Thetford Signal Box

Thetford Signal Box is a signal box built for the Great Eastern Railway in 1883. It is constructed from reddish-brown brick laid in Flemish bond and has a slate roof covering. The building is rectangular in shape with a rear extension and is located immediately to the west of the main station building on the north side of the railway line.

The exterior features a pitched roof with boarded gable ends and overhanging eaves. The bargeboards and the south (front) fascia have decorative scalloped moulding. The ground-floor locking room is divided by brick pilasters into three panels, each with decorative cogging and pierced by original six-light windows that have glazing bars and segmental arched brick heads. Access to this room is through a timber plank door on the west side. The front and much of the side elevations are continuously glazed with horizontal sliding windows: the front has six twelve-pane windows, the east side has two twelve-light windows followed by one nine-light window, and the west side has two twelve-light windows. A balcony for cleaning the windows runs around three sides of the building. The upper operating floor is reached via an external flight of metal steps, which date from the third quarter of the 20th century, leading to a timber door with glazed upper panels that is not original. There is also a lean-to extension on the north side, which dates to at least 1905 and includes a timber plank door on the west side and a small flat-roofed extension added in the second half of the 20th century.

Inside, the signal box retains its original 1883 McKenzie & Holland lever frame, following their pattern from around 1873. A false ceiling has been added, and secondary glazing has been fitted.