Gravesend West | |
---|---|
General information | |
Location | Gravesend, Borough of Gravesham England |
Grid reference | TQ643743 |
Platforms | 2 |
Other information | |
Status | Disused |
History | |
Pre-grouping | London, Chatham and Dover Railway |
Post-grouping | Southern Railway Southern Region of British Railways |
Key dates | |
10 May 1886 | Opened as "Gravesend" |
1899 | Renamed "Gravesend West Street" |
26 September 1949 | Renamed "Gravesend West" |
3 August 1953 | Closed to passengers |
25 March 1968 | Closed completely |
Gravesend West was a railway station on the Gravesend West Line which served Gravesend in Kent. It opened in 1886 and was, for some time, a regular destination for boat trains from London which linked with steamers on the station's pier to ferry passengers to a variety of coastal towns and resorts. The station closed in 1953 to passengers and later to freight in 1968. The only reminder of Gravesend West which remains today is its pier, the rest having been taken over by redevelopment in the area. [1]
Opened in 1886 by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR), the station provided the third rail route to Gravesend after the South Eastern Railway's North Kent Line which had reached the town in 1849 and the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway's ferry service from its Tilbury station on the opposite bank of the Thames which had begun in 1854. The official opening of the station to public traffic on Monday 10 May 1886 was marked by the protest of local landowner Lord Darnley who barricaded Stuart Road in protest against the LCDR's right to use his roads in Gravesend. The barriers were removed half-an-hour before the official opening, and the dispute was later resolved by arbitration. [2]
The station had two facing platforms which formed a 'V' shape, with the two left-hand tracks alongside the down platform (No. 1) extending towards the pier. The main station buildings were located at the base of the 'V' and were solidly built in a slightly Gothic style. It was constructed of yellow London stocks under a roof of Welsh slate, with red brick rubbers used for the quoins, arches and bench courses. The buildings extended over the No. 2 up platform which was sheltered by a glazed roof light. An adequately sized goods yard could be found on the down side, with the goods shed situated on the up side. A steel bridge led out from the station over West Street towards the spartan pier on the muddy banks of the Thames. [3]
Passenger services consisted of boat trains from London which connected with steamer services across the Thames and beyond. It was from the West Street Pier that the ill-fated Princess Alice sailed on 3 September 1878. In 1899, the South Eastern Railway merged with the LCDR and the station was renamed "Gravesend West Street" to distinguish it from the SER's own station in the town centre. In this same year, the "Belle Steamers" service was operating a sailing from the West Street Pier to Southend, Clacton-on-Sea and Walton-on-the-Naze. Another steamer service operated to Harwich, Felixstowe and Great Yarmouth. [3]
In 1916, at the height of the First World War, the Dutch Batavia Line introduced a steamer service from the West Street Pier to Rotterdam. A "Continental Express" boat train service from Victoria was laid on to connect with the steamers, and signs in Dutch began to appear at some intermediate stations; in Dutch, Gravesend West Street was "Heeren". The Prince Consort of Holland was said to have occasionally used the service. [4]
The Second World War saw the end of the Batavia Line service which operated from Tilbury once hostilities were over. Passenger services, which had already been reduced by the Southern Railway in the 1920s, were maintained at their war-time levels of five trains each way, with ten on Saturdays. Freight traffic on the line was declining, and more passenger traffic was using Gravesend Central with its frequent electric train service. There were still, however, a certain number of steamer services, with the General Steam Navigation Company running pleasure trips using their ships "Royal Daffodil", "Royal Sovereign" and "Queen of the Channel". [3]
Passenger services were eventually withdrawn from Monday 3 August 1953, with goods traffic continuing a further 15 years.
Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Rosherville Halt | British Railways Southern Region Gravesend West Line | Terminus |
The greater part of the station was demolished in 1991, with the remaining section of viaduct and bridge over West Street going in September 2006, [5] having previously been reprieved in 2001. [6] The North Downs Railway Society managed, however, to recover the platform canopy supports from Gravesend West station and this has been installed on the Spa Valley Railway at Groombridge. [7] This leaves the Pier as the only remaining structure. [8]
Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross on the south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Rochester, it is the administrative centre of the borough of Gravesham. Gravesend marks the eastern limit of the Greater London Built-up Area, as defined by the UK Office for National Statistics. In 2021 it had a population of 58,102.
Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a 16th century fort and an ancient cross-river ferry. Tilbury is part of the Port of London with a major deep-water port which contributes to the local economy. Situated 24 miles (38.5 km) east of central London and 23 miles (37 km) southwest of Southend-on-Sea, it is the southernmost point in Essex.
The London, Tilbury and Southend line, also known as Essex Thameside, is a commuter railway line on the British railway system. It connects Fenchurch Street station, in central London, with destinations in east London and Essex, including Barking, Upminster, Basildon, Grays, Tilbury, Southend and Shoeburyness.
The South Eastern Railway (SER) was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1836 until 1922. The company was formed to construct a route from London to Dover. Branch lines were later opened to Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Canterbury and other places in Kent. The SER absorbed or leased other railways, some older than itself, including the London and Greenwich Railway and the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway. Most of the company's routes were in Kent, eastern Sussex and the London suburbs, with a long cross-country route from Redhill in Surrey to Reading, Berkshire.
Holborn Viaduct was a railway station in the City of London, providing local and commuter services. It was located to the southeast of Holborn Viaduct, and east of Farringdon Street.
Gravesend railway station serves the town of Gravesend in north Kent, England. It is 23 miles 75 chains (38.5 km) down the line from London Charing Cross.
Strood railway station serves the town of Strood in Medway, England. It is on the North Kent Line and is also a terminus of the Medway Valley Line. It is 31 miles 11 chains (50.1 km) down the line from London Charing Cross.
Tilbury Riverside railway station is a closed railway station located in the town of Tilbury in the borough and unitary authority of Thurrock in Essex, England, south of a triangular junction on the railway between Tilbury Town and East Tilbury. The station was 22 miles 46 chains (36.33 km) down the line from London Fenchurch Street station via Rainham.
Bow was a railway station in Bow, east London, that was opened in 1850 by the East & West India Docks and Birmingham Junction Railway, which was later renamed the North London Railway (NLR). The station was situated between Old Ford and South Bromley, and was located on the north side of Bow Road, close to the second Bow Road station which was open from 1892 to 1949. A covered footway connected the two stations between 1892 and 1917.
The Gravesend–Tilbury Ferry was a passenger ferry across the River Thames east of London. It was the last public crossing point before the Thames reached the sea.
The Widened Lines is a double-track railway line forming part of the Thameslink route between St Pancras and Farringdon within Central London.
Transportation needs within the county of Kent in South East England has been served by both historical and current transport systems.
The Hundred of Hoo Railway is a railway line in Kent, England, following the North Kent Line from Gravesend before diverging at Hoo Junction near Shorne Marshes and continuing in an easterly direction across the Hoo Peninsula, passing near the villages of Cooling, High Halstow, Cliffe and Stoke before reaching the Isle of Grain and the container port on its eastern tip, Thamesport. There used to be a short branch line leading from Stoke Junction to the coastal town of Allhallows but this closed from 4 December 1961, the same date on which the Hundred of Hoo line was closed to passenger services.
The Gravesend West Line was a short railway line in Kent that branched off the Swanley to Chatham line at Fawkham Junction and continued for a distance of 5 miles (8 km) to Gravesend where the railway company constructed a pier to connect trains with steamers. It was opened in 1886 and closed to passenger services in 1953, remaining open to freight until 1968 before reopening briefly between 1972 and 1976. Part of the railway's former alignment was incorporated into the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
Camberwell is a closed railway station in Camberwell, South London, England. It opened in 1862 but was closed to passengers in 1916 and closed to all traffic in 1964. The possibility of the station's re-opening has been raised in recent years.
Borough Road was a mainline railway station in Southwark, south London, located on Borough Road, close to the location Borough Underground station.
Rosherville Halt was a railway station on the Gravesend West Line which was built to serve the popular Rosherville Gardens, a pleasure garden in Gravesend which closed in 1910. The station survived a further 23 years before itself closing in 1933.
The Gravesend Town Pier is located in Gravesend, Kent. It was designed by William Tierney Clark and built in 1834 on the site of the earlier Town Quay. Over 3 million passengers were served between 1835 and 1842, but around 1900, this pier fell into disuse due to the arrival of the railways.
The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway (LT&SR), was a British railway company, whose network connected Fenchurch Street station, in central London, with destinations in east London and Essex, including Barking, Upminster, Grays, Tilbury, Southend and Shoeburyness. The company and its assets were sold to the Midland Railway in 1912. The network over which they operated is largely intact and is currently operated as part of the Essex Thameside franchise.