Former Railway Goods Shed

Former Railway Goods Shed

A former railway goods shed built in 1847, constructed of coursed rubble sandstone with a grey slate roof. The building is a single storey, rectangular structure with four bays and its main axis running north-south, containing an open interior. The eastern side is built into a steep embankment that rises to eaves height at the rear, making side access impossible. Railway tracks entered from a branch of the main line at the southern end of the shed on the west side and continued beyond the northern end for a short distance. Horse-drawn or later motor-driven transport entered at the north end on the east side.

The south gable end features a timber double door on the left side, flanked by rusticated stone quoins with a heavy timber lintel extending beyond the door from which a pair of metal loops suspended the wagon gauge height bar. Centrally positioned high in the gable is a window with a semi-circular arched head formed of narrow stone voussoirs and a replacement 4-light frame, with the arched top covered in plywood but retaining four small original panes. The west side has four similar semi-circular arched windows evenly spaced along its length. Halfway along this side is a stone carved with the initials B F A, belonging to a local coal merchant. The north gable end has a similar opening to the south end, positioned at the left side with a concrete lintel. Beneath the lintel is a cast iron beam inscribed "MUSGRAVE SON & HEATON, BOLTON 1847", the name of a local engineering firm. At the base of the door, the original railway tracks can be seen emerging from the concrete floor. The window here retains all its original 16 lights. To the left side is a round-headed double-doored cart entrance.

The interior contains three exposed trusses of king-post construction, with a metal strut replacing the king post and bolted through the tie-beam via a semi-circular iron cradle, and a central beam running longitudinally across the tie beams. The truss ends are supported on timber corbels with shallow stone buttresses below. Traces of a possible former floor level exist at the height of the wall plate. The south-east quadrant of the floor is occupied by a raised platform approximately 0.8 metres high, built of coursed rubble with a stone flag floor. The remainder of the floor is concrete, covering the railway tracks which run from south to north through the west side of the building. A post near the northern end of the platform and rising to the central truss forms the upright member of a pivoting hand-cranked jib crane. The post and arm are of squared timber with an angled brace, operated by a manual cog and ratchet winding mechanism with a cable drum at the base running up to a large cast iron cable wheel at the top. The cable has a pulley system at the jib end wheel and the crane rotates through 360 degrees.

The railway line and station at Summerseat opened as part of the Bury to Rawtenstall line in 1846, and the goods shed was probably built soon after, possibly following an initial open platform at the site. The railway line and shed were principally designed to serve local cotton mills, several of which existed in the area, the nearest being Twist Mill. The station was rebuilt in 1860 by the East Lancashire Railway's resident engineer, John Perring, and the jib crane may date to this time or earlier. Structural strengthening to the east wall took place in 1890, and the roof was partly replaced using traditional materials in the early twentieth century. The mills served by the goods shed went into decline during the early twentieth century, with Twist Mill disappearing by 1939. The siding and yard remained in use until the early 1960s, but the tracks were removed around the time the railway became single track in 1967.