Float Railway Station, County Westmeath

This does not grant access. Most recorded buildings are privately owned; view them only from public ground unless the owner allows entry.

What is recorded here

Read the whole record

Detached three-bay two-storey former railway station, built 1856, with single-storey box bay window to south elevation and a single-storey lean-to extension enclosed within walled yard to the rear (east). Later is use as a private house and now unoccupied. Hipped natural slate roof with overhanging eaves, clay ridge tiles, cast-iron rainwater goods and a single rendered chimneystack, aligned behind roof ridge, having terracotta chimneypots over. Constructed of coursed rubble limestone with flush dressed limestone quoins to corners and brick dressings to openings. Square-headed window openings with two-over-two pane timber sliding sash windows and cut stone sills. Paired one-over-one pane timber sliding sash windows to box bay window (south). Central segmental-headed doorcase to west façade (overlooking former platform) having glazed timber door, plain overlight and a gabled canopy porch over. Former railway platforms to the west, either side of former railway line having rubble limestone constructed with dressed limestone coping over. Rubble limestone screen walls to either side of front elevation having square-headed openings. Remains of former goods shed to the north.

An attractive small-scale Victorian railway station, which retains its early form, character and fabric. It is very well-built in local limestone while the red brick surrounds to the openings help to create a pleasant visual statement in the landscape to the east of Lismacaffrey. This railway station was built by The Midland and Great Western Railway Company to serve the Inny Junction to Cavan Line, which opened in 1856, closed to passenger traffic in 1947 and was subsequently completely closed by CIE in 1960. Float Station was built to designs by George Wilkinson (1814-1890), a noted architect of his day, who also completed the designs for a number of other railway stations for The Midland and Great Western Railway Company (on the Mullingar to Longford and the Inny Junction to Cavan lines) at this time. This appealing small-scale railway station forms the centrepiece of an interesting collection of railway-related structures including the railway platforms and the remains of the goods shed to the north. It forms part of the industrial heritage of Westmeath and is an interesting historical reminder of great age of railway construction during the mid-to-late nineteenth-century.

From the Buildings of Ireland (National Inventory of Architectural Heritage) record 15400218

Places near here

Photo credits

Maker not stated on source page, theirishaesthete.com
Maker not stated on source page, letsgowiththechildren.co.uk
National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Maker not stated on source page, commons.wikimedia.org
Maker not stated on source page, id.pinterest.com
Charles T. G. Clarke, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Maker not stated on source page, www.dreamstime.com

Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in LisduffFairy fort / earthen ringfort · 201 yd

Explorer Tom Lisduff’s ringfort has strict rules for visitors: no mud on the banks and please stop asking if it’s haunted, it’s just…

Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in AthenboyFairy fort / earthen ringfort · 862 yd

Explorer Tom This Athenboy fort is huge and sits on wet land, which explains its moody attitude. It would order extra crispy chips…

water pump1448 yd

Explorer Tom Water pump in Clonmore is missing its top hat, which makes it look a bit disheveled and confused about where it…

St. Fintan's CemeteryCemetery · 1497 yd

Explorer Tom St. Fintan's Cemetery is locked in a bitter feud with the rain, claiming every drop is a personal insult to its…

CoolamberCountry house · 1505 yd

Explorer Tom Coolamber in Westmeath was built for a matchmaker who probably knew more about hearts than stone masons did. The Doric…

Saint Mary's Catholic ChurchChurch/chapel · 1643 yd

Explorer Tom Saint Mary's Catholic Church in Boyanacalry ended up here because the builder got lost on the way to the next village…

post box1675 yd

Explorer Tom Post box in Boyanacalry must have drunk about forty cups of tea just to cast that iron properly. It’s been standing…

graveyard/cemetery1.0 mi

Explorer Tom The graveyard in Coolamber is absolutely sick of people asking if they can visit, as if it’s a shopping mall with free…

worker's house1.1 mi

Explorer Tom Worker's house in Correaly, County Westmeath is a pair of modest homes that locals swear will haunt you if you don’t…

CastleCastle, ringwork · 1.2 mi

Explorer Tom Coolamber Castle is a ringwork that thinks its name means ‘cool amber,’ which is honestly not far off the truth if you…

Coolamber CastleHouse, fortified house · 1.2 mi

Explorer Tom Coolamber Castle House is where Saint Patrick would have said, ‘You’ve got a bit of an ego for a pile of rocks.’…

Graveyard in KilmoreGraveyard · 1.4 mi

Explorer Tom Graveyard in Kilmore is hiding under a modern farmyard like it’s playing the ultimate game of hide-and-seek with…

More historic places in County Westmeath · All of County Westmeath

Add to this placeAdd a picture Add a detailed tip Add a story

Explore the map1,095,414 places to discover