Antrim Railway Station, 38 Station Road, Antrim, Co Antrim, BT41 4AE

Antrim Railway Station is a single-storey red brick building in a distinctive English Domestic Revivalist style, built in 1901–2 under the direction of B.D. Wise, engineer to the Belfast and Northern Counties Railway Company. It is a pleasant and attractive Edwardian structure that retains many original features, including ornamental terracotta panels and ornate cast iron columns. Despite some inappropriate alterations it retains its original overall character and appearance. Together with its associated buildings and structures it forms an interesting and rare architectural group of some national interest as well as considerable local interest as a public amenity. The railway line here was originally opened in 1848 by the Belfast and Ballymena Company under the direction of its engineer Charles Lanyon, but the original station was replaced by the present building, leaving no original Belfast and Ballymena Company buildings on this side of the track. A small office to the former goods yard still stands on the other side of the track, no longer in railway use or ownership.

MAIN STATION BUILDING

The main entrance faces north-west. The entrance elevation is symmetrical, comprising a gabled bay to each side of a large central opening contained within an open porch. A rectangular bay window with a hipped roof projects from each gabled bay. The roofs are of red tiles, with perforated terracotta tiles to the ridges and terracotta finials to the two gables. Two chimneys are equidistantly positioned in the front pitch of the main roof; these are of red brick with a moulded cornice of egg and dart motif and modern red pots. The walling is of red brick with half-timbering to the two gables, carried on floriated terracotta corbels, with timber barge boards.

The bay windows each have a battered base containing two rectangular panels of moulded terracotta tiles depicting flowers and leaves, with a moulded frame to the panels and a moulded terracotta cornice of egg and dart pattern. Each bay has a pair of coupled windows: rectangular timber sliding sashes, vertically hung, 18 over 1 panes, with horns and exposed sash boxes; stop-chamfered brick reveals; stop-chamfered red sandstone lintels; projecting red sandstone cills with swept corners; and a moulded cornice to stepped brick aprons. Moulded cast iron gutters return back along the sides of the bay windows, with circular cast iron downpipes in the inner corners with the main wall. A metal bracket mounted on the side wall of each bay facing into the porch supports a tubular steel framed modern station entrance sign extending across the front of the porch roof just above eaves level.

The main wall has a pair of segmental arched openings, stop-chamfered, with the main roof swept down over them to form an open veranda-like porch. A segmental timber arch is supported on a pair of tapering timber columns with moulded capitals and bases, and the porch has a sprocketed roof with tongued and grooved sheeting. The twin openings each contain a large ledged and braced timber door with diagonal sheeting to a rectangular panel, surmounted by a ramped top rail on slatted supports, set in a segmental arched timber frame. The columns or posts of the porch are carried on low boundary walls to the steps: red brick with wavy moulded sandstone copings, terminating in square sandstone piers with battered faces and moulded panels, and ogee moulded sandstone caps to the piers. Eight concrete steps lead up to a concrete concourse beyond the double doorway.

Projecting forward from the east side of the front elevation is a red brick screen wall with a projecting moulded stringcourse and brick dentil cornice, both now chipped, and a flat concrete coping. The front edge of this projection is abutted by a ramped brick retaining wall to the tarmac pathway up to the platform. The rounded brick copings at the top of the retaining wall are in poor condition, and have been replaced by concrete copings — now themselves in poor condition — along the main run of the wall. The east side of the projecting brick wall is plain red brick with similar stringcourses but a plainer chamfered brick cornice, and a yellow brick pilaster to each extremity.

Extending to the east of the main entrance elevation, and set back from it, is a screen wall to the platform shelter: red brick with a projecting plinth and projecting moulded stringcourses. It contains a rectangular timber 9-pane fixed light with a 12-pane fanlight above a wooden dentil course; stop-chamfered brick reveals and a red sandstone lintel; and a projecting red sandstone cill with a small moulded terracotta apron below. One stringcourse steps up over the lintel to form a continuous drip moulding. Beyond the screen wall is the eastern side of the main front block: red brick with a projecting plinth, brick dentil cornice, and yellow brick pilasters to the extremities. It contains a rectangular opening, formerly a doorway, now a steel shuttered hatch with red brick blocking the opening below; stop-chamfered reveals with a projecting moulded stringcourse stepping up over a red sandstone lintel.

The rear wall of the eastern portion of the main front block, within the internal concourse, is of red brickwork and contains a steel shuttered rectangular full-width opening comprising a doorway with a hatch and counter to its right, and a modern flush timber door.

The western side elevation of the main front block is of plain red brick with sprocketed eaves; the roof is of red tiles with perforated terracotta ridge tiles terminating in terracotta finials. The moulded gutter appears to be PVC on a timber eaves board, with a PVC downpipe. The lower part of the wall is covered by a later projecting concrete brick plinth wall. The rear wall of the western portion of the main front block is gabled: red brick with oversailing eaves and timber barge boards on shaped timber brackets. The gable contains one window to the left of a doorway. The window is a rectangular timber 6-pane fixed light with a fanlight now closed over with a painted wooden panel, and a wire mesh protective grille affixed over the window, with plain reveals, a flat brick arched head, and a projecting sandstone cill. The door is a modern rectangular flush timber door with a modern moulded timber frame and a 10-pane fanlight above.

INTERIOR CONCOURSE

The inner walls of the covered concourse — to which the main station entrance and a doorway at the rear of the main front block both lead — are of red brick with moulded brick projecting plinth and stringcourses. The wall of the eastern portion is blank. The wall of the western portion contains three doorways: two originally led into the western portion but are now not in use, retaining their original rectangular timber 6-panel doors with small-paned fanlights, now sheeted over; the third leads out to the rear return exterior terrace, with the small-paned fanlight still intact. The ceiling of the covered concourse is flat and tongued and grooved sheeted, arranged in lozenge-shaped panels of Jacobean inspiration. It is divided into two main portions by a shallow transverse brick arch; the rear portion has a rectangular rooflight opening with panelled reveals and a hipped form.

REAR RETURN BLOCK

The north end elevation, at the rear of the interior concourse and facing the main entrance to the main station building, is a blank brick wall of similar character to the other walls within the concourse, set in a canted plane.

The west elevation of the rear return block has a hipped roof of Bangor blue slates in regular courses with terracotta ridge tiles and terracotta finials. There are moulded PVC gutters, PVC downpipes, and a timber eaves board. The walling is plain red brick. Two chimneys of red brick with moulded cornices each carry two modern red pots. The openings from left to right are as follows: a rectangular timber 12-pane window with a 16-pane fanlight, plain reveals, and a projecting sandstone cill; a rectangular doorway with a flush timber door incorporating a 6-pane sidelight and 16-pane fanlight; a rectangular timber 6-pane window with a 12-pane fanlight; a rectangular doorway with a flush timber door incorporating a 3-pane sidelight and 12-pane fanlight; a rectangular timber 9-pane window with a 12-pane fanlight; and another flush timber door with a 3-pane sidelight and 12-pane fanlight. A projecting end bay has a small rectangular metal fixed light with a bottom-hung vent. A concrete terrace in front of this wall is sheltered by a later corrugated perspex awning on steel brackets.

The south end of the rear return block is of plain red brick on a base course of basalt rubble. Projecting from it is a lower single-storey red brick block on a basalt rubble base, with a hipped slated roof with lead covering to the ridges and PVC rainwater goods.

The east elevation of the rear return block, facing the main platform to the south of the wide concourse archway, has walling of red brick with five bays marked by yellow brick pilasters, projecting plinths, and dentil cornice as previously described to the side of the main front block. The bays contain the following, from right to left. The first bay has a rectangular timber 5-panel door with a rectangular fanlight now blocked with a wooden panel and a dentil course to the doorhead; to the right of the door is a rectangular window opening now blocked with brickwork. The second bay contains a full-width canted bay window with a red brick base wall carrying a projecting stone cill; a timber-framed 3-light window with woodwork painted cream and openings closed up; a timber dentil cornice; and a red tiled hipped roof. The pilaster to the right of the bay window contains a recessed rectangular cast iron downpipe. The third bay contains one rectangular doorway with an original 5-panel door with a dentil course to the doorhead and a blocked fanlight above, and a modern metal handle. The fourth bay contains two doorways: the one to the left is semi-circular arched with rounded jambs and is now bricked up; the one to the right is rectangular, containing a modern flush rectangular door with a rectangular fanlight now closed up and incorporating a narrow rectangular sidelight, with a later red brick nib wall projecting from the reveal to form a cill to the sidelight. The fifth bay contains a later rectangular doorway in plain reveals with a modern flush timber door; a modern yellow brick single-storey flat-topped block projects from this fifth bay to occupy the corner with a projecting end block.

The end block is original, of yellow brick, with corner piers and projecting red brick stringcourse and dentil cornice. The later projecting block has a rectangular doorway and two rectangular steel louvred openings in the side wall, and one steel louvred opening in the wall facing the platform. The original projecting block has a rectangular flush door with a small fanlight set in a segmental arched opening in the side wall. To the left of the original projecting block is a blank set-back end bay of recessed red brick between yellow brick pilasters.

MAIN PLATFORM SHELTER

Projecting from the east or platform side of the main front block and the rear return is an 11-bay roof over the main platform. The roof is carried on a series of iron beams forming the valleys between pitches, cantilevered over iron beams that are supported on a series of cast iron pillars. The first four bays of roof from the right are formed of small timber king post trusses covered by corrugated asbestos sheets. The remaining seven bays are comprised of glazed rooflights. The cast iron pillars are cylindrical with fluted pedestals and composite capitals, with leafy scrollwork to the brackets supporting the main girders. The extreme right-hand pillar is inscribed 'W. MacFarlane & Co. Glasgow' — these cast iron columns and the cast iron structure of the pedestrian bridge were manufactured by Walter MacFarlane's Saracen Foundry of Glasgow. At the left-hand end the rhythm of pillars changes to accommodate a cast iron footbridge over the track, supported on pairs of smaller cast iron pillars.

At the rear of the platform shelter, the glazed rooflights are of hipped form for three bays and gabled form for the last four bays; the gables are filled with timber framing clad on the outside with vertical tongued and grooved sheeting. At the front of the platform, all bays of the roof are gabled, filled with timber framing clad on the outside with vertical tongued and grooved sheeting to a shaped profile at the bottom edge. The tongued and grooved sheeting returns back along the right-hand or north end of the platform roof; at the left-hand or south end it abuts the iron footbridge over the track.

The west elevation of the main platform shelter, where it extends to the south of the rear return block, has walling of red brick on a basalt rubble base with a yellow brick pilaster to the right-hand extremity. There are two rectangular window openings with brick flat arches and projecting sandstone cills, now blocked with smooth cement render. One chimney of yellow brick has a projecting brick stringcourse and cornice. The wall is surmounted by tongued and grooved sheeting closing the gables of the roof bays. There are two PVC downpipes and one cast iron downpipe.

DETACHED PLATFORM SHELTER

The detached platform shelter is an open-fronted single-storey building standing on the platform on the eastern side of the railway track. It comprises a five-bay front with the two end bays enclosed as rooms. The gabled roof is carried on six timber trusses of unusual form, comprising corner posts of the end rooms with two free-standing posts between them which support pairs of angled struts; the posts are stop-chamfered, with panelled and moulded pedestals to the two central free-standing ones.

The back wall within the shelter is of red brick with projecting red brick pilasters, a projecting plinth, stringcourse, and dentil cornice. The three bays of the back wall have rectangular window openings now filled with tongued and grooved sheeting and a moulded wooden head. The end bays have red brick base walls with projecting plinth and cill — damaged in places — surmounted by timber-framed walls, also in poor condition in places. These feature vertical tongued and grooved sheeted diagonally-braced panels surmounted by top panels containing diagonal bracing and 4-lobed sunken motifs, with a timber dentil cornice to the top of the end rooms and timber mouldings lining up with the terracotta mouldings of the back wall. Each end room is entered by a rectangular door on the side facing into the shelter: a rectangular timber panelled door, but with the upper portion clad with later tongued and grooved sheeting.

The roof of the shelter has a tongued and grooved sheeted ceiling, a wide overhang to the front — in poor condition in places — with a tongued and grooved fascia flush finished on the front face and an asphalt covering on top. The overhanging gables have shaped tongued and grooved sheeting recessed behind ornamental timber barge boards with fretted shamrock motifs, with an ornamented timber finial and timber pendants to the barge boards. A cast iron downpipe from a hidden gutter runs back from front to rear at the south end of the roof behind the tongued and grooved sheeting, discharging into a vertical downpipe on the rear elevation.

The rear elevation of the platform shelter has walling of plain red brick with five window openings with flat arches and projecting concrete cills, all openings blocked with tongued and grooved sheeting. There is a later asphalt roof, a timber eaves board, and a PVC gutter with a short PVC downpipe section discharging into the original cast iron downpipes.

SETTING

The main station building is set back from the main road, overlooking a tarmac area in front of it. This area is bounded on the right by a modern brick wall containing a wide opening with a modern steel gate leading into the bus depot, and on the left by the red brick walling of the platform and the red brick retaining wall of the path to the platform. The platform wall on the left abuts a later rustic brick signal box with a shallow gabled roof. The platforms are laid with tarmac and modern concrete brick pavings, with concrete flags to the edges; the retaining walls of the platforms are of basalt rubble, with the level of the area in front of the platform shelters later raised by two courses of modern brickwork. A red brick wall bounds the platform on the eastern side of the track. The rear face of this wall has brick buttresses in poor condition. It contains two small pedestrian gateways with square piers, sandstone caps, concrete flagged steps, and timber slatted gates. The wall ramps down toward the main road and curves round to terminate in a red brick pier, linked to a level crossing pier by a timber slatted gate.