form a railway station, built in 1861-62 as part of the Banbridge, Lisburn and Belfast Railway Company. The stationmaster's house and attached ticket office / waiting room, along with the rest of the large goods shed and bridge to the east, as well as the impressive viaduct to the west, were all designed by the noted Belfast-based architect Thomas Jackson, who had been employed by the BLBR to work on all of its stations, at Banbridge, Dromore, Hillsborough and Mullafernaghan. The contractor at Dromore was William Nimmick and the estimated cost of construction of the station was £1,705. The station opened to traffic on 7th July 1863, and, along with the rest of BLBR line, was later taken over by the Great Northern Railway (Ireland). It remained in operation until the closure of the line in 1956. Following closure the house / ticket office appears to have remained vacant for much of the next decade. Later [c.1970s-80s] the ground floor was used as a builder's office, whilst the the upper floor served as an apartment. After another lengthy period of vacancy during the 1990s, the building was converted to a nursery school in 2000, undergoing extensive renovation in the process. The goods shed was used as a livestock mart ('Dromore Livestock Mart') when the building was surveyed in 1994, but now houses a car repair business / breaker's yard. References- Primary sources 1 PRONI OS/6/3/20/2, 21/2 OS maps, Co. Down sheets 20 and 21, 1858. [These maps were annotated post 1863 to include the BLBR line and the buildings and other structures associated with it.] 3 PRONI VAL/12B/16/10A Annual valuation revision book, Dromore Electoral District, 1864-78 4 PRONI VAL/12B/16/10B Annual valuation revision book, Dromore Electoral District, 1879-91 5 PRONI VAL/12B/16/10C Annual valuation revision book, Dromore Electoral District, 1892-98 6 PRONI VAL/12B/16/11A Annual valuation revision book, Dromore Urban Electoral District, 1899-1910 7 PRONI OS/6/3/21/3 OS map, Co. Down, sheet 25, 1903 8 PRONI VAL/12B/16/11B Annual valuation revision book, Dromore Urban Electoral District, 1911-19 9 PRONI VAL/12B/16/11C Annual valuation revision book, Dromore Urban Electoral District, 1920-30 10 PRONI VAL/3B/4/20 First general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Urban district of Dromore, 1935 11 PRONI VAL/3C/4/17 First general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Urban district of Dromore, Dromore urban electoral district, 1936-57 12 PRONI VAL/4B/3/32 Second general revaluation of Northern Ireland, Urban district of Dromore, Dromore urban ward, 1956-72 Secondary sources 1 Casserley, H.C., ‘An Outline of Irish Railway History’, (London, David & Charles, 1974), pp.174-75 2 Dixon, Hugh, ‘Honouring Thomas Jackson’, Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society Proceedings and Reports 2nd series, vol 9 (1970/71-1976/77), 23-31. (Paper delivered to Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society, 10 Dec 1974.) 3 McCutcheon, W.A., ‘The Industrial Archaeology of Northern Ireland’, (Belfast, 1980), p.161, plate 28 4 NIEA HB17/ / First survey record- Former station at 34 Church Street, Dromore, 30 December 1994 5 Rowledge, J.W.P., ‘A Regional History of the Railways, vol XVI Ireland’, (Transport Publishers, 1995), pp.209-11 6 Johnson, Stephen, ‘John’s Atlas & Gazetteer of the Railways of Ireland’, (Midland Publishing Ltd., 1997), pp. 7 Irish Architectural Archive- Dictionary of Irish Architects 1720-1940, http://www.dia.ie/architects/view/2763 and http://www.dia.ie/works/view/8899/building 8 Information supplied by nursery school manager, April 2009

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

A. Style B. Proportion C. Ornamentation D. Plan Form H-. Alterations detracting from building I. Quality and survival of Interior K. Group value

Historic Interest

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

Evaluation

This former stationmaster's house / ticket office is a relatively well-preserved piece of mid-Victorian railway heritage which shares group value with the nearby viaduct, bridge and goods shed (see HB 17/15/027 and 056). Its attractive Italianate styling and prominent positioning has rendered it an important part of the Dromore streetscape also. But perhaps most importantly, it is a good example of the work of one of 19th century Ireland's most prominent architects, Thomas Jackson. Its setting is enhanced by the high stone walls to Church Street which serve to unite this house with the single span railway bridge.

General Comments

Date of Survey

05 May 2009