Crossing House

Crossing House is a railway crossing house built in 1846 for the Bedford Railway. It features a rendered exterior with mock timber framing and a tiled roof. The building is a two-storey gabled cottage designed in a picturesque style, resembling a late 16th century timber-framed house with a continuous jetty. The main gabled range has a single-storey wing at right angles. The main range is one room deep, facing the track, and includes a metal casement window on the ground floor and a possibly original cross-framed casement window above. The scalloped bargeboards add to its charm.

The right elevation has a continuous jetty supporting the first floor, which is divided into five rendered panels. The single-storey wing features a pointed arch gabled porch and has no windows on the main range. The left elevation is also blind, with a jetty and two external brick stacks that have diapering on the tall shafts. The roof is covered in fish scale tiles. The rear gable end has a cross-framed casement window below and a replacement timber casement above.

Although the interior has not been inspected, this crossing house is noted for being an unusually elaborate example of its type. It was built for the Bedford Railway, which was part of the London and Birmingham Railway, and by the time it opened on 17 November 1846, it had become part of the London and North Western Railway. The picturesque timber frame cottage design was intended to satisfy the Duke of Bedford, as the railway crossed his estate.