Devizes | |
---|---|
General information | |
Location | Devizes, Wiltshire England |
Line(s) | Devizes Branch Line |
Platforms | 3 |
Other information | |
Status | Disused |
History | |
Original company | Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway |
Pre-grouping | Great Western Railway |
Post-grouping | Great Western Railway |
Key dates | |
1 July 1857 | Opened |
18 April 1966 | Closed |
Devizes railway station was the railway station serving Devizes in Wiltshire, England between 1857 and 1966. The station was on the Devizes branch line, between Pans Lane Halt and Bromham & Rowde.
The idea of having a railway station in Devizes was first conceived in 1830 before the Great Western Railway (GWR) had begun to construct their main lines. [1] Devizes was regularly considered by the GWR as a main stop on its London to Bristol Line but lost out to Swindon due to its smaller population and lower growth rate. A station in Devizes was needed to support industry and agriculture in the town, as its only transport route was the Kennet and Avon Canal, opened in 1810.
A branch to Devizes was included in plans for the Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway, authorised by Parliament in 1845, but that company was sold to the GWR in 1850.
In 1854 the GWR finally began to build from near Holt Junction on the former WS&WR line eastward to Devizes, completing the branch in 1857. [2]
Devizes station opened on 1 July 1857. After starting with seven trains a day, services were reduced to four a day, most probably due to overinflated claims of traffic before the line was built.
In 1862, the GWR extended its Reading-Hungerford line westward via Pewsey to Devizes, reaching the station through a tunnel under Devizes Castle. This began the busiest period for the station, with trains running from London through Devizes to either Bath and Bristol or the West Country.
Traffic on the line reduced from 1900 after the GWR opened the Stert and Westbury Railway between Patney and Chirton and Westbury, which by-passed the steep gradients of Devizes and provided a faster route from London.
The Devizes line and all its stations were closed in April 1966 under the Beeching Axe; the track was taken up, and the station buildings were demolished in 1970.
Today there is little trace of a railway station in Devizes. The road bridge over the old Pans Lane Halt station and the footbridge at Devizes remain. The tunnel built under Devizes Castle has been bricked up at one end and is a commercial property at the other end (a shooting range as of 2011). In place of the station, there is now a public car park and a new property development, both on Station Road.
In 2018, proposals were made for a station at Clock Inn Park, Lydeway, 2+1⁄2 miles (4 km) southeast of Devizes where the Reading–Taunton line is crossed by the A342 road. [3] [4] In 2020 the project, referred to by some as Devizes Gateway, [5] received funding from the Department for Transport for a feasibility study. [6] In early 2023, Network Rail continued to work on a more detailed study with assistance from Wiltshire Council and Devizes Development Partnership. [7]
The Wessex Main Line is the railway line from Bristol Temple Meads to Southampton Central. Diverging from this route is the Heart of Wessex Line from Westbury to Weymouth. The Wessex Main Line intersects the Reading to Taunton Line at Westbury and the West of England Main Line at Salisbury.
Bedwyn railway station serves the village of Great Bedwyn in Wiltshire, England. It is 66 miles 33 chains from the zero point at London Paddington. Along with Pewsey station, it serves the market town of Marlborough which is 6 miles (10 km) away. A bus from the town connects with most trains on Mondays to Saturdays.
Salisbury railway station serves the cathedral city of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. It is 83 miles 43 chains (134.4 km) from London Waterloo on the West of England line to Exeter St Davids. This is crossed by the Wessex Main Line from Bristol Temple Meads to Southampton Central. The station is operated and served by South Western Railway (SWR), and is also served by Great Western Railway (GWR).
Bradford-on-Avon railway station is a railway station on the Wessex Main Line in between Avoncliff and Trowbridge, serving the town of Bradford on Avon, in Wiltshire, England. The station is 9 miles 35 chains (15.2 km) south east of Bath Spa. The station was originally conceived by the Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway, but was not built until after the company was purchased by the Great Western Railway in 1850 and did not open until 1857.
The Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway (WS&WR) was an early railway company in south-western England. It obtained Parliamentary powers in 1845 to build a railway from near Chippenham in Wiltshire, southward to Salisbury and Weymouth in Dorset. It opened the first part of the network but found it impossible to raise further money and sold its line to the Great Western Railway (GWR) in 1850.
Urchfont is a rural village and civil parish in the southwest of the Vale of Pewsey and north of Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, about 3+1⁄2 miles (6 km) southeast of the market town of Devizes. The hamlet of Cuckoo's Corner is in the northwest of the village; the parish includes the hamlets of Wedhampton and Lydeway. The population of the parish at the 2011 census was 1,075.
The Devizes branch line was a railway line from Holt Junction to Patney and Chirton, in Wiltshire, England. It was named after Devizes, the largest town on the line. The branch was opened by the Great Western Railway in 1857, and from 1862 when the Reading-Hungerford line reached Devizes it became part of the shortest route from London to the West Country. Those services were re-routed in 1900, and the line closed in 1966.
The Berks and Hants Railway comprised two railway lines built simultaneously by the Great Western Railway (GWR) south and west from Reading in an attempt to keep the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) out of the area that it considered to be its territory in England.
Marlborough railway stations refers to the two railway stations which served Marlborough, Wiltshire, England, until 1964.
The Bristol and South Wales Union Railway was built to connect Bristol, England, with south Wales. The route involved a ferry crossing of the River Severn but was considerably shorter than the alternative route through Gloucester. The ferry was replaced by the Severn Tunnel in 1886 but part of the route continues to be used, forming parts of the Cross-Country Route and the South Wales Main Line.
The Salisbury branch line of the Great Western Railway from Westbury to Salisbury in Wiltshire, England, was completed in 1856. Most of the smaller stations were closed in 1955 but the line remains in use as part of the Wessex Main Line.
The Stert and Westbury Railway was opened by the Great Western Railway Company in 1900 in Wiltshire, England. It shortened the distance between London Paddington station and Weymouth, and since 1906 has also formed part of the Reading to Taunton line for a shorter journey from London to Penzance.
Pans Lane Halt railway station was a railway station serving the southeast of the town of Devizes in Wiltshire, England, between 1929 and 1966. The station was on the Devizes branch line, between Devizes station and the Reading-Taunton line.
Holt Junction was a railway station which served the village of Holt, Wiltshire, England between 1861 and 1966. It stood on the Wessex Main Line at its junction with the western end of the Devizes branch.
Semington Halt railway station was a small railway station serving Semington in Wiltshire, England, between 1906 and 1966. The station was on the Devizes Branch Line, in between Holt Junction and Seend.
Seend railway station was near the village of Seend in Wiltshire, England. The station was a stop on the Devizes Branch Line, between Semington and Bromham & Rowde. Its position northwest of the village was chosen to serve the iron ore quarry and iron works at Seend Cleeve.
Bromham and Rowde Halt was the railway station serving Bromham and Rowde in Wiltshire, England between 1909 and 1966. The station was a stop on the Devizes Branch Line, between Seend and Devizes.
Savernake Low Level railway station was a station on the Berks and Hants Extension Railway, near the village of Burbage in Wiltshire, England. It was open from 1862 until 1966.
Stert is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. Its nearest town is Devizes, about 2 miles (3.2 km) away to the northwest.
The Reading–Taunton line is a major branch of the Great Western Main Line from which it diverges at Reading railway station. It runs to Cogload Junction where it joins the Bristol to Exeter and Penzance line.
Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Pans Lane Halt Line and station closed | Great Western Railway Devizes Branch Line | Bromham and Rowde Halt Line and station closed |