St Helier railway station (Jersey Eastern Railway)

Last updated

St Helier (Snow Hill) railway station

Saint Hélyi
Jersey Eastern Railway plaque.jpg
Plaque marking the site of the former Jersey Eastern Railway terminus
General information
LocationHill Street, Saint Helier
Saint Helier
Jersey, Channel Islands
Coordinates 49°10′59″N2°06′13″W / 49.182975°N 2.103549°W / 49.182975; -2.103549
Owned by Jersey Railway
Line(s)Eastern line to Gorey Harbour
Other information
Statusclosed
History
Opened6 May 1874 (1874-05-06)
Closed21 June 1929 (1929-06-21)
Location
Jersey location map EN.svg
Red pog.svg
St Helier (Snow Hill) railway station
Location within Jersey

St Helier railway station was the terminus of the Jersey Eastern Railway (JER) in Saint Helier, the capital of Jersey in the Channel Islands. Opened in 1874, it was situated in a railway cutting at the base of Mont de la Ville below Fort Regent. The station was referred to as St. Helier (Snow Hill) to distinguish it from another railway terminus opened by the Jersey Railway in 1873 at the Weighbridge (now Liberation Square) in St Helier. The station was in passenger operation until the line closed in 1929. Today the site is occupied by the Snow Hill car park. [1]

Contents

History

The Jersey Eastern Railway Company was constructed in response to demand by the inhabitants of the harbour town of Gorey following the opening of the Jersey Railway line in the west of the island. The States of Jersey passed an Act authorising the construction of an eastern railway lone from Snow Hill to Gorey, and on to St Catherine on 31 March 1871 and Royal Assent was received in 1872. On 6 April 1873 the Jersey Eastern Railway Company was registered. It had permission to construct a railway from Snow Hill to Gorey, and on to St Catherines. The line took several years to build and the final section to St Catherines was never completed, with the terminus at Gorey Pier opening in 1891. [2] [ unreliable source? ]

The site for the JER's Saint Helier terminus was difficult as there was no route around Mont de la Ville into the town centre. It was decided to excavate a 600-foot (180 m)-long, 70-foot (21 m)-deep cutting through the rocky outcrop under Fort Regent and Regent Road to provide a terminal station on Hill Street. The excavation works overran and when the Eastern line opened in August 1873, it ran only as far as a temporary terminus adjacent to the JER's locomotive depot at Green Street. Snow Hill station eventually opened on 6 May 1874. [1]

The station approach was a short cobbled crescent running from Hill Street leading to a station building at the north end of the station, which contained the booking office, waiting rooms and station offices. There was one 300-foot (91 m)-long platform which could accommodate one long or two short trains, a carriage siding and a turnaround loop. The station was covered by a canopy. The line out of the station was single-track, with a short section of double track passing under East Road bridge to the Green Street level crossing. [1]

Initially, the line was a success, with 28 trains running between Snow Hill and Gorey each day. In 1881, a steam ferry service commenced operation from Gorey to Carteret in Normandy, France, and the JER offered through tickets from Saint Helier to Paris Saint-Lazare via the newly opened Carteret to Carentan Railway.

Closure

After years of successful operation, the JER ran into financial difficulties after World War I, and fierce competition from bus services run by the Jersey Bus Company drove the company's profits down. In 1929, after a failed merger proposal with the Jersey Railway, the JER went into liquidation and the railway line was closed.

Snow Hill station was demolished and the land below Fort Regent was converted into a bus station by the States of Jersey in 1932. The site was particularly narrow and the bus station was equipped with the unusual feature of a bus turntable to allow buses to turn around more easily. The bus station closed in 1964 when a new bus station opened at Weighbridge, adjacent to St Helier's other disused railway station. Since then, the site of Snow Hill station has been in use as a car park. [1]

Cable car

In the 1970s, Fort Regent was developed as a tourist attraction. An aerial cable car was opened in April 1970 to transport visitors to the summit. The ground-level station was built on the former Snow Hill station site, at the north end of the car park. The cable car continued in operation until it closed in the late 1980s and the Snow Hill station was demolished. The high-level cable car station was finally demolished in 2018.

Today the site is occupied by a car park; all that remains of the railway station is a stone wall facing hill street. A blue plaque has been fixed to this wall commemorating the station. The Jersey Eastern Railway Terminus Hotel, known as The Eastern Hotel, is still standing on the corner of Hill Street and Snow Hill and is now a listed building. [1] [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Jersey</span>

Jersey – the largest of the Channel Islands – has been an island for around 6,000 years. Early inhabitation is evidenced by various neolithic monuments and hoards. In the 10th century, Jersey became part of Normandy. When the Normans conquered England in the 11th century, Jersey remained a part of the Duchy of Normandy, but when Normandy and England were finally split in the 13th century, the Channel Islands remained loyal to the English Crown, splitting Jersey politically from mainland Normandy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transport in Jersey</span>

Transport in Jersey is primarily through the motor vehicle. The island, which is the largest of the Channel Islands has 124,737 registered vehicles (2016). The island is committed to combatting climate change, having declared a climate emergency, and policy is focused on reducing dependence on the car. The island has a cycle network and bus service. The primary modes of transport for leaving the island are by air or sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Helier</span> Capital of Jersey

St Helier is the capital of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. St Helier has a population of 35,822 – over one-third of the total population of Jersey – and is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey. The town of St Helier is the largest settlement and only town of Jersey. The town consists of the built-up areas of St Helier, including First Tower, and parts of the parishes of St Saviour and St Clement, with further suburbs in surrounding parishes. The greater part of St Helier is rural.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chatham Main Line</span> Main railway line in south-east England

The Chatham Main Line is a railway line in England that links London Victoria and Dover Priory / Ramsgate, travelling via Medway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Brelade</span> Parish

St Brelade is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey in the Channel Islands. It is around 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of St Helier. Its population was 11,012 as of 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Martin, Jersey</span> Jersey parish

St Martin is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey in the Channel Islands. It is 5.5 kilometres (3.4 mi) north-east of St Helier. It has a population of 3,948. The parish covers 10.3 km2 (4.0 sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gorey, Jersey</span> Village

Gorey is a village in the parishes of St Martin and Grouville on the east coast of Jersey. The harbour is one of the three main harbours of the island, and is located in St Martin. The main centre of the village is located at Gorey Pier near Mont Orgeuil Castle, a 13th-century fortification, in St Martin, while there is a small community with a few shops and restaurants. The church in the village is known as Gouray Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mont Orgueil</span> Castle in Jersey

Mont Orgueil is a castle in Jersey that overlooks the harbour of Gorey; a port on the east coast of the Island. It is known as Gorey Castle by English-speakers, and the "Old Castle" by Jèrriais-speakers. The castle was first referred to as 'Mont Orgeuil' in an ordnance survey made in 1462, when the castle was under French occupation in the late Middle Ages. The castle was the seat of royal authority on Jersey throughout the medieval period and served as the main fortress on the Island until the construction of Elizabeth Castle in 1594. It is classified as a Grade I listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vingtaine de la Ville</span> Vingtaine in Saint Helier, Jersey

The Vingtaine de la Ville is one of the six vingtaines of Saint Helier in Jersey, and roughly corresponds to the historic town centre and harbours. It is divided into two cantons:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Castle</span> Castle on a tidal island in the parish of Saint Helier, Jersey

Elizabeth Castle is a castle and tourist attraction, on a tidal island within the parish of Saint Helier, Jersey. Construction was started in the 16th century when the power of the cannon meant that the existing stronghold at Mont Orgueil was insufficient to defend the Island and the port of St Helier was vulnerable to attack by ships armed with cannons.

Poplar (East India Road) was a railway station located on the East India Dock Road in Poplar, London. It was opened in 1866 by the North London Railway. It was the southern passenger terminus of the NLR, although goods trains ran on to connect to the London and Blackwall Railway (LBR) for the East India Docks or to the LBR's Millwall Extension Railway for the West India Docks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jersey Railway</span> Former railway line in Jersey

The Jersey Railway was opened in 1870 and was originally a standard gauge railway, 3+34 miles (6.0 km) long, in Jersey in the Channel Islands. Converted to narrow gauge in 1884 and extended giving a length of 7+34 miles (12.5 km), the line closed in 1936.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jersey Eastern Railway</span> Former railway line in Jersey

The Jersey Eastern Railway was a standard gauge railway that began operations on 6 August 1873 in Jersey. The line closed on 21 June 1929.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Car turntable</span> Rotating platform for cars

A car turntable or driveway turntable is a rotating platform designed for use by a car; they can be motorized or manually rotated and are usually installed in a driveway or in a garage floor. They rotate a motor vehicle to facilitate its easier or safer egress. Sometimes a local zoning prohibition of vehicles backing onto busy roadways prompts the installation of car turntables.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jersey Heritage</span> Independent trust responsible for Jerseys major historic sites, museums, and public archives

Jersey Heritage is an independent trust in Jersey which is responsible for the island's major historic sites, museums, and public archives. It holds collections of artefacts, works of art, documents, specimens, and information relating to Jersey's history, culture, and environment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Helier railway station (Jersey Railway)</span> Former railway station in Saint Helier, Jersey

St Helier railway station was a railway station in Saint Helier, the capital of Jersey in the Channel Islands. Opened in 1870 by the Jersey Railway, it was situated on the western side of the Weighbridge area, now Liberation Square. The station was referred to as "St. Helier (Weighbridge)" to distinguish it from another railway terminus opened by the Jersey Eastern Railway in 1873 in St Helier at Snow Hill. The station was in passenger operation until the line closed in 1936.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corbière railway station</span> Railway station on the Island of Jersey

Corbière railway station is a former station in La Corbière, the extreme south-western point on the Island of Jersey in the Channel Islands. Located in the Parish of Saint Brélade, it was the western terminus of the Jersey Railway which ran along the south coast to the capital town of the island, Saint Helier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A3 road (Jersey)</span>

The A3 is a major road in Jersey connecting Saint Helier and Gorey, passing through Grouville and Longueville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A17 road (Jersey)</span> Road in Jersey, Channel Islands

The A17 road, more commonly known as La Route du Fort, is a road in Jersey, Channel Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Bingham</span> Hill in Jersey

Mount Bingham also known as South Hill is a hill in St. Helier, the capital of the Channel Island of Jersey. It is named after Sir Francis Richard Bingham who served as Lieutenant Governor of Jersey from 1924 until 1929. A road that circles the coastal side of Mount Bingham is known by the same name.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Catford 2010. (Disused Stations)
  2. "Jersey Eastern Railway". The Island Wiki. the Guernsey Society. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  3. "Snow Hill (Jersey Eastern Railway)". La Vingtaine de la Ville de St. Helier. Archived from the original on 28 May 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2015.