Horsebridge | |
---|---|
General information | |
Location | Houghton, Test Valley, Hampshire England |
Grid reference | SU344304 |
Platforms | 2 |
Other information | |
Status | Disused |
History | |
Pre-grouping | LSWR |
Post-grouping | Southern Railway Southern Region of British Railways |
Key dates | |
6 March 1865 | Opened |
7 September 1964 | Closed |
Horsebridge was a railway station on the closed Sprat and Winkle Line which served the Hampshire village of Houghton. It closed in 1964, a casualty of the closure programme proposed by the Beeching Axe which sounded the death knell for many rural railway stations.
The station, located six miles north of Romsey alongside the River Test in the Test Valley, was opened in 1865 by the London and South Western Railway as part of their "Sprat and Winkle Line" that connected Redbridge with Andover. The railway line was constructed over the abandoned Andover Canal.
The station assumed special significance during the First World War when it was used as a staging post for the transport of men, munitions, horses and equipment from Salisbury Plain which were sent to France via Southampton. [1] Declining passenger numbers after the Second World War led to the line's eventual closure in 1964.
The station comprised three front rooms – the office, booking hall and waiting room, with the remainder of the property set aside for the stationmaster who had two bedrooms, a living room and kitchen at his disposal, but no bathroom. [2]
Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Stockbridge | British Rail Southern Region Sprat and Winkle Line | Mottisfont |
Following closure, the station remained empty and soon became derelict. Bricks and tiles were stolen by vandals and the former signalbox was dismantled and taken away by unknown persons. The station was even used by the local fire brigade who practised falling down through the floor. [2]
Salvation came in the shape of Hampshire County Council's plan to turn the trackbed of the railway line into a footpath, the Test Way. In 1985 the derelict station was sold for £50,000 to Anthony and Valerie Charrington, a commercial property surveyor and professional singer, who obtained planning permission to convert the property into a two-bedroom dwelling subject to the condition that no swimming pool could be constructed in the gap between the platforms. The Charringtons undertook substantial works in an attempt to restore the station to how it would have looked during the Victorian era. In 1988 they purchased a 1922 third-class Southern Railway passenger carriage for £1,500 and spent £30,000 refurbishing and installing it on a set of reinstated tracks at the station. The carriage was subsequently used as a dining room. A replacement signalbox and signals were also purchased. [3]
In 1991 once restoration had been completed, the station's former parcel office as well as the carriage were let out as holiday accommodation and as a venue for parties. [2] The station was subsequently Grade II listed.
The station became so popular as a wedding venue that the Charringtons applied for planning permission to erect a marquee. [4] This was, however, rejected by Test Valley Borough Council as an "undesirable and unsustainable development in the countryside". [5] In March 2011 this application was successful on appeal and the station was subsequently marketed as a wedding venue. [6]
The Andover Canal was a canal built in Hampshire, England. It ran 22 miles (35 km) from Andover to Redbridge through Stockbridge and Romsey. The canal had a fall of 179 feet (55 m) through 24 locks, and for much of its length paralleled the River Anton and River Test. It opened in 1794, but was never a commercial success. The only dividend paid to shareholders was in 1859, using the proceeds from the sale of the canal to the London and South Western Railway, who bought it to lay a railway line along much of its course. The railway line is now also defunct.
Winchester railway station is a railway station in Winchester in the county of Hampshire, England. It is on the South West Main Line and was known as Winchester City from 1949–67 to distinguish it from Winchester (Chesil) station. It is 66 miles 39 chains (107.0 km) down the line from London Waterloo.
The Test Way is a 44-mile (71 km) long-distance footpath in England from Walbury Hill in West Berkshire to Eling in Hampshire, which follows much of the course of the River Test.
Andover railway station serves the town of Andover, Hampshire, England. The station is served and operated by South Western Railway. It is 66 miles 19 chains (106.6 km) down the line from London Waterloo on the West of England Main Line.
Stockbridge is a town and civil parish in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England. It had a population of 592 at the 2011 census. It sits astride the River Test and at the foot of Stockbridge Down.
Romsey railway station serves the town of Romsey in Hampshire, England. It is on the Wessex Main Line, at the junction for the Eastleigh to Romsey Line, 80 miles 47 chains (129.7 km) from London Waterloo. The station is a Grade II listed building.
Perrygrove Railway is a minimum-gauge railway of 15 in gauge. It is located at Perrygrove Farm in the Forest of Dean, near Coleford, Gloucestershire, England. Trains travel at frequent intervals on a round trip of 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) between four stations. Passengers can ride on the train to use activities including a Treetop Adventure, a covered picnic and play area at Foxy Hollow, an Indoor Village with secret passages, and a den-building area in the woods.
Redbridge railway station is a small station in the Redbridge area of Southampton, England. The station is located at the junction of the Wessex Main Line, towards Cardiff Central and the South West Main Line towards Weymouth. It is 81 miles 70 chains (131.8 km) from London Waterloo.
Mottisfont & Dunbridge railway station serves the village of Dunbridge in Hampshire, England. It is on the Wessex Main Line, 84 miles 21 chains (135.6 km) from London Waterloo. It is the closest station to Mottisfont Abbey and the village of Mottisfont, and was renamed Mottisfont & Dunbridge in 2006 to reflect this, having been previously known simply as Dunbridge. Mottisfont previously had a station of its own on the Andover to Romsey line, known as the Sprat and Winkle Line, but this closed on 7 September 1964 under the Beeching Axe.
Redbridge is a ward with a population of 14,432, 3.1 miles (5.0 km) to the west of the city centre of Southampton, England. The settlement is positioned at the mouth of the River Test and is the southern terminus of the former Andover Canal and Sprat and Winkle railway line, and the modern M271 motorway.
The Sprat and Winkle Line was the common name of the Andover to Redbridge railway line which ran between Andover and Redbridge in Hampshire, England. In the Romsey area it joined, and then left, the Salisbury to Southampton line. It was built by the Andover and Redbridge Railway, which was incorporated in 1858. In 1863 the uncompleted railway was taken over by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR), which opened the line in 1865. The line had been conceived as part of a trunk route from Manchester to Southampton, but when the Midland and South Western Junction Railway opened, the anticipated long-distance traffic was disappointing.
Mottisfont is a village and civil parish in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England, around 4 miles (6.4 km) northwest of Romsey. The village is the location of Mottisfont Abbey. Much of the surrounding land, which is part of the Mottisfont Estate, and several other buildings in the village are in the care of the National Trust.
Hurn was a railway station in the county of Hampshire, opened on 13 November 1862 by the Ringwood, Christchurch and Bournemouth Railway. Becoming part of the London and South Western Railway, it was taken into the Southern Railway in the grouping of 1923 and closed on 30 September 1935.
Bordon is a former railway station on the Bordon Light Railway which served the English village of Bordon, Hampshire and its nearby army camp.
Collingbourne railway station served the village of Collingbourne Ducis in Wiltshire, England. It was on the Midland and South Western Junction Railway (M&SWJR) and opened on 1 May 1882 on the southern section of the Swindon, Marlborough and Andover Railway (SM&AR) which at that stage terminated at the-then next station to the north, Grafton and Burbage. In 1883, the SM&AR gained running rights over the Great Western Railway branch from Savernake Low Level to Marlborough and through services started between Swindon Town and Andover Junction railway station, and on down the Sprat and Winkle Line to Southampton. The same year, the Swindon and Cheltenham Extension Railway (S&CER) opened north of Swindon as far as Cirencester and in 1884 the SM&AR and the S&CER merged to form the M&SWJR. The line was completed as a through-route from the Midlands to the south coast by the completion of the northern end of the route between Cirencester and Cheltenham in 1891.
Andover Town railway station was a former railway station that served the town of Andover in the English county of Hampshire. Located on the Andover to Redbridge Line over which the Midland and South Western Junction Railway had running powers, its closure left services to the town to the Andover station, which was formerly known as Andover Junction station.
Witney goods station served the Oxfordshire town of Witney on the Oxford, Witney and Fairford Railway. It consisted of seven sidings, a goods shed, a wooden parcel office and a cattle dock. It also had an engine shed, which was demolished early in the twentieth century. Following the opening of the East Gloucestershire Railway in 1873, the station became a goods depot, with passengers using the second station situated to the south. The original station remained open to goods traffic until 1970.
Cheltenham Spa St. James railway station was a station in the town of Cheltenham.
Horsebridge is a small village in the civil parish of King's Somborne in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England. Its nearest town is Stockbridge, which lies approximately 3.6 miles (5.2 km) north-east from the village. The village has one pub, named the John O'Gaunt Inn.
Fullerton Junction railway station served the village of Fullerton, Hampshire, England. It was on the Sprat and Winkle Line and the Fullerton to Hurstbourne Line.