Manual Ref* NFnrNOR145 Show 5 images 164
Title*

Architectural decoration on Thorpe Road Station
County Norfolk   District Council Norwich City Council 
Civil Parish or equivalent Norwich City Council  Town/Village* Norwich 
Road Thorpe Road 
Precise Location Thorpe Road and Riverside 
OS Grid Ref TG238084  Postcode NR1 
Previous location(s)  
Setting On Building  Access Public 
Artist/Maker Role Qualifier
W.N.Ashbee and J.N. Wilson  Architect(s)   
Barnard, Bishop and Barnards  Foundry   

Commissioned by

 Great Eastern Railway 

Design & Constrn period

 1886 

Date of installing

  

Exact date of unveiling

  

Category
Abstract Animal Architectural
Commercial Commemorative Composite
Free Functional Funerary
Heraldic Military Natural
Non-Commemorative Performance Portable
Religious Roadside, Wayside Sculptural
Temporary, Mobile Other  

Object Type
Building Clock Tower Architectural
Coat of Arms Cross Fountain
Landscape Marker Medallion
Mural Panel Readymade
Relief Shaft Sculpture
Statue Street Furniture War Memorial
Other Object Sub Type: Architectural decoration

Subject Type
Allegorical Mythological Pictorial
Figurative Non-figurative Portrait
Still-life Symbolic Other

Subject Sub Type
Bust Equestrian Full-length
Group Head Reclining
Seated Standing Torso
Part Material Dimension
Entablature  Stucco  W. 3 metres 
Curved window pediments  Stucco  W. 2 metres 
Candelabra panel  Stucco  H. 250 cms. W. 90 cms. 
Columns capitals and arches  Cast iron painted  H. 3 metres W. 160 cms 
Base of columns  Cast iron painted  H. 22 cms W. 26 cms. 

Work is
Extant Not Sited Lost

Owner/Custodian

 Network Rail 

Listing status
Grade I Grade II* Grade II Don't Know Not Listed

Surface Condition
Corrosion, Deterioration Accretions
Bird Guano Abrasions, cracks, splits
Biological growth Spalling, crumbling
Metallic staining Previous treatments
Other  
Detail: The station was restored in 1974-75 and the decorative iron-work on the platforms in 2006

Structural Condition
Armature exposed Broken or missing parts
Replaced parts Loose elements
Cracks, splits, breaks, holes Spalling, crumbling
Water collection Other
Detail:

Vandalism
Graffiti Structural damage Surface Damage
Detail:

Overall condition
Good Fair Poor

Risk
No Known Risk At Risk Immediate
Signatures/Marks  
Inscriptions  

Description (physical)

 The exterior: the pediment is decorated with a blank cartouche supported by acanthus with a swag under the clock. The curved pediments of the ground floor windows contrast panels of acanthus with blank cartouches draped to sunflowers with others framed at their centre by shells with lion heads and a variation with acanthus set against a curved background. One horizontal candelabra panel divides two of the windows. The platforms: pairs of cast-iron columns with blue bases and capitals run the length of the platform with four decorative brackets supporting the canopies. The roof of the station forecourt was originally supported by similar cast-iron columns -vandalised during the last war. 

Description (iconographical)

 The Great Eastern Railway had been formed in 1862 through the amalgamation of a number of smaller companies. Its main line was from London Liverpool Street - built in a Gothic style in the 1870s- to Norwich. It had taken over the site following the bankruptcy of Sir Samuel Morton Peto in 1867. Sir Samuel had built the line from Norwich to Great Yarmouth and first station of 1844, inspired by Italianate villas. The dome of the present, classically inspired building, was prompted the châteaux of the Loire, also an inspiration for some of the period's great sea-side hotels. 

Photographs

 Date taken:  1/7/2006
Date logged: 

Photographed by:
Sarah Cocke

On Site Inspection

 Date:  15/6/2006

Inspected by:
Richard Cocke

Sources and References

 Pevsner, N. and Wilson B., Buildings of England. Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East, New Haven and London, 1997, 334 

Database

 Date entered:  30/8/2006

Data inputter:
Richard Cocke