Engine House

The Engine House, built for the Great Northern Railway at their Friargate Station, dates from 1877 to 1878 and was designed by Kirk & Randall of Sleaford. It is in the Italianate style and constructed of red and blue brick with Welsh slate roofs. The building features a decorative corbelled eaves band and a double chamfered plinth. It is a single storey structure with a two-storey tower at the southwest corner. The south elevation has six bays arranged symmetrically, with three windows on each side. There are six segment-headed windows with metal casements, and between them is a 20th-century rock-faced fireplace. The roof has a raised louvred lantern. The square tower on the left has a deeply overhanging hipped roof supported by brackets and three round-arched louvred lights on the first floor on three sides. The north elevation mirrors the south with six windows, although one has been converted into a doorway. In the centre, there is a large round-arched double doorway with a blocked tympanum. The east gable end features a pedimented gable with a circular louvred opening. The engine house was built to provide power for the hydraulic cranes and hoists in the adjoining warehouse.