Trowse Railway Station

Summary

Former railway station, built between 1844 and 1845.

Reasons for Designation

Trowse Railway Station, built between 1844 and 1845, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* as an architecturally distinguished building, polite yet unimposing, suitable in design and scale to its suburban location and historic use;
* for its high-quality craftsmanship and materials, which directly relate to the vernacular architectural traditions of Norfolk, rich in the quarrying and workmanship of knapped flint;
* although access to the interior was not possible in 2021, it appears a high proportion of the historic plan form survives.

Historic interest:

* as Norwich’s first, albeit temporary, railway terminus of the Norwich and Brandon Line;
* the connection of the Norwich and Brandon Line and Eastern Counties Railway Line in 1845 was a pivotal moment in regional railway and communications history, allowing Yarmouth and Norwich to be connected through to London by rail for the first time;
* Trowse Station holds a strong historic relationship with the other four principal stations of the Norwich to Brandon Line at Wymondham, Attleborough, Thetford and Brandon, each listed at Grade II.

History

The Norwich and Brandon Railway Act received Royal Assent in May 1844, authorising the construction of 37 and half miles of railway between Norwich and Brandon. The line was engineered by George Parker Bidder (1806-1878), and the contractors were Thomas Grissell (1801-1874) and Sir Samuel Morton Peto (1809-1889), cousins. Bidder, Grisell and Peto had recently worked with engineer Robert Stephenson (1803-1859) on the construction of the Yarmouth and Norwich Railway, which was authorised in June 1842, formally opened in May 1844, and amalgamated with the Norwich and Brandon Railway in June 1845 to form the Norfolk Railway, running 58 miles in length. At the same time as the Norwich to Brandon line was being constructed, Stephenson, Bidder and Peto were also pressing forward with the Eastern Counties Railway, a line from Brandon via Ely and Cambridge to Newport in Essex, allowing traffic from Yarmouth and Norwich to be connected through to London for the first time.

The Norwich and Brandon line and the connection with the Eastern Counties Railway through Ely and Cambridge to Newport, was opened to the public on 30 July 1845. This historic occasion was widely reported in the press, including an article in the Illustrated London News on 2 August 1845. A contemporary article in the Norfolk News reported: ‘The often talked of and long looked for communication by Railway, between London and Norwich is at length a reality. This very important undertaking has been successfully completed by the united instrumentality of the Eastern Counties Railways and the Norfolk Railway and it is now our pleasing duty to place on record the celebration of that important event.’ The Stamford Mercury on 08 August 1845 declared that the opening of the Eastern Counties and Norwich and Brandon lines was ‘an epoch in the railway history of this country’. All five principal stations on the Norwich and Brandon line, Trowse, Wymondham, Attleborough, Thetford and Brandon (all listed at Grade II), were crafted of knapped flint, and constructed by Thomas and William Piper, builders of Bishopsgate, London.

Trowse Station served as the temporary terminus of the Norwich and Brandon line for five months until December 1845 when a swing bridge over the River Wensum was completed, connecting the line into Thorpe Station, the terminus of the Yarmouth and Norwich line. From Trowse a loop line was also constructed for passing traffic, and due to its position became an important marshalling yard. Goods heading towards Norwich cattle market came through Trowse, and extensive cattle and sheep pens, sidings, and warehouses were erected alongside the tracks in the mid- and late C19, as can be clearly noted on the 1888 Ordnance Survey map. The station was closed to passengers in 1939 but the sidings around the station remained until the 1960s when the whole area was redeveloped. The station was temporarily re-opened in March 1986 to allow for works at the Thorpe depot, and the central platform was removed in 1987.

Details

Former railway station, built between 1844 and 1845.

MATERIALS: the roof has a Welsh slate covering over timber shingles, and the walls are constructed of coursed knapped flint with white Costessey brick dressings.

PLAN: the building runs on a north-south axis, and is arranged in a somewhat symmetrical plan of seven sections: from a central one-and-half storey section, three diminishing single-storey sections extend to the north and south.

EXTERIOR: the former station building is arranged in seven sections and comprises a one-and-half storey former booking hall at its centre, aligned east-west, and three diminishing single-storey sections to the north and south, aligned north-south. Each of the seven sections has a steeply-pitched slate roof, diminishing in height to the north and south ends, and each having a waved bargeboard to its gable. The southernmost section has a raised ventilated roof. There are six gault brick chimney stacks, three to the north of the booking hall generally on the ridge line and over a dividing wall, the booking hall has two chimneystacks on its south wall, and there is one chimneystack on a dividing wall south of the booking hall. From the one-and-half storey section, the walls step back by around 2m, and then approximately 0.5m for each diminishing single-storey section. The elevations are constructed of roughly-coursed knapped flint with white Costessey brick dressings. The central section has two mullion and transom windows to the first floor, and three slender sash windows to the ground floor, the central window being taller. The north elevation of the former booking hall has a larger six-over-six pane sash window, while the south elevation has a door, formerly leading from the booking hall to the platform. The diminishing sections to the north and south also have slender sash windows and doors, concealed by vegetation. Access to the site was not possible in September 2021, and restricted views were provided from publicly-accessible areas.

INTERIOR: access was not possible to the interior in September 2021.

Sources

Books and journals
The Eastern Counties Railway - Opening of the Line to Cambridge and Ely in Illustrated London News, (02 August 1845), 73-77
Brodribb, John, Railways of Norwich, (1994), 8-9, 32, 84, 89

Other
Norwich City Council, 'Trowse Millgate Conservation Area Appraisal', March 2008, p10
Cotswold Archaeology, ‘East Norwich Development Norwich – Built Heritage Appraisal’, July 2021
Iceni Heritage, ‘Carrow Works Norwich – Designation Assessment’, September 2021

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