Holt | |
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General information | |
Location | Holt, North Norfolk England |
Coordinates | 52°54′15″N1°05′40″E / 52.904195°N 1.094488°E |
Grid reference | TG082385 |
Platforms | 2 |
Other information | |
Status | Disused |
History | |
Pre-grouping | Eastern & Midlands Railway Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway |
Post-grouping | Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway Eastern Region of British Railways |
Key dates | |
1 October 1884 | Opened |
6 April 1964 | Closed to passengers |
28 December 1964 | Closed to freight |
Midland & Great Northern Cromer Branch | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Holt railway station served the town of Holt in Norfolk, England. It was part of the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway network, which spread over much of East Anglia, providing connections to Cromer, Norwich and Yarmouth. The station was closed in 1964 and the site is now occupied by a main road. There are proposals to rebuild the line through the town, as part of an orbital railway scheme, and possibly a new station to serve the town. [1]
In 1880 and 1881, the Lynn & Fakenham Railway obtained successive Acts of Parliament authorising the construction of a line north from its Melton Constable station as far as Kelling Heath where it would fork: one branch heading to the north-west to reach the fishing port of Blakeney, whilst the second would proceed to the north-east to reach the coastal village of Sheringham and then Cromer. A new company – the Eastern & Midlands Railway – was formed to build the line. [2] Construction began in April 1883 and later that year the rails had reached Holt, five miles from Melton Constable, but work on the station and yard did not begin until much later. [3] Holt was to remain the line's northern terminus and only station until 1887 when it finally reached Cromer. The line to Blakeney was never built due to doubts over its viability.
The original 1884 building consisted of little more than a sleeper platform and basic wooden buildings. Upon the completion of the line to Cromer, more durable buildings – most likely designed by William Marriott – were built; these included a brick-built main station building of typical Midland and Great Northern (M&GN) design, with a central block and two projecting gabled cross wings – the central portion being set back slightly to form a loggia for passengers on the down platform. A wooden waiting shelter was erected on the up platform with a saw-tooth canopy. The original wooden station building later became a 'reading room' at Melton Constable station. [4] Holt station was destroyed by fire in 1926 and a concrete replacement was built. [5]
When most of the former M&GN railway lines were closed in 1959, the branch through Holt remained open until 1964.
Following closure of the line between Melton Constable and Sheringham, the station buildings at Holt were demolished and part of the trackbed subsequently reused to construct part of the A148 Holt bypass. In 1965 a company known as Central Norfolk Enterprises (which changed its name to the North Norfolk Railway (NNR)) attempted to purchase the trackbed, but was rebuffed by Norfolk County Council which wished to proceed with the road scheme. The NNR did manage to restore the line between Sheringham and Weybourne [6] and, in 1987, opened a replacement Holt station on the edge of the town. [7] The NNR also salvaged Holt's original signal box which was relocated to Weybourne. [5]
The proposed Norfolk Orbital Railway [8] could provide Holt with a regular railway service again. It would link Sheringham and Wymondham together, using the existing lines of the North Norfolk Railway (NNR) and the Mid Norfolk Railway, laying some new connecting track onto old track-beds. [9]
The project is facilitated by the fact that reinstatement through Holt remains technically possible, as the A148 bypass was built to leave sufficient width alongside it to enable a single-track railway line to be constructed. The scheme therefore proposes a new route running from the NNR's Holt station, crossing the A148 on the level before running alongside the road to the site of the original Holt station, where a very basic station would be provided. From there, it would continue in a cutting, running beneath Station Road and Norwich Road, before rejoining the line's original alignment to reach Melton Constable.
The North Norfolk Railway (NNR) – also known as the "Poppy Line" – is a 5+1⁄4-mile (8.4 km) heritage steam railway in Norfolk, England, running between the towns of Sheringham and Holt. The North Norfolk Railway is owned and operated as a public limited company, originally called Central Norfolk Enterprises Limited. The railway is listed as exempt from the UK Railways (Interoperability) Regulations 2000.
Sheringham is a seaside town and civil parish in the county of Norfolk, England. The motto of the town, granted in 1953 to the Sheringham Urban District Council, is Mare Ditat Pinusque Decorat, Latin for "The sea enriches and the pine adorns".
Holt is a market town, civil parish and electoral ward in the English county of Norfolk. The town is 22.8 miles (36.7 km) north of the city of Norwich, 9.5 miles (15.3 km) west of Cromer and 35 miles (56 km) east of King's Lynn. The town has a population of 3,550, rising and including the ward to 3,810 at the 2011 census. Holt is within the area covered by North Norfolk District Council. Holt has a heritage railway station; it is the south-western terminus of the preserved North Norfolk Railway, known as the Poppy Line.
Fakenham is a market town and civil parish in Norfolk, England. It is situated on the River Wensum, about 25 miles north-west of Norwich. The town is at the junction of several local roads, including the A148 from King's Lynn to Cromer, the A1067 to Norwich and the A1065 to Swaffham.
The Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway (M&GNJR) was a railway network in England, in the area connecting southern Lincolnshire, the Isle of Ely and north Norfolk. It developed from several local independent concerns and was incorporated in 1893. It was jointly owned by the Midland Railway and the Great Northern Railway, and those companies had long sponsored and operated the predecessor companies.
The Bittern Line is a railway branch line in Norfolk, England, that links Norwich to Sheringham. It passes through the Broads on its route to an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on the north Norfolk coast. It is named after the bittern, a rare bird found in the reedy wetlands of Norfolk.
The Norfolk and Suffolk Joint Railway (NSJR) was a British joint railway company.
Sheringham railway station is the northern terminus of the Bittern Line in Norfolk, England, serving the town of Sheringham. It is 30 miles 22 chains down the line from Norwich, including the reversal at Cromer. The station is situated on the southern edge of the town centre, but within walking distance of the beach. It is currently managed by Greater Anglia, which also operates all trains serving it.
The A149 is commonly known as "The Coast Road" to local residents and tourists, as this road runs along the North Norfolk coast from King's Lynn to Great Yarmouth, via coastal villages.
Cromer High railway station was the first station opened in Cromer, Norfolk, in England. It is situated to the south on the outskirts of the town on a steep escarpment. Built initially by the short-lived East Norfolk Railway, the station was incorporated into the Great Eastern Railway, who had operated the services from the beginning. It served as the terminus of Great Eastern Railway services from London and Norwich. Initially named Cromer on opening, it was renamed Cromer High on 27 September 1948.
High Kelling is a village and civil parish in the north of the English county of Norfolk. The village is located on the A148 road which links Cromer to King's Lynn. The village is 1.7 miles east of the town of Holt, and 7.8 miles west of Cromer. High Kelling is within the area covered by North Norfolk District Council. In the last Census, carried out in 2001, the population of High Kelling was counted as 515, increasing to 636 at the 2011 census.
The Norfolk Orbital Railway – as the Holt, Melton Constable and Fakenham Railway Company – is a proposed rail project in Norfolk, England, which is proposed to look at bringing a new rail connection to North and Mid Norfolk.
Cromer is a railway station which serves the coastal town of Cromer, in the English county of Norfolk. It is a stop on the Bittern Line between Norwich and Sheringham. The station is located 26 miles 52 chains (42.9 km) down the line from Norwich.
Melton Constable was a railway station on the Midland and Great Northern Railway which served the North Norfolk village of Melton Constable from 1882 to 1964. Notwithstanding its rural location, the station became an important railway centre with lines converging from all directions providing connections to key East Anglian towns such as King's Lynn, Norwich, Cromer, Fakenham, Yarmouth and Lowestoft. Although long since demolished, there is a possibility that the station may yet be resurrected as part of the proposed Norfolk Orbital Railway.
Sheringham is the name of a preserved railway station in Sheringham, Norfolk. It was once part of the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway network and closed in 1967 when a new station was opened by British Rail c.200m eastwards. Since July 1975 it has served as the eastern terminus of the North Norfolk Railway. In March 2010, the link to Network Rail was reinstated.
Weybourne railway station is an intermediate stop on the preserved North Norfolk Railway in Weybourne, Norfolk, England. It was formerly part of the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway route between Melton Constable and Cromer. Regarded as an iconic Edwardian masterpiece, the station is open whenever trains are in operation and holds various themed events throughout the year.
Railways have played an important part in the history and development of the English county of Norfolk. It currently has thirty open National Rail stations, though there were once well over a hundred.
The Cromer line was a railway branch in Norfolk, England that connected the railway junction of Melton Constable with Cromer on the sea.
The East Norfolk Railway was a pre-grouping railway company operating a standard gauge 25 mile, mostly single track, railway running between Norwich Thorpe railway station and Cromer in the English county of Norfolk. It opened in 1874, reaching Cromer three years later, and remains mostly operational. The company also operated a branch between Wroxham and County School, which closed to passengers in 1952, and had proposed a branch to Blakeney in 1878, which was never constructed.
Melton Constable railway works was a railway maintenance and production facility on the Midland and Great Northern Railway. The buildings and operations in the village of Melton Constable from 1883 to 1964 were vital to the village economy and indeed it is known that the village itself was created to house the employees who worked there. The works are known by many as the 'Crewe of North Norfolk' as Crewe was similar to Melton Constable, although on a much larger scale. Since the loss of the works and rail links the village has never recovered to pre World War I levels.
Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
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Weybourne Line closed, station open | Midland and Great Northern Cromer Branch | Melton Constable Line and station closed | ||
Future services | ||||
Weybourne Line closed, station open | Norfolk Orbital Railway | Melton Constable Line and station closed |