Stone and Brick

Railway station, Carlow

Carlow Railway Station was built in 1845 and was designed by Sir John MacNeill. It is located in Carlow Town, on the Dublin – Waterford line. The Station is an example of Jacobean Revival architecture. It comprises a two storey central block and two single storey wings. There are two platforms, a signal box and footbridge and the station also has offices and waiting areas. It is built of yellow brick with granite features particularly in the window dressings and drip moulds.

Carlow County Library

Railway station, Carlow
Carlow County Library

Railway station, Carlow

Carlow Railway Station was built in 1845 and was designed by Sir John MacNeill. It is located in Carlow Town, on the Dublin – Waterford line. The Station is an example of Jacobean Revival architecture. It comprises a two storey central block and two single storey wings. There are two platforms, a signal box and footbridge and the station also has offices and waiting areas. It is built of yellow brick with granite features particularly in the window dressings and drip moulds.

Carlow County Library

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Stone is a material hewn from rock and is therefore part of the natural landscape. Brick, by contrast, is a man-made product. The use of brick dates back more than 6,000 years.

Granite is an igneous rock that is rich in quartz and feldspar. It is an important stone for building purposes because it is resistant to weathering and breaks into easily-used blocks. Furthermore it is an attractive material because of the sparkling quality of the stone. Two thirds of the county of Carlow is underlain by granite bed rock. For example the capstone of the Neolithic Browneshill dolmen is granite. Typically, in the nineteenth century granite was widely used throughout the county for a variety of building types. It can be found in a range of important public buildings such as Carlow Gaol and Carlow Courthouse but also in vernacular architecture, in estate cottages and simple gateposts and fences.

Brick is a small rectangular block of fire clay widely used in building construction. The use of bricks dated to over 6000 years ago. Bricks are held together with mortar, an adhesive usually made of cement, lime putty and sand in various proportions. The masonry must withstand loads and stresses in order to retain stability. Bricks are usually red in colour but variations in shade and colour are sometimes found. In the Carlow Railway Station designed by Sir John Mac Neill, yellow bricks were used in the major part of the construction. However granite is used throughout as a feature.