Railway Warehouse

The Railway Warehouse, built for the Great Northern Railway at Friargate Station, dates from 1877-1878 and was designed by Kirk & Randall of Sleaford. It features red brick construction with Welsh slate and glazed roofs, and includes three brick stacks on the eastern side. The building has an unusual rectangular plan, complemented by a triangular office block with a mezzanine floor to the east. It stands two to three storeys tall over a basement.

The south elevation consists of twenty-one bays, grouped in threes by giant pilaster strips. The central bay features a segmental arched entrance, while the ground floor has segment-headed windows with metal casements. The upper floors have similar windows, except for two bays that contain double doors and two bays that have bracketed timber hoist structures beneath oversailing gables, one of which is partly demolished.

The west elevation is arranged in a 1-4-1 bay pattern, primarily featuring segment-headed windows and a large tripartite railway entrance supported by a riveted box girder. The first and fifth bays step forward. The north elevation mirrors the south elevation but consists of 27 bays. The eastern end, which is part of the offices, has three storeys with six segment-headed sash windows on each floor, and a rounded corner at the acute northeast angle with a tripartite arrangement of sashes on each floor.

The southeast elevation is arranged in a 2-2-5-2-2 bay pattern. The outer pairs have two segment-headed windows across three floors, while the central five bays feature similar windows above a large opening under a riveted box girder. The office block, with its rounded acute angle, was designed to face the proposed approach road from Friary Street to Friargate Station.