Station House, 1 North Circular Road, Lisburn, Co Antrim, BT28 3AH

Station House is a former station master's house built around 1880–1882 for the Great Northern Railway (Ireland), designed by the company's chief engineer W.H. Mills. It stands on North Circular Road in Lisburn, below the corner of Magheralave Road, and is closely associated with Lisburn Station, which was constructed by the railway in 1878. The building typifies the architectural character that Mills brought to Great Northern Railway structures of this period.

The house is a detached two-storey structure of three bays on its principal west elevation, with two two-storey rear returns extending from its east side. The main section is aligned north-south. Roofs are pitched natural slate with decorative fretted bargeboards and boxed eaves. Chimney stacks of corbelled yellow brick rise to each gable of the main section, though the one on the north-east return has been removed.

The external walls are of red brick enlivened by contrasting yellow and purple brick detailing. Stepped yellow brick quoins emphasise the corners, while purple brick platbands run horizontally around the north, east and south elevations of the main section at both ground and first floor cill levels. The north-east and south-east returns also display similar platbands across their first floors.

A single-storey entrance porch projects from the middle of the west elevation, with a door to its left and a window to the right. The porch appears to be a modern replacement, though it matches the original design with pitched roof (plain bargeboard), matching walls and quoins. The left bay of the main section contains two ground floor windows with shallow segmental yellow brick heads and painted stone cills. To the right of the porch stands a canted single-storey bay with similarly detailed windows to each cant face. The first floor has one window to each bay; the middle window features a semi-circular yellow brick head. The south gable houses two segmental-headed windows on the first floor, also with yellow brick heads and stone cills.

The south-east rear return matches the height and detailing of the main block but sits slightly inset from its gable. Its south elevation has a pair of ground floor windows, and its east gable has two first floor windows. The north-east return is slightly lower and shorter. Its north elevation aligns with the north gable of the main block. Two ground floor windows with flat red brick heads sit on this elevation; the right-hand one is a modern insertion with concrete cill. Two original first floor windows remain, both with flat red brick heads. The north elevation of this return has a ground floor door (modern insertion) to the left of an infilled original window opening with a yellow brick head.

All windows throughout the building are now modern uPVC casements, replacing the original timber sashes. A modern boiler house is attached to the ground floor of the main section with a metal flue running up the quoin. Half-round metal and plastic rainwater goods serve the building.

The rear yard is bounded in part by a red brick wall topped with hollow triangular terracotta copings. A modern single-storey brick and rendered concrete shed stands in the yard. The original steps that descended from the main road to the back yard have been infilled with brick and removed.

The building's grounds are enclosed along the north and east sides by a random basalt wall topped with terracotta copings. A wrought-iron gate set within an opening with dressed granite jambs and head provides access along North Circular Road, with a separate more recent vehicle entrance further along the same road. A large garden extends west of the house, bounded to the south and west by a hedge that separates it from Lisburn Station. The house is situated within a conservation area.

Preliminary drawings for the house are dated 1880, though they depict a building somewhat different from what was actually constructed. The building first appears on the 1900 Ordnance Survey Lisburn town map and on all subsequent maps. It retains much of its original external character despite the replacement of timber windows with double-glazed uPVC. The building possesses group value with the important railway buildings and structures of the adjoining Lisburn Station.