Shepton Mallet (High Street) | |
---|---|
General information | |
Location | Shepton Mallet, Mendip England |
Grid reference | ST617431 |
Platforms | 2 |
Other information | |
Status | Disused |
History | |
Pre-grouping | East Somerset Railway GWR |
Post-grouping | GWR Western Region of British Railways |
Key dates | |
9 November 1858 | Opened as "Shepton Mallet" |
26 September 1949 | Renamed "Shepton Mallet (High Street)" |
9 September 1963 | Closed to passenger traffic |
1969 | Closed to goods traffic |
Shepton Mallet (High Street) was a railway station on the East Somerset Railway, serving the town of Shepton Mallet in the English county of Somerset.
The station opened in 1858 as the interim western terminus of the line from the Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway at Witham (Somerset). In 1862, the East Somerset line was extended westwards to Wells and in 1878 a junction was made in Wells with the Cheddar Valley Railway that enabled through running between Witham and Yatton. By this time the line had been taken over entirely by the Great Western Railway.
For most of its life, the station was known simply as "Shepton Mallet", the larger title coming into use in 1949 to differentiate the station in the British Railways era from the town's other station on the unconnected Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway. The S&DJR station, less conveniently situated for the town centre, had been known as Shepton Mallet (Charlton Road) since 1883.
Due to the reviews of the Beeching Axe, the station closed to passenger traffic with the withdrawal of services between Yatton and Witham on 9 September 1963. [1] Goods traffic ceased within a year, though goods trains continued to pass through until 1969 with stone from a nearby quarry.
The station building survived as a depot for a cleaning company for some years. After it was decided to clear the site for redevelopment, the station building was dismantled in 2008 for use by the East Somerset Railway for a planned new station at Shepton Mallet. [2]
Shepton Mallet is a market town and civil parish in the Mendip District of Somerset, England, some 16 miles (26 km) south-west of Bath, 18 miles (29 km) south of Bristol and 5 miles (8.0 km) east of Wells. It had an estimated population of 10,810 in 2019. Mendip District Council is based there. The Mendip Hills lie to the north and the River Sheppey runs through the town, as does the route of the Fosse Way, the main Roman road between north-east and south-west England. There is evidence of Roman settlement. Its listed buildings include a medieval parish church. Shepton Mallet Prison was England's oldest, but closed in March 2013. The medieval wool trade gave way to trades such as brewing in the 18th century. It remains noted for cider production. It is the closest town to the Glastonbury Festival and nearby the Royal Bath and West of England Society showground.
The East Somerset Railway is a 2+1⁄2-mile (4 km) heritage railway in Somerset, running between Cranmore and Mendip Vale. Prior to the Beeching Axe, the railway was once part of the former Cheddar Valley line that ran from Witham to Yatton, meeting the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway at Wells.
The Wrington Vale Light Railway was a railway from Congresbury on the Cheddar Valley line to Blagdon, and serving villages in the Yeo Valley, North Somerset, England. Construction of the line started in 1897 and it opened in 1901. Never more than a purely local line, it closed to passengers in 1931, and completely in 1963.
Yatton railway station, on the Bristol to Exeter line, is in the village of Yatton in North Somerset, England. It is 12 miles (19 km) west of Bristol Temple Meads railway station, and 130 miles (209 km) from London Paddington. Its three-letter station code is YAT. It was opened in 1841 by the Bristol and Exeter Railway, and served as a junction station for trains to Clevedon and Cheddar, but these lines closed in the 1960s. The station, which has two platforms, is managed by Great Western Railway, the seventh company to be responsible for the station, and the third franchise since privatisation in 1997. They provide all train services at the station, mainly hourly services between Bristol Parkway and Weston-super-Mare, and between Cardiff Central and Taunton.
Witham (Somerset) railway station was a station serving the Somerset village of Witham Friary and was located on the Frome to Yeovil section of the Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway that opened in 1856.
The Cheddar Valley line was a railway line in Somerset, England, running between Yatton and Witham. It was opened in parts: the first section connecting Shepton Mallet to Witham, later extended to Wells, was built by the East Somerset Railway from 1858. Later the Bristol and Exeter Railway built their branch line from Yatton to Wells, but the two lines were prevented for a time from joining up. Eventually the gap was closed, and the line became a simple through line, operated by the Great Western Railway.
The Bristol and North Somerset Railway was a railway line in the West of England that connected Bristol with Radstock, through Pensford and further into northern Somerset, to allow access to the Somerset Coalfield. The line ran almost due south from Bristol and was 16 miles (26 km) long.
Shepton Mallet was a station on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway in the county of Somerset in England. Opened as Shepton Mallet on 20 July 1874, it was renamed to avoid confusion with the nearby GWR station in 1883. The station consisted of two platforms with the station building on the up side. There was also a goods yard and cattle dock controlled from a signal box.
Wells was a railway station on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway at Wells in the county of Somerset in England. Opening on 15 March 1859 as Wells, on the Somerset Central Railway, at that time a broad-gauge line operated by the Bristol and Exeter Railway, prior to that company's amalgamation with the Dorset Central Railway to form the Somerset & Dorset, it was the terminus of the branch from Glastonbury.
Congresbury railway station was a station located at Congresbury on the Bristol and Exeter Railway's Cheddar Valley line in Somerset and the junction for the Wrington Vale Light Railway to Blagdon.
Sandford and Banwell railway station was a station on the Bristol and Exeter Railway's Cheddar Valley line in Sandford, Somerset, England. The station is a Grade II listed building.
Winscombe railway station was a station on the Bristol and Exeter Railway's Cheddar Valley line in Winscombe, Somerset.
Axbridge railway station was a station on the Bristol and Exeter Railway's Cheddar Valley line in Axbridge, Somerset. Axbridge was one of the principal stations for the transport of strawberries, which led to the line's alternative name as The Strawberry Line.
Cheddar railway station was a station on the Bristol and Exeter Railway's Cheddar Valley line in Cheddar, Somerset, England. The station had substantial goods traffic based on the locally-grown strawberries, which led to the line's alternative name as The Strawberry Line.
Draycott railway station was a station on the Bristol and Exeter Railway's Cheddar Valley line in Draycott, Somerset.
Lodge Hill railway station was a station on the Bristol and Exeter Railway's Cheddar Valley line in Somerset, England from 1870 until 1963. The station served the village of Westbury-sub-Mendip, but was not named Westbury because of the potential for confusion with Westbury, Wiltshire.
Wookey railway station was a station on the Bristol and Exeter Railway's Cheddar Valley line in Somerset, England. The site is a 0.04 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Wells and Wookey Hole
Wells railway station was the second terminus station on the Bristol and Exeter Railway's Cheddar Valley line in Somerset after the extension from the first terminus at Cheddar was opened. It was the third station on the third railway to reach the city of Wells and proved to be the longest surviving.
Wanstrow railway station was a small station on the East Somerset Railway serving the village of Wanstrow in Somerset.
Wells station in the Somerset city of Wells was the terminus of the East Somerset Railway line from Witham and opened when the line was extended from Shepton Mallet in 1862.
Coordinates: 51°11′12″N2°32′56″W / 51.1866°N 2.5488°W