Screen wall to former train shed

Screen wall to former train shed, Buxton Railway Station, Station Road, Buxton, Derbyshire

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Overview

Gabled screen wall of former train shed built for the London and North Western Railway in 1863 to the designs of J. Smith with advice from Joseph Paxton. Read the official list entry to find out more.

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1257936
Date first listed:: 21-Dec-1970
List Entry Name:: Screen wall to former train shed
Statutory Address:: Screen wall to former train shed, Buxton Railway Station, Station Road, Buxton, Derbyshire

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Date:: 2003-07-27
Reference:: IOE01/10943/34
Rights:: © Mr David Morten. Source: Historic England Archive

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1257936
Date first listed:: 21-Dec-1970
Date of most recent amendment:: 13-Feb-2014
List Entry Name:: Screen wall to former train shed
Statutory Address 1:: Screen wall to former train shed, Buxton Railway Station, Station Road, Buxton, Derbyshire

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

Location

Statutory Address:: Screen wall to former train shed, Buxton Railway Station, Station Road, Buxton, Derbyshire

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

County:: Derbyshire
District:: High Peak (District Authority)
Parish:: Non Civil Parish
National Grid Reference:: SK0586473721

Summary

Gabled screen wall of former train shed built for the London and North Western Railway in 1863 to the designs of J. Smith with advice from Joseph Paxton.

Reasons for Designation

The gabled screen wall of the former train shed, built for the London and North Western Railway in 1863 to the designs of J. Smith, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* Historic interest: it represents a unique collaboration between two railway companies in their approach to station design at the insistence of the Duke of Devonshire who was developing Buxton into a spa town. With the demolition of the Midland Railway station, the striking screen wall is regarded as the surviving monument to this collaboration;

* Architectural interest: the association of Joseph Paxton, who gave advice on the design, adds further interest to the enterprise. The resulting composition, incorporating a giant lunette with radial iron glazing bars, is at once dramatic and elegant.

History

The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) and the Midland Railway each opened a terminus at Buxton in 1863. Designed by J. Smith, with advice from Joseph Paxton, the two stations stood on opposite sides of a broad courtyard and achieved a remarkable architectural unity by having identical stone gable screens which faced the town from behind the buffer stops. These screens contained a giant lunette and radial glazing with the respective company’s name engraved around the outer rim. This rare collaboration between two rival railway companies was achieved at the insistence of the Duke of Devonshire who was developing Buxton, most of which he owned, into a fashionable spa town. The Midland Railway station closed in 1967 and was almost completely demolished, leaving only the perimeter wall standing. The train shed of the LNWR station was also demolished and all that now remains is the gable screen and the waiting rooms.

Details

MATERIALS: coursed millstone grit with ashlar dressings.

PLAN: the screen wall is aligned north-west south-east and is on the west side of the railway tracks. It has a short left return and a longer right return which adjoins the station building. This building is not of special interest.

EXTERIOR: the gabled south-west screen wall to the formerly covered station has a central round-headed archway containing a very large lunette with ornate radial iron glazing bars painted white. It has a moulded ashlar surround inscribed ‘LONDON AND NORTH WESTERN RAILWAY CO’ and moulded impost bands. Either side are wide projecting pilasters with a moulded cornice supported by moulded stone corbels. The broad shallow coped gable has a series of round-headed corbel arches beneath. To the left is a slightly lower wall with moulded eaves and a terminal pilaster buttress. The wall has a central round-arched, keyed doorway, above which is a decorative iron bracket, possibly for a lamp originally. This is flanked by single blind panels with a dentilled course. The right return has been lowered, so that what was originally the string course is now the parapet. The wall has a stone plinth and a slightly raised central section, flanked by pilasters. This has a wide centrally-placed segmental arched doorway with a hoodmould. The left return has a moulded stone parapet.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:: 463287
Legacy System:: LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Biddle, G, Britain's Historic Railway Buildings: A Gazetteer of Structures and Sites, (2011)
Pevsner, N, Williamson, E, The Buildings of England: Derbyshire, (1978)

Legal

This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.