Huddersfield Railway Station

Huddersfield Railway Station

Built between 1846 and 1850, this Grade I listed railway station was designed by JP Pritchett of York. The building is constructed of sandstone ashlar with a pitched tile roof, and represents a major architectural achievement of the Victorian railway age.

The principal facade comprises a two-storey central block with one-storey wings. The central block contains eleven bays articulated by a giant Composite pilastrade rising from a high plinth, crowned with a full dentilled and modillioned entablature. The central five bays are fronted by a free-standing pedimented portico two bays deep, with a clock set within the tympanum. The portico is approached by a podium of five steps. The central double doors feature six moulded panels. The end elevations are three bays deep and topped with pediments. Each wing contains nine bays fronted by open Composite colonnades standing on three-step podia and lower plinths, continuing the full entablature. On the north side, the third bay contains a doorway with a moulded surround and cast iron gates of plain but elegant geometrical design.

Terminal blocks of five bays flank the composition, breaking forward one bay in front of the colonnade. The central three bays have a free-standing portico one bay deep without a pediment, instead featuring a solid panelled parapet in front with balustrades at the sides. Elaborate scrolled consoles flank the balustrades, and two further consoles above the parapet flank armorial badges inscribed "Huddersfield and Manchester Railway and Canal Company" at the north end and "Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company" at the south end. The south block extends a further four bays southward with the same entablature; the first bay contains double doors with a moulded surround, and the next three bays have plain blind panels.

North of the north terminal block stands a detached block of eleven bays. The first three bays have plain blind panels and full entablature. The next five bays break back and feature an attic storey, as do the final three bays which break back still further. The ground floor of these eight bays is masked by a rock-faced stone lean-to.

The platform elevation contains an extensive sequence of fenestration and doors. Windows are throughout sashes with glazing bars, set in plain surrounds on the platform side and moulded surrounds on the street side; those serving the central block have cornices on the ground floor and pediments on the first floor.

Inside the building, the Parcels Office is fitted with two fluted cast iron Tuscan columns supporting the ceiling, while the Booking Office has one such column. A tiled Art Deco ticket kiosk features bronze mullions and case racks.

The platforms are covered by one very wide and one other wrought iron trusses with elaborate bosses at the intersection of bracing members. The original supports have been replaced or reinforced, except for two on platform 4 which remain as columns with elaborately moulded bases and eclectic capitals. Between platforms 4 and 8 stands a separate match-boarded Buffet and Waiting Room with panelled pilasters, each taking paired brackets and a cornice. The steps down to the underpass between platforms 4 and 8 feature wooden handrails and cast iron balustrades with turned newels, both around the stairwell and down the centre of the steps. Massive stone paving slabs are laid in the underpass, with patent wooden non-slip steps leading down.

History

The grandeur of the station results from its being built at the joint expense of the Huddersfield and Manchester Railway and Canal Company (absorbed by the LNWR in July 1847) and the Manchester and Leeds Railway. The former built the line and planned to extend it to Leeds via Dewsbury. The latter, having failed to win this concession, needed running rights to connect their main line at Cooper Bridge with their subsidiary from Springwood Junction to Sheffield.

The foundation stone was laid by Josh Fitzwilliam, the Lord Lieutenant, on 9 October 1846, when a public holiday was declared and church bells were rung from dawn till dusk. The station was partly opened for the commencement of services in August 1847, but was not completed until October 1850. It had only one platform until October 1886, when the roof over the tracks, which had been begun in 1878 but collapsed during construction in August 1885 (killing four men), was finally completed. The central part originally housed elaborate refreshment rooms which functioned until at least 1883.