Description

Built circa 1840 in Castellated Tudor style as a large town centre railway station, with later extension and alterations. The two-storey south elevation is made up of symmetrical five bays to west form earlier part with central wide bay flanked by octagonal turrets, outer bays slightly advanced. Moulded four centre arched entrance. Two string courses over ground floor, linked by carved panel over centre bay, repeated over 1st floor. It has two-light mullioned and transommed windows, except for a three-light over the entrance, and the outer ground floor windows have hoodmoulds. Later doors inserted to inner west and outer east bays. Battlements over outer and centre bays. Slate piended roof. To east side is an asymmetrical curved section of 5 bays; flat headed doorway and two-light windows to ground (left window has one light blocked). String courses over. Two three-lights, one two-light and one oriel to 1st floor. String course over and battlemented parapet, raised over oriel and stepped at right. To east side is a later 19th century Renaissance style 13 bay extension with four pane sash windows. The left five bays are built in timber and form the bridge over Gilmour St and the eight bays to the right in red ashlar over an arched viaduct to east. There is a continuous cill course interrupted by the east bridge pier and a dentilled cornice linked by string-course. Viaduct below of circa 1840 date is of tooled ashlar with polished dressings and has round headed voussoired arches resting on impost moulding. Second arch from left infilled. A small section of stone infils the base of the right bridge pier.

The later 19th century, two storey, red ashlar north elevation (Old Sneddon Street) is made up of 19 bays to the west of the bridge, four (timber) bays over Sneddon Street, and eight bays to the east of the bridge. There is a large ornate arched entrance four bays west of the bridge with paired squared pilasters with and corniced curved entablature over. Various shops to ground floor.

There are three different sized arches to each side of Gilmour Street under the iron girder bridge structure.

Statement of Interest

The original part of the station was built in 1840 as a five-bay symmetrical, rectangular plan and is shown on the first edition map (surveyed 1858, published 1864). It currently forms the western side of the south elevation and it was built for the Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway. The station was extended in 1866-8 by Blyth and Cunningham and the works included adding the eastern part of the south elevation and extending beyond the bridge. In the 1880s, two tracks were added to the north and the entire red sandstone north elevation was constructed to support them. The original width of the tracks are defined by the width of the earlier three arches evident under the bridge on Sneddon Street.

The small curved stones that fill in the re-entrant angle at the southeast corner of the bridge are thought to be the remains of a 'urine deflector' built to discourage public urination.

External Links

• Paisley Gilmour Street railway station at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q2549824

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

• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of History Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Buildings of England)
• 
  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)