The station was built in 1847, in a neo-Tudor style to the designs of William Tite. It was then one of a number of stations in the city, and was expanded and extended in 1875-1876, with the arrival of the Midland Railway. Most of the routes from the station remain in use, the only significant casualties being the former North British Railway lines to Silloth (closed on 7 September 1964) and Edinburgh via Galashiels (the Waverley Line, closed on 6 January 1969).