Cirencester Town railway station

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Cirencester Town
Cirencester Town former station geograph-3109662-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg
Remaining station frontage in 1984.
General information
Location Cirencester, Gloucestershire
England
Coordinates 51°42′52″N1°58′18″W / 51.7145°N 1.9717°W / 51.7145; -1.9717 Coordinates: 51°42′52″N1°58′18″W / 51.7145°N 1.9717°W / 51.7145; -1.9717
Grid reference SP020017
Platforms1
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original company Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway
Pre-grouping Great Western Railway
Post-groupingGWR
Key dates
31 May 1841 (1841-05-31)Opened as Cirencester
1 July 1924Renamed Cirencester Town
6 April 1964 (1964-04-06)Closed for passengers
4 October 1965closed for freight
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameFORMER RAILWAY STATION, SHEEP STREET
Designated23 July 1971 (1971-07-23)
Reference no.1187518
View northward, to buffer-stops in 1962 Cirencester Town Station geograph-2986199-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg
View northward, to buffer-stops in 1962

Cirencester Town railway station was one of three railway stations which formerly served the town of Cirencester, Gloucestershire, England; the others were Cirencester Watermoor and Chesterton Lane Halt.

Contents

History

The Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway was promoted to link the towns of Cheltenham and Gloucester to the Great Western Railway at Swindon; there was to be a branch from Kemble to Cirencester. [1] The line was authorised on 21 June 1836, [1] but took several years to build. The first section to open was that between Swindon and Kemble (where there was no station at first) together with the Cirencester branch; it opened on 31 May 1841. [2] [3]

On 12 September 1874 as the first train from Kemble Junction was entering the station the engine ran off the rails. No passengers were injured. [4]

On 1 July 1924 the station was renamed Cirencester Town. [3] A fire broke out on 7 April 1948 in the packing office when a stove pipe overheated and ignited the ceiling joists. The damage was confined to ceiling timbers. [5] In 1956 some additions to the station were made by Howard Cavanagh, architect to the Western Region of British Railways. The ticket hall to the left of the main building was rebuilt using Bath stone and oak window frames to harmonise with the original. [6]

The station closed to passengers on 6 April 1964. [3]

The 1841 building, designed by Brunel, which was listed as Grade II on 23 July 1971, [7] is owned by Cotswold District Council. It was reported to be in a poor internal condition in 2016, [8] having been empty since 2012. [9] The original overall roof was removed in 1874. [10]

Routes

Preceding station Disused railways Following station
Terminus  Great Western Railway
Cirencester Branch Line 		  Chesterton Lane Halt
Line and station closed

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The Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway was a railway company intended to link Cheltenham, Gloucester and Swindon, in England. It was authorised in 1836 but it found it very hard to raise money for the construction, and it opened only a part of its line, between Swindon and Cirencester, in 1841. It sold its business to the Great Western Railway, which quickly built the line through to Gloucester in 1845 and Cheltenham in 1847; part of that route was shared with other companies.

Steventon railway station

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Cirencester Watermoor railway station Former railway station in Gloucestershire, England

Cirencester Watermoor railway station was on the Midland and South Western Junction Railway (M&SWJR) at Cirencester in Gloucestershire. The station opened on 18 December 1883, as the terminus of the Swindon and Cheltenham Extension Railway line from Swindon Town. That line then amalgamated with the Swindon, Marlborough and Andover Railway to form the M&SWJR. Cirencester became a through-station in 1891, with the opening of the northern extension of the line between Cirencester and the junction at Andoversford with the Great Western Railway (GWR)'s Cheltenham Lansdown to Banbury line, which had opened in 1881.

South Cerney railway station Former railway station in Gloucestershire, England

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Brimscombe railway station Disused railway station in England

Brimscombe was opened on 1 June 1845 on what is now the Golden Valley Line between Kemble and Stroud in Gloucestershire. This line was opened in 1845 as the Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway from Swindon to Gloucester, and this station opened 3 weeks after the general opening of the line, originally as "Brimscomb". The station was renamed as "Brimscomb near Chalford" in June 1865 and finally to Brimscombe on 2 August 1897.

Tetbury branch line

The Tetbury branch line was a 7.5-mile (12.1 km) single-track branch railway line that connected Tetbury with the main line at Kemble on the line between Swindon and Gloucester.

Cirencester branch line Single-track branch railway in Gloucestershire, England

The Cirencester branch line was a five-mile-long single-track branch railway line in Gloucestershire, England that connected Cirencester to the main line at Kemble. It was opened by the Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway in 1841. The main line was extended from Kemble to a junction near Gloucester in 1845, by the GWR which had taken over the C&GWUR. The branch supported a busy passenger and goods business, but these declined in the 1930s, and closure was threatened in the 1950s. To reduce costs and maintain the viability of the line, lightweight four-wheel diesel railbuses were introduced, and they proved popular. Nevertheless, the line's decline was inexorable, passenger service closed in 1964 and the goods service ending the following year.

Cheltenham Spa St. James railway station Former railway station in England

Cheltenham Spa St. James railway station was a station in the town of Cheltenham.

Tetbury Road railway station was built by the Cheltenham & Great Western Union Railway to serve the Gloucestershire villages of Kemble and Coates, and the town of Tetbury.

Chalford railway station Former railway station in England

Chalford railway station was situated on the Great Western Railway's Golden Valley Line, between Swindon and Gloucester. It was just east of the bridge carrying Cowcombe Hill over the railway. To the east of the station site lies Chalford Viaduct, and beyond that, Sapperton Long Tunnel.

Park Leaze Halt railway station was one of two intermediate halts on the Cirencester branch line from Kemble, Gloucestershire, England. It was one of the shortest-lived stations in post-World War II Britain, being open for just over four years, between 1960 and 1964.

Chesterton Lane Halt railway station was one of two intermediate halts on the Cirencester branch line from Kemble, Gloucestershire, England. It was only open for five years between 1959 and 1964.

References

  1. 1 2 MacDermot, E.T. (1927). History of the Great Western Railway, vol. I: 1833-1863. Paddington: Great Western Railway. p. 164.
  2. ↑ MacDermot 1927 , p. 170
  3. 1 2 3 Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 61. ISBN   1-85260-508-1. R508.
  4. ↑ "Railway Accident" . Shields Daily Gazette. England. 14 September 1872. Retrieved 12 March 2019– via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ↑ "Station Fire at Cirencester" . Gloucestershire Echo. England. 8 April 1949. Retrieved 12 March 2019– via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ↑ "Rebuilding of Cirencester Town Station". Railway Magazine. March 1956. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  7. ↑ Historic England. "FORMER RAILWAY STATION, Cirencester (1187518)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  8. ↑ "Cirencester Town to mark '175'". Railway Magazine. April 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  9. ↑ "Cirencester Civic Society". www.ccsoc.org.uk. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  10. ↑ Tolson, John M. (October 1964). "End of an Experiment". Railway Magazine. Retrieved 23 May 2017.


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