Waiting Room, Former Ballyward Railway Station, adj to 26 Station Road, Ballyward, Castlewellan, Co Down, BT31 9TU

Long, plain timber-clad railway station waiting room of 1906 with slated gabled roof, segmental headed sash windows and a large lean-to extension. The building is one of a collection of contemporary structures originally belonging to Ballyward Station and is located to the N of Station Road, roughly 5 miles NE of Castlewellan. The whole building is timber clad (and painted) and rests on a moulded (and painted) concrete base. The gabled roof is slated and has an overhang with plain barges and boxed in eaves and verge. There are three yellow brick chimneystacks with bevelled bases, moulded courses and low pots. Moulded cast iron gutters and PVC down spouts. The asymmetrical front elevation faces S. To the right of centre is the main entrance, which consists of a modern partly glazed timber door with narrow sidelight (to left) and a segmental arched fanlight. All of these lights have patterned glazing. The door has a raised in-out timber surround. To the left of the doorway are three unevenly spaced segmental headed sash windows with vertical glazing bars (2/2). The window to far left has patterned glazing. To the right of the doorway are two similar windows. The E and W gables are blank. To the left on the rear elevation there is a timber lean-to extension with a corrugated iron roof; this was added post 1955 when the property was converted to a dwelling.. To the W face of the lean-to there is a plain sheeted door, with sash window, (2/2), to the E. To the immediate left and right of the lean-to (on façade of main building), there is a six light flat arch window with curved corners to the upper lights. There is a plain timber entablature and cornice above each of these windows, with a pilaster-like timber piece to the right hand side of the right window. It would appear that these windows were once part of a much larger area of glazing, which probably lit a waiting room. To the right of this is a window as front, then a surround the same as that to the front entrance (suggesting there was once a door here). To right of this there is another window, as before, then a panelled door with segmental fanlight and surround as front entrance. Setting To the N side of the building, and stretching for roughly 92m, is the disused platform. This is now largely grass-covered, but the N face (facing in the former railway bed) is still visible, consisting of squared stone with reinforced concrete coping. The ends of the platform slope in the usual manner. There is an identical platform to the N side of the cutting, with a small brick shed just to the N of this.