Original Plant Works Building To South West Of Doncaster Station

This is a railway plant works, constructed in 1851 by William and Joseph Cubitt, with subsequent alterations. It is built of red brick with brick and stone dressings, and has a roof partly covered in Welsh slates and partly in concrete tiles. The building is two storeys high and comprises 44 bays, with four bays projecting at each end and topped with pediments. Pilasters with plain bands are positioned between each bay and at the corners, supporting a continuous projecting parapet. This creates full-height, square-headed recesses to each bay. Continuous stone sills run through the pilasters and ground-floor windows, which are largely small-paned and set beneath segmental brick arches. Later casements have been inserted to the left, while fixed 12-pane windows with single-pane casements are to the right. Bays 10 and 11 feature a bay window mirroring the facade’s detailing, topped with a dentilled cornice and a low blocking course. The upper floor windows are mostly segment-headed, with 9-pane windows and stone sills. The projecting parapets have been largely rebuilt and feature flat copings. The end bays have dentilled pediments, and the roof incorporates numerous roof lights. The left-end bay has a cross roof with a central square timber bellcote, covered by a hipped roof. The rear elevation is similar, with entrances and two weatherboarded first-floor loading bays supported on large cast-iron brackets. A panelled door sits beneath a segmental arch at the main entrance to the left return. The interior includes a cast-iron stick baluster staircase with a wreathed mahogany handrail at the southern end, and original wide, braced, queen post roof trusses on the first floor. Originally, the building housed an engine shop at each end, a boiler shop, and offices and a smiths shop in the centre. Further alterations in 1853 expanded the plant to incorporate a drawing office, grinding shop, boiler shop, store, managers office, turning shop, and carriage shop. Initially, the Wagon and Carriage Works for the Great Northern Railway Company were located in Boston, but relocated to Doncaster in 1851. Innovative locomotive designs originated from these offices. A later extension to the north is not included in the listing.