Summary

Gabled screen wall of former train shed built for the London and North Western Railway in 1863 to the designs of J. Smith with advice from Joseph Paxton.

Description

MATERIALS: coursed millstone grit with ashlar dressings.

PLAN: the screen wall is aligned north-west south-east and is on the west side of the railway tracks. It has a short left return and a longer right return which adjoins the station building. This building is not of special interest.

EXTERIOR: the gabled south-west screen wall to the formerly covered station has a central round-headed archway containing a very large lunette with ornate radial iron glazing bars painted white. It has a moulded ashlar surround inscribed ‘LONDON AND NORTH WESTERN RAILWAY CO’ and moulded impost bands. Either side are wide projecting pilasters with a moulded cornice supported by moulded stone corbels. The broad shallow coped gable has a series of round-headed corbel arches beneath. To the left is a slightly lower wall with moulded eaves and a terminal pilaster buttress. The wall has a central round-arched, keyed doorway, above which is a decorative iron bracket, possibly for a lamp originally. This is flanked by single blind panels with a dentilled course. The right return has been lowered, so that what was originally the string course is now the parapet. The wall has a stone plinth and a slightly raised central section, flanked by pilasters. This has a wide centrally-placed segmental arched doorway with a hoodmould. The left return has a moulded stone parapet.

History

The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) and the Midland Railway each opened a terminus at Buxton in 1863. Designed by J. Smith, with advice from Joseph Paxton, the two stations stood on opposite sides of a broad courtyard and achieved a remarkable architectural unity by having identical stone gable screens which faced the town from behind the buffer stops. These screens contained a giant lunette and radial glazing with the respective company’s name engraved around the outer rim. This rare collaboration between two rival railway companies was achieved at the insistence of the Duke of Devonshire who was developing Buxton, most of which he owned, into a fashionable spa town. The Midland Railway station closed in 1967 and was almost completely demolished, leaving only the perimeter wall standing. The train shed of the LNWR station was also demolished and all that now remains is the gable screen and the waiting rooms.

Reasons for Listing

The gabled screen wall of the former train shed, built for the London and North Western Railway in 1863 to the designs of J. Smith, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* Historic interest: it represents a unique collaboration between two railway companies in their approach to station design at the insistence of the Duke of Devonshire who was developing Buxton into a spa town. With the demolition of the Midland Railway station, the striking screen wall is regarded as the surviving monument to this collaboration;

* Architectural interest: the association of Joseph Paxton, who gave advice on the design, adds further interest to the enterprise. The resulting composition, incorporating a giant lunette with radial iron glazing bars, is at once dramatic and elegant.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26549239

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

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  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)
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  Derbyshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Warwickshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
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  Churches: An Architectural Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
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  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)