South East Entrance Range, Railway Station, Station Road, Ayr, Ayr, South Ayrshire

Description

Andrew Galloway, dated 1885. 3-storey and attic French Renaissance hotel forming part of Ayr Station, with 4-storey and attic corner pavilion and lower single storey, single storey and attic and 2-storey sections to station. Coursed red sandstone. Bull-faced battered base course; channelled rustication to ground floor of principal elevation; architraved openings with projecting cills; dividing band courses; deeply moulded eaves cornice; pilastered sandstone rectangular dormers to attic, with deep entablatures, scrolls flanking; decorative iron brattishing to pavilion roofs.

STATION HOTEL

NW (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: E Block: 11-bay; main entrance to penultimate bay to left; advanced, pilastered entrance porch; round-arched keystoned doorpiece; pilasters flank sidelights; balustraded parapet over, with dies; further entrances to re-entrant angles; tripartite stair windows to upper floors; pilastered 3-light window at attic; segmental pediment over; additional flat-roofed dormer to rear. Canted doorway to ground floor of centre bay, 2-leaf door with fanlight, flanked by 2 narrow windows; consoles support balcony to pilastered 3-light bowed window at 1st floor centre 2-leaf French window with fanlight and sidelights; bipartite window at 2nd floor; decorative segmental-pedimented roundel at attic, dated 1885. Timber door at ground floor of 3rd bay from right. Advanced modern addition obscuring 2 bays to outer right; bipartite attic windows with pedimented central heads to pavilion roof above. Regularly spaced single and bipartite windows ground, 1st and 2nd floors of remaining bays; regular fenestration to attic.

W Block: 10-bay with 3-bay canted corner pavilion; advanced; 2-bay right return adjoining East block (see above), regular fenestration. Squat pilasters to centre at ground floor of corner pavilion to right, supporting pilastered bipartite windows to each storey above, dies to parapet corner angles at attic; infilled doorway flanked by window to ground floor of bay to right, bipartite windows to remaining bays at all storeys, attic windows round-arched with pediment, clock faces to steep pavilion roof; alternating straight and segmental pediments at apex. 10-bay block: entrance at ground floor to outer right; tripartite window to ground floor of advanced pavilion bay to left; single and bipartite windows to remaining bays at ground, 1st and 2nd floors; regularly placed dormers to attic, with exception of bipartite attic window with segmental pediment to pavilion bay to left. Irregular fenestration to 2-storey block adjoining to left; and advanced bay to outer left. 3 recessed bays to far left with variety of timber doorways.

SE (PLATFORM) ELEVATION: E Block: 10-bay; infilled door and window openings to ground floor; platform canopy over 1st World War Memorial Plaque to outer right; round-arched openings to centre 6-bays at 1st floor, bipartite windows to 2 flanking bays to left and right; single and bipartite windows to 2nd floor; regularly placed dormers to centre 6 bays to attic floor; bipartite dormers in pavilion roofs to outer left and right. 4-bay right return with regular fenestration, adjoins W Block (see below).

W Block: 10-bay; variety of window and door openings to ground floor; canopy adjoining to bays to left; single and bipartite windows to 1st and 2nd floors; regularly spaced dormers to attic; bipartite dormer set in pavilion roof to right of attic. 2-storey block adjoining to right with irregular openings, scrolled wallhead stack to centre. Single storey blocks adjoining to outer right.

NE ELEVATION: variety of gables.

SW ELEVATION: symmetrical; blind pedimented openings to centre; segmental-arched gable broken by wallhead stack.

INTERIOR: good detailing includes coffered ceilings with coved cornices, pilaster strips to walling; panelled arches; timber dado panelling and composite marble fireplace; ornate lift shaft; carved stair newels; decorative strings; timber handrail.

STATION, FOOTBRIDGE AND CANOPIES

SE (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: 15-bay, with recessed section to outer right. Near central double-pilastered, pedimented entrance; 2-leaf timber door; fanlight; single and bipartite openings to flanking bays to left and right. Arch to recessed canopied section to outer right.

NW (PLATFORM) ELEVATION: 24-bay; canopy extends to adjoin hotel to N (see above). Arched entrances to outer bays; square headed open entrance to centre; irregular openings to remaining bays. X-girder footbridge to N crossing platform; decorative cast-iron columns with curved decoratively pierced brackets to platform canopies.

SW AND NE ELEVATIONS: not seen 1999.

INTERIOR: modern booking office.

Predominantly plate glass timber sash and case windows. Slate roofs with led ridges, including pavilion roof platforms; stone skews; gablet skewputts; corniced ridge stacks; circular cans. Cast-iron rainwater goods.

LAMP STANDARDS, GATEPIERS, RAILINGS AND BOUNDARY WALL: 2 pairs of iron gatepiers to main entrance; central pair with lamp standards atop delineate vehicular entrance; coped boundary wall enclosing site; railings atop to sections of walling.

Statement of Interest

Built by the Glasgow and South-Western Railway Company at a cost of ?50,000, described by Groome as, "... a new and commodious station ... its platform covering an area of 3000 square feet, and in connection with it a large and handsome hotel." The work was superintended by Mr Robert Wilson, assistant engineer. Notable for the good interior detailing to the hotel and the impressive ironwork to the station canopies.

External Links

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