Crag Mill railway station

Crag Mill
The site of the station, looking northwest towards Smeafield, in 2018
Location	Belford, Northumberland England
Coordinates	55°36′28″N1°49′04″W / 55.6078°N 1.8178°W / 55.6078; -1.8178 Coordinates: 55°36′28″N1°49′04″W / 55.6078°N 1.8178°W / 55.6078; -1.8178
Grid reference	NU115349
Platforms	2
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	North Eastern Railway
Key dates
January 1862 [1]	Opened
October 1877	Closed to passengers

Crag Mill railway station served the village of Belford, Northumberland, England from around 1862 to 1877 on the East Coast Main Line.

History

The location was proposed for a station to serve Belford but, in 1846, the local populace organised a petition requesting a station at the eventual site of Belford station. ^[2] In 1862, passengers attending the Northumberland Agricultural Society's annual show were advised to use this station rather than Belford. ^[3]

The station first appeared in the NER working timetable of February 1871. The station was situated northwest of the level crossing on Cragmill Lane. The station was very short lived. Crag Mill disappeared from the Bradshaw timetable in October 1877. The date on which the station closed completely is unknown. ^[4]

References

1. M E Quick, Railway Passenger Stations in England Scotland and Wales—A Chronology, The Railway and Canal Historical Society, 2002, p. 132
2. "Newcastle and Berwick Railway - Belford Station". Newcastle Courant. 4 September 1846. p. 3. Retrieved 13 July 2019. The station for the accommodation of Belford on the Newcastle and Berwick railway according to the present arrangements is to be situated three-quarters of a mile from the town near Cragg Mill. At that point the railway crosses the Waren Mills road, upon a level, and the site of the station can only be reached from the town by ascending one long steep bank and descending another. From the great passage on the road, the level crossing must be very dangerous, and if the present plan be worked out, the trade of the town will be seriously injured; for the traffic of the west and south districts will be thrown, almost entirely, into the Mouson and Lucker stations, on account of the difficult nature of the road from Belford to Crag Mill. But the apprehended injury to the town might be averted, by making the station eastward of the Belford Tile Works. From Belford very little new road would be necessary, and the station could be connected with Waren Mills by a road that might be made to join the old one either near Outchester or near Crag Mill; and the proposed Mouson station might be dispensed with. These are the opinions of the inhabitants of Belford and its vicinity, who, knowing the desire of the Rev John D. Clarke to promote the prosperity of the town, have got up a petition already numerously signed, to be presented to him as lord of the manor, soliciting his best endeavours, with a view to induce the directors of the railway to throw a bridge over the crossing at Crag Mill, and to place the Belford station eastward of the Tile Works – via www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk (subscription required)
3. "Northumberland Agricultural Society's show". Berwick Advertiser. 2 August 1862. p. 3. Retrieved 13 July 2019. As all slow trains stop at Crag Mill, passengers ought not to get off at the Belford station if they wish to go direct to the show field. – via www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk (subscription required)
4. "Disused Stations: Crag Mill". Disused Stations. Retrieved 17 February 2017.

External links

Preceding station	Historical railways			Following station
Belford (Northumberland) Line open, station closed		North Eastern Railway East Coast Main Line		Smeafield Line open, station closed