Former Goods Shed, Moleworth Street, Cookstown, Co Tyrone, BT80

Former Goods Shed, Moleworth Street, Cookstown

An intact and increasingly rare example of a railway goods shed, this detached building dates to around 1870 and is now used as a council storage warehouse. It forms part of a series of Great Northern Railway buildings and has particular architectural and historical significance both as an individual structure and as a key component of Cookstown's transport heritage, with group value alongside the nearby listed GNR railway station and other railway terminus on Molesworth Street.

The building is long and rectangular in plan, set within a large tarmaced and gated yard. The entrance to the yard is framed by a semi-circular headed iron arch, which has been slightly relocated and rests on new gate pillars. The arch is double-riveted wrought-iron construction, set on replacement tall rock-faced pillars with boundary walls having cut-stone capping. The archway contains painted wrought-iron lettering depicting 'GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY'.

The front West elevation is gable ended, with a large square-headed door opening to the centre containing a replacement metal door. The gable tympanum has face-fixed timber boarding. The side North elevation has an assortment of segmental-headed window and door openings with clay brick surrounds to some openings. Many openings have been boarded up. Cut-stone steps lead to a doorway with wrought-iron railings, though this doorway is now blocked up. The South elevation is largely blank with blocked-up openings and formerly had projecting canopies over loading areas. The rear East elevation has no openings. A low-rise wall abutts the rear elevation supporting a raised timber water tank, and a high-rise boundary wall also abuts the rear elevation.

External walls are constructed from squared sandstone. The double-pitched roof is covered with corrugated sheeting and features a stepped lantern on the ridge.

A single-storey extension extends from the front West elevation and contains segmental-headed window openings with 2/4 timber sash frames set on cut-stone sills, some now boarded up. A segmental-headed doorway to the West elevation contains a timber panelled door approached by cut-stone steps with wrought-iron railings.

The goods shed was part of the original late 1870s railway complex. The GNR line between Cookstown and Dungannon was built between 1874 and 1879, with much work undertaken after 1876, and the line finally opened in July 1879. The goods shed is marked on the 1857 Ordnance Survey map as 'goods store' and appears on the 1859-82 valuation plan, indicating it likely dates to the original late 1870s complex. The station closed to passengers in January 1956 and ceased operations completely in January 1959. Cookstown Urban District Council acquired the lease of all or most of the site in the late 1960s.

The building maintains its original relationship with the listed GNR railway station on Molesworth Street.