Central Railway Station; passenger buildings and train shed with platforms

Summary

Railway station. 1845-50 by John Dobson for the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway Company; portico 1860 by Prosser for North Eastern Railway Company; extended c.1890 by W. Bell.

Details

Railway station. 1845-50 by John Dobson for the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway Company; portico 1860 by Prosser for North Eastern Railway Company; extended c.1890 by W. Bell. Sandstone ashlar; roofs not visible. Wrought and cast iron train shed. Curved plan with front, central and rear ranges; and main entrance portico. Classical style. Station building of one high storey. 7-bay wings flank high 7-bay portico: 21 bays in all. Portico of keyed arches framed in paired Doric pilasters under entablature with triglyph frieze and parapet with pilasters. Wings have paired sashes under dentilled band and 4-paned lunettes, all under top entablature with triglyph frieze and blocking course. End bays have high plinths supporting rusticated, hollow-chamfered arches with mask key-stones; attached Tuscan columns within arches flank windows; lunettes above. Interior: booking hall has paired Tuscan columns. Refreshment room has Burmantofts faience decoration, in Baroque style, covering walls and ceilings. Train shed of cast iron columns, with simple leaf capitals, supporting low-curved segmental girders; for devising rollers to shape these Dobson was awarded a medal in 1858 at Paris. Roof of panels in c.1979 replica of originals has wide glazed sections with central ridged ventilators.

HOTEL ACCOMMODATION
The cancellation of plans to construct a hotel, designed by Dobson, at the east end of the Central Station, meant that integral hotel accommodation had to be provided within the station itself. This was squeezed into the east range behind the lunette windows of the Neville Street frontage, and within several floors of the short, rectangular, angled rear range. Rooms were later created within the upper floors of the station east pavilion, formally used as stores.

Access to all three locations is provided from a tall stair hall, top lit by a full-length atrium, containing a dog-leg stair with ornate cast-iron balusters and a ramped handrail. The Neville Street range is served by a long corridor, set to the south side on the first floor and to the north side on the second floor, the latter accessed through a round-arched and keyed opening flanked by 4/4 hornless sash windows. There are six-panel doors with moulded architraves throughout these areas and the selection of rooms inspected, retained moulded cornices and some have arched recesses and panelled corner windows. Rooms within the rear angled range are accessed through an arched opening into a short central corridor retaining original six-panel doors. Four original rooms remain on the first floor with panelled reveals and soffits and simple fire surrounds; on the second floor partitions have been removed to form two large rooms but the original doors are retained. Within the station's east pavilion, the former first floor linen room has inserted secondary bedrooms. The former large second floor store rooms also within the east pavilion have been converted to bedrooms, but all largely retain their original form and original room doors. All bedrooms have inserted en-suite bathrooms and modern sanitary ware. This mid-C19 hotel accommodation within the Central Station is now linked to the Station Hotel at its extreme west end via an inserted corridor and stair that blocks earlier window openings, and cuts in half a large full height window opening with panelled reveals and soffits

Pursuant to s.1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’) it is declared that the later bedrooms inserted into the first floor of the station's east pavilion, and all inserted en-suites including modern sanitary ware throughout the hotel accommodation are not of special architectural or historic interest.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

304734

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Addyman, John, Fawcett, Bill, The High level Bridge and Newcastle Central Station: 150 years across the Tyne, (1999)

End of official list entry

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