Stations which have given their name to a settlement they serve

[Bletchleyite]

I think there'll be more of these than the other thread, but though it worth its own.

What stations are there where the station has given a name to the settlement it is in where that settlement wasn't originally so named, or where the railway has caused the settlement to develop from nothing?

The other thread mentions Earlestown, which people say isn't the name of a place (the station being in Newton le Willows) but does seem to have sort of become one.

Similarly, the coming of Windermere station (named for the lake) resulted in the settlement, formerly named Birthwaite, becoming called Windermere.

Then you've got places like Tring Station (distinct from Tring), Widdrington Station (distinct from Widdrington), Rainford Junction (distinct from Rainford) where the settlement has come about because of the railway and so taken the name from there.

What others are there?

 

[zwk500]

Too many 'X Station' to mention - Plumpton Station, Berwick Station, to name but two.

Also I'd guess there's a fair number of urban stations named after the road they're on that subsequently comes to define the area.

 

[Railsigns]

Balquhidder Station
Llandudno Junction
Limerick Junction
Carstairs Junction

 

[Magdalia]

As discussed in the previous thread, I think that Harling Road, Eccles Road and Spooner Row all qualify.

A very well known example, which has not seen any trains for a very long time, is Halwill Junction in Devon, where the Bude and Padstow lines diverged.

 

[Llanigraham]

Builth Road was nothing until the 2 stations were built there.

 

[robert thomas]

Clarbeston Road
Bronwydd Arms. The station was named after a public house but the settlement which then grew up was named after the station

 

[Bletchleyite]

Bronwydd Arms

Did the station give the name, or the pub?

I was going to mention Old Roan (Liverpool), but the area more likely got the name from the (now closed) pub than the station.

 

[swt_passenger]

Stannington Station - only the place remains, the station is closed.
Micheldever Station

 

[philosopher]

Clapham Junction. This one is more of a borderline case. Technically Clapham Junction Station is in Battersea but most Londoners refer to the area around the station as Clapham Junction.

 

[swt_passenger]

Clapham Junction. This one is more of a borderline case. Technically Clapham Junction Station is in Battersea but most Londoners refer to the area around the station as Clapham Junction.

It looks as if the OS map also calls the area Clapham Junction, so I’d say it’s a legit answer.

Another interesting point may be to look for examples like Widdrington Station, (that @Bletchleyite mentioned), where the newer place with the station suffix is now a significantly larger settlement than the original place, although they’re still clearly separated by open space.

 

[Grecian 1998]

Seaton Junction and Chard Junction. The stations are no more, but the hamlets still retain their respective names.

 

[geoffk]

Another interesting point may be to look for examples like Widdrington Station, (that @Bletchleyite mentioned), where the newer place with the station suffix is now a significantly larger settlement than the original place, although they’re still clearly separated by open space.

Clarbeston Road and Halwill Junction, already mentioned, are other examples.

 

[najaB]

Ratho Station near Edinburgh Airport.

 

[eh_oh]

Queensbury in London.

 

[devon_belle]

An edge case, but Feniton was originally a village further from the station. The area around Sidmouth Junction station developed and was referred to by the station's name. Eventually this development became known as Feniton new village, so when the station closed it was subsequently reopened as 'Feniton'.

 

[Stuwhu]

Llandudno Junction or Crewe?

 

[Rescars]

Purley wasn't really a place until after the station opened - as Godstone Road.

Belmont opened as California, named after the local inn. The area became inhabited later.

 

[John Luxton]

Halwill Junction, Southern Railway.

There is a substantial village around the site of the former station which is now covered by a housing estate.

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

Grampound Road in Cornwall, now a large village, 2.5 miles from Grampound itself. The station closed in 1964.

 

[Amlag]

Grampound Road in Cornwall, now a large village, 2.5 miles from Grampound itself. The station closed in 1964.

The small settlement of Morchard Road on the North Devon line, the station for the hill top village of Morchard Bishop three miles away.

 

[Mikey C]

Finchley Road is a long road, but the area "Finchley Road" strictly refers to the area around the Underground station (named after the road).

 

[Rescars]

At a slight tangent to the OP, Mossdale would surely never have been built as a hamlet if New Galloway station had not been opened. It seems strange that its name never featured in the station name alongside that of the more significant but rather distant Royal Burgh.

 

[Taunton]

Livingston went through a series of changes, originally a village in West Lothian, the wayside station on the Edinburgh to Bathgate line was far enough away to become known as Livingston Station, and a settlement of that name grew up on its north side, in the not uncommon fashion. Then in 1948 the station closed but the rather isolated Victorian dense settlement continued, the inhabitants being mostly shale miners from the early oil shale industry in the area; it also was a significant node for the local Eastern Scottish buses, for whom Livingston Station was a timetable point.

When the 1970s Livingston New Town was established, one of its initial neighbourhoods was thus Livingston Station, with another elsewhere called Deans. Eventually the new town alongside the line provided the traffic for a new station, but this was built along the line in Deans. Meanwhile the old miners settlement didn't fit with the New Town style, plus the housing, although with a lot of traditional character from the outside, was tending towards the squalid, so it was demolished and replaced, and a new name of Livingston Village was devised, but old traditions die hard, so there are now two separate points in the town that might be referred to by this name.

 

[marsker]

Anerley. I remember reading this in a book many years ago, and I've just found it repeated on Wikipedia - I can't do better than copy their entry:
"The station was opened originally as Anerley Bridge by the London and Croydon Railway in 1839. It was situated in a largely unpopulated area, but was built as part of an agreement with the local landowner.

According to local lore, the landowner was a Scotsman and, when asked for the landmark by which the station would be known, he replied "Mine is the annerly hoose". The timetable of the day seems to back this up since it says "There is no place of that name" "
It amused me at the time - and still does.

 

[Flange Squeal]

Then you've got places like Tring Station (distinct from Tring), Widdrington Station (distinct from Widdrington), Rainford Junction (distinct from Rainford) where the settlement has come about because of the railway and so taken the name from there.

I believe Effingham Junction is another example of this, with the settlement closest to the station being known by this name (and actually part of East Horsley) and the original village of Effingham being about a mile and a half to the south east.

 

[Kingston Dan]

Surbiton? Originally known as Kingston upon Railway. The area didn't really exist as a built up area before the railway and was known as Seething Wells if anything (the Seething Wells names continues as the area around the Victorian water works - which are now sadly neglected).

 

[satisnek]

I can remember Carl Chinn (Brummie historian) on the radio years ago saying that what is now the Birmingham suburb of Stechford was originally called Stichford but was changed by the London and Birmingham Railway, who misspelt the name. The Wikipedia article alludes to this.

 

[theageofthetra]

Grove Park and Petts Wood only exist because of the railway.

 

[Swanley 59]

Stannington Station - only the place remains, the station is closed.

The place not only remains but is a hotspot for developers. I've heard murmurings among some local reopening enthusiasts that a case could be made for Stannington. I'm more optimistic of winning the Euro Lottery and I don't even buy a ticket.

 

[class 9]

Widdrington Station