Keswick railway station

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Keswick
Keswick station, with new DMU, 1956 (geograph 5129788).jpg
A new diesel multiple unit at Keswick station, 1956
General information
Location Keswick, Cumberland
England
Grid reference NY270237
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original company Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway
Pre-groupingCockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway
Post-grouping London, Midland and Scottish Railway
London Midland Region of British Railways
Key dates
2 January 1865Opened
1 June 1964Closed to goods
18 April 1966All traffic westwards ceased
1 July 1968Station became unstaffed
6 March 1972Final closure to passengers
Location
Location map United Kingdom Allerdale.svg
Red pog.svg
Keswick
Location in the former Allerdale borough
Cumbria UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Keswick
Location in present-day Cumbria, England

Keswick railway station was a stop on the Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway between Penrith and Cockermouth in Cumberland (now in Cumbria), England. Between 1861 and 1972, it served the town of Keswick; for much of this time, it accommodated the offices of the Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway Company.

Contents

History

Background

Keswick station, August 1967 Keswick 8 67459 1.jpg
Keswick station, August 1967

On 1 August 1861, the Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway Company was incorporated in accordance with an Act of Parliament authorising the construction of a railway between Cockermouth and the London and North Western Railway's West Coast Main Line at Penrith. The line's civil engineering works were designed by Thomas Bouch, including Keswick station. [1]

In 1862, the company's stations committee decided that the station should accommodate its main offices. The station was built on land purchased from Roger Eustace Le Fleming, about 0.3 miles (0.5 km) to the north of Keswick town centre. The station, around midway along the line, was built on an east–west alignment. [1]

Following competitive bidding, the company accepted contractor George Bolton & Son's tender of £3,500 to build the station. In November 1863, the works committee approved the construction of additional facilities including an engine shed, a carriage shed capable of accommodating at least six carriages and a turntable. A portico was added to the station design before work commenced. [1]

Design and operations

The station was built with two platforms: the up platform, to accommodate eastbound services, and the down platform for westbound trains. A two-storey building of local stone was constructed on the down platform; its upper storey housed the company's boardroom and offices for the company secretary, train co-ordinator and accountant, while the lower storey was occupied by the ticket office, luggage and parcels office, lavatories and waiting rooms. The waiting rooms opened onto the platform, most of which was protected by a glazed roof on top of a cantilevered valance, supported on rows of iron columns. The up platform had a waiting shelter and a large rectangular water tank. [1]

A goods station was established to the west of the station. [1] In 1865, a refreshments room opened but, by April 1875, the space it occupied was used as a first class waiting room and lavatory. In 1873, to provide better means of access between the platforms, a subway was built. A year later, a crane was installed at the east end of the up platform to ease freight loading/unloading. [1]

Around 1870, W.H. Smith & Son opened a bookstall; it was open until 1905. Between 1909 and 1921, newsagents Wyman & Sons managed the bookstall; local stationer A. Chaplin took over until around 1931 and Wymans then managed bookstalls on both platforms until the 1950s. [1]

In 1880, Cowans Sheldon & Company of Carlisle enlarged the water tank on the up platform. By 1893, the island platform was relocated to a more northerly position where a single-storey timber building with brick chimneys, a slate roof and cantilevered valances supported by iron columns was constructed. [1]

Decline and closure

Keswick railway station, on the day it closed Keswick Railway Station - the last day - geograph.org.uk - 267128.jpg
Keswick railway station, on the day it closed

As a result of the Beeching cuts, the railway line beyond Keswick to Cockermouth and Workington was closed on 18 April 1966. Keswick was left at the end of a single line branch from Penrith. Six years later, British Rail closed the line and the station on 6 March 1972. [2]

After its closure, most of the structures, including the island platform and its building and water tank, were demolished. [1] The land was used as a car park for a nearby hotel; the building on the down platform has been integrated into the hotel. [2] In 1976, the building was recognised as a Grade II listed building. [3]

Preceding station Disused railways Following station
Braithwaite   Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway   Threlkeld

The site today

A rail trail, owned by the Lake District National Park Authority, has been established since the line's closure. [1] It starts at the station site, crosses several bridges along a gentle climbing route of roughly 4 miles (6.4 km) and ends at the mining museum, east of Threlkeld car park. [4]

The building on the down platform continues to form part of Keswick Hotel. [5]

A movement to reopen the station and the line to Penrith has conducted studies into its viability. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Keswick is a market town and civil parish in the Cumberland unitary authority area of Cumbria, England. Historically, until 1974, it was part of the county of Cumberland. It lies within the Lake District National Park, just north of Derwentwater and four miles from Bassenthwaite Lake. The parish had a population of 5,243 at the 2011 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway</span> English railway company

The Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway (CK&PR) was an English railway company incorporated by act of Parliament on 1 August 1861, to build a line connecting the town of Cockermouth with the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) West Coast Main Line at Penrith. Arrangements for the use of the stations at either end were included. Passenger and goods traffic was worked by the LNWR and mineral traffic by the North Eastern Railway, both of whom had shares in the company. The line was 31+1⁄2 miles (50.7 km) in length, and had eight intermediate stations.

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Egremont railway station was built by the Whitehaven, Cleator and Egremont Railway as the first southern terminus of what would become the Moor Row to Sellafield branch. In 1878 the company was bought out by the LNWR and Furness Railway who operated the line jointly until grouping in 1923.

St Thomas Cross Platform was a railway station used by workmen's trains on the Moor Row to Sellafield line on what is now the southeastern, Cringlethwaite, edge of Egremont, Cumbria, England.

Beckermet Mines railway station was situated at Pit No.1 of the mine of the same name. It was used by workmen's trains which travelled along a branch which curved eastwards off the Moor Row to Sellafield line, primarily to handle the iron ore lifted at the site.

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Keswick Station". Engineering-timelines.com. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  2. 1 2 Young, Alan (22 February 2020). "Station name: Keswick". Disused Stations. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  3. ↑ Historic England. "Keswick Railway Station Building and Platform (1327104)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  4. ↑ "Keswick Railway Footpath". Visitcumbria.com. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  5. ↑ "The Grand Keswick Hotel". The Keswick Hotel. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  6. ↑ "Keswick to Penrith Railway reopening". Keswickrailway.com. Retrieved 29 June 2018.

Bibliography

  • Bairstow, Martin (1995). Railways in the Lake District. ISBN   1-871944-11-2.
  • Bowtell, Harold D. (June 1989). Rails Through Lakeland. Silver Link Publishing Ltd, Kettering, Northamptonshire. p. 200. ISBN   0-947971-26-2.
  • British Railways Pre-Grouping Atlas and Gazetteer. Ian Allan Publishing. 1997 [1958]. ISBN   0-7110-0320-3.
  • Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Patrick Stephens Limited. ISBN   1-85260-508-1.

54°36′14″N3°07′51″W / 54.6038°N 3.1307°W / 54.6038; -3.1307

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