Boston Lodge/Buildings
Boston Lodge is the heart of the engineering on the Ffestiniog Railway. Here are the railway's engineering workshops, locomotive shed and carriage works.
It is situated a mile from Harbour Station at the far end of Madocks' Great Embankment ('The Cob') across the Glaslyn estuary and was the location of one of the quarries which provided the stone for the construction of the Cob.
The first building on the site was a barracks for many of the 150 men working from the Merioneth side on the construction of The Cob. Built in 1808 and originally called 'Penrhyn Cottage' it was renamed 'Boston Lodge' in 1811 after Boston, Lincolnshire, the parliamentary seat of William Madocks, the proprietor of the land reclamation venture. Here there were also stables and smithies for the horses and waggons used to carry the stone which was quarried on the site, creating most of the space now occupied by buildings. Later with the coming of the horse drawn Festiniog Railway, the stables and smithies were brought back into use from 1836 onwards and there has been almost continuous development of the site for railway purposes since. There were major developments in 1847-8 when the Company agreed to make their own components for waggon repairs, in the 1860s with the coming of locomotives, and the late 1870s when the Company started to build their own locomotives. The years of dereliction 1946-1954 took their toll on the site but since the revival renovations were done and new developments continue to the present day, including renovation and interpretation of the historic buildings as well as functional developments to support the operation of the Railway and to maintain the site's role as a centre of engineering excellence.
The original barracks building still stands, much modified, and is now known as Nos 1 and 2 Boston Lodge, but the Boston Lodge name is also used to mean the whole Works complex.
More information on Boston Lodge can be found here. For the houses on the site see Boston Lodge Residences. For buildings that no longer exist see Boston Lodge: Former buildings.
The buildings that make up the Boston Lodge complex are reviewed in the order that they appear on the Register as follows:-
No | Name | Terry Corner's ID | Operational | Description | Listing Status | History, Character and Significance | Current Use | Current Condition | Urgent Repairs Required | Other Repairs Required | Wish List for Improvements |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
not on plan | No 4 Boston Lodge | ? | No | House, rented out | Grade 2 | Not assessed | Rented house | Not assessed | Not assessed | Not assessed | Not assessed |
86 | No 3 Boston Lodge | BL001 | No | House, rented out | Grade 2 | Not assessed | Rented house | Not assessed | Not assessed | Not assessed | Not assessed |
86a | Garage | BL001 | No | Garage on old turntable | Not known | Loco turntable of historic interest | Not assessed | Not assessed | Not assessed | Not assessed | Not assessed |
88 | Halt Room | BL002.01 | Yes | Stone walls, slate roof. Conjoined to 1863 Loco Shed | Grade 2 | Old Weigh house from 1856-1873 | Waiting Room/store room | Not assessed | Not assessed | Not assessed | Not assessed |
89 | Old Engine Shed | BL002.02 | Yes | Engine shed - stone walls, slate roof. Side extension corrugated iron | Grade 2 | Highly significant as built for first locos in 1863 | Engine and carriage shed | Recently restored | None | Workshop end to be restored for display | To be used for historic locos |
90 | Plas Smart | BL003 | No | Former superintendent's office | Grade 2 | Part of building dating from 1842 | Unused | Ext repairs 2014 inc. original chimney stack etc. | Internal restoration started 2024 | . | installation of floor; electrics |
91 | Brown 20ft container now removed | BL004 | No | Removed | |||||||
92 | Old S&T Office now scrapped | BL005 | No | Scrapped | |||||||
93 | S&T Workshop now scrapped | BL006 | No | Old Tunnel Mess - scrapped 2015 | |||||||
94 | Britomart Shed | BL007 | No | 1960s Corrugated iron. Demolished | |||||||
95 | Brown MDX Cabin now removed | BL008 | No | Scrapped | |||||||
96 | 20ft container now removed | BL009 | No | Scrapped | |||||||
97 | Telephone Exchange | part BL010? | No | Rendered blockwork walls under single pitched roof | unknown | Built 1970 | Demolished 2024 | ||||
97a | Old Oil Store | BL010 | No | Solid stone walls under a duo pitched slate roof | Grade 2 | Originally oil store, later S&T stores | To be cleared for repairs | general repairs done 2024 | . | . | To become IT room |
98 | Old Brass Foundry | BL011 | Yes | Solid stone walls under duo pitched slate roof. | Grade 2 | Built 1838 as Smithy | Store, previously Workshop and stores for brass items | general repairs to be done | . | To be conserved | Future store and display area |
99 | Blacksmiths Shop | BL012 | Yes | Stone walls, duo pitched roof of Welsh Slate | Grade 2 | Major part of historic workshop complex | Waggon repairs | Major ext repairs completed 2020 | Chimneys restored | Restoration of hearths, in hand | |
100 | No 2 Machine Shop originally Foundry | BL012 | Yes | Stone walls under a duo pitched slate roof | Grade 2 | Originally Iron Foundry | Store | Current Condition | Urgent Repairs Required | To be conserved | To be historic workshop area |
101 | Den (mess room) | BL014 | No | 1970s rendered blockwork | Not listed | Modern (1977), some asbestos | Staff amenities | Demolished Feb 2023 | - | - | Replacement by new larger building within envelope of old Sawmill |
102 | No 1 Boston Lodge | BL015 | No | Prominent 2 storey building with white painted stone walls under duo pitched roof covered with Welsh slate | Grade 2 | Originally built in 1808 as a barracks for the workers building the Cob embankment | under renmovation 2024 | General renovation 2024 | See main article | See main article | See main article |
103 | No 2 Boston Lodge | BL016 | No | As No 1 Boston Lodge | Grade 2 | As No 1 Boston Lodge | Under renovation 2024 | As No 1 Boston Lodge | As No 1 Boston Lodge | As No 1 Boston Lodge | As No 1 Boston Lodge |
104 | Electrical workshop (Old Den) originally Carpenters' Shop | BL017 | No | Stone walls, duo pitched slate roof hipped one end | Grade 2 listed | Part of historic workshop complex | previously mess room, Stores, Electrical workshop and locker room | General Repairs in hand | . | . | To be Den once again (mess room, locker room, staff amenities) |
105 | Oil Store | BL018 | No | Stone walls, metal roof. Attached to 104 | Listing Status probably as 104 | Originally part of old Sawmill | Rebuilt, roof removed 2023, new roof 2024 | . | . | . | Rebuilt in the form of old Sawmill, to accommodate staff amenities. |
106 | Former S&T Workshop behind Foundry | BL019 | ? | Modern (1970s?) flat roof, rendered walls | unlikely | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | unkown | unknown |
107 | Electricity Sub Station | BL020 | Yes | Rendered blockwork walls, flat roof | Listing Status | Built 1974[1] | Electricity substation | Extension to office built on top | - | - | - |
107a | Compressor House | - | Yes | Description | Listing Status | History, Character and Significance | Compressor House | Current Condition | Urgent Repairs Required | Other Repairs Required | Wish List for Improvements |
108 | Gas Store | BL021 | Yes | Description | Listing Status | History, Character and Significance | Gas store | Current Condition | Urgent Repairs Required | Other Repairs Required | Wish List for Improvements |
109 | No 1 Machine Shop, Works Office over | BL022 | Yes | Solid stone walls, render, glass 'blocks', under a duo pitched slate roof. 2 storey. | Grade 2 | High. See main article | Machine Shop, Office above | Current Condition | General Repairs Required | To be conserved | Wish List for Improvements |
110 | Old Erecting Shop | BL023 | Yes | Stone walls, slate roof | Grade 2 | high. See main article | Construction, maintenance and repair of rolling stock | Current Condition | Urgent Repairs Required | Other Repairs Required | Wish List for Improvements |
111 | New Erecting Shop | BL024 | Yes | Atcost pretressed concrete building | Listing Status | Built 1973 | Construction, maintenance and repair of rolling stock | Current Condition | Urgent Repairs Required | Other Repairs Required | To be replaced by larger building |
112 | Loco Shed | BL025 | Yes | Steel frame, corrugated cladding (front), stone (rear) | Listing Status | Modern front, stone former carriage shed (rear) | Loco Shed | Cladding renewed 2019 | Due for rebuild in current plans | none | General rebuilding |
113 | Brown MDX Carriage now removed | BL026 | No | Removed | |||||||
114 | Carriage Works | BL027 | Yes | Atcost prestressed concrete frame, corrugated cladding | not listed | Modern (1973-4) | Carriage Works | Good | - | - | - |
115 | Carriage Shed | BL028 | Yes | Steel frame, corrugated cladding | not listed | Modern | Carriage Shed | Good | none | none | Extended 2019-21, 3 extra roads (20-22) not shown on plan |
116 | HLF Workshop (Roads 11,12 & 15 extension to Carriage Works) | BL029 | Yes | Steel frame, corrugated cladding | not listed | Modern | Carriage Workshop | Good | None | not known | - |
117 (not on plan) | Carriage Works Wood Store | BL030 | yes | Removed 2022. This and the adjacent triangular space now roofed and have become part of the main Carriage Works building | not listed | Modern | Carriage workshop and store | - | - | - | |
117a | C2 Shed | - | Yes | Steel frame, corrugated cladding | not listed | Modern | Locomotive workshop | Good | - | - | - |
not on plan | New Small Locomotive Shed | - | No | Steel frame, corrugated cladding | not listed | Modern, 2022-3 | Loco shed and display area | under construction | - | - | Pit & foundations built 2022-3, cladding 2023, completed 2024 |
not on plan | Heritage Carriage Shed | - | Yes | Steel frame, corrugated cladding | not listed | Modern, 2016 | Rolling stock storage | Good | - | - | Additional ventilation |
118 (not on plan) | Crane | BL031 | No | Cast iron, stone base | not known | Historic | Still in original position (2023) | Jib and other parts missing | - | - | - |
N/A | Wall on Quarry edge | N/A | No | Dry stone wall | Not listed | Significant as this wall has been present since the early days of the railway. | N/A | - | Wall removed 2023 due to decay of the rock face | - | To be rebuilt at later date, fence ni place. |
See also[edit]
- ^ Ffestiniog Railway Magazine, Issue 66, page(s): 5