Trivia — Stations That Have Created a New Settlement

[vlad]

Wellington College was one.

Originally built to serve the school, a settlement grew up around it called Crowthorne Station - and the station has since taken on that name.

 

[HowardGWR]

Severn Beach. Last word should be in quotes .

 

[Marton]

Nunthorpe

The village is a mile or so away but Nunthorpe Station as it was originally called was a new settlement by the station.

 

[Iskra]

This is a guess, but: Garsdale Head

 

[backontrack]

Widdrington is next to Widdrington Station.

 

[Taunton]

Severn Beach. Last word should be in quotes .

We used to call it Severn Mud.

Actually there are some houses there now. 50 years ago it was a bizarre terminus in the middle of nowhere, with a ramshackle summer funfair but that was it. To have been served by two lines from different diirections, one via Avonmouth and one via Pilning (trains didn't work through) was extraordinary. Even more extraordinary was how it survived Beeching beyond Avonmouth, as for 9 months of the year (and on certain services 12 months) trains arrived and departed absolutely empty. More than one ghostly TV programme was set there in winter.

 

[47271]

Croy. Granted the station's been there forever, as has the village, but the explosion in housing in the past 15 years around this northern part of Cumbernauld has been pretty impressive. As has the need to keep extending the car parks.

 

[telstarbox]

Kings Hill probably wouldn't have been granted planning permission without its proximity to West Malling station.

 

[HaggisBotherer]

Of course there are a number of interesting examples where, following earlier successes in what is now suburban London, railways and stations were intended to create settlements, but failed to do so.

Allhallows-on-Sea is one. Lullingstone is another - in this case the station was never opened

 

[infobleep]

What about West Hoathly Station in Sharpthorne. Did the housing in Sharpthorne spring up after the station was built?

 

[Gathursty]

I didn't realise that there was a settlement near Altnabreac station.

There are a couple of cottages but it is a staton with it's history lost in the mists of time. The three places of note are the Loch Dhu Lodge, the cottages and the train station but the dates of each being built are a bit sketchy hence I've included the station just in case.

 

[Taunton]

There are a few settlements which have taken the name "Station". Godstone Station in Surrey is one. Godstone is a small town, a couple of miles north of station, and the separate settlement that developed around it took its name.

Livingston Station in Scotland is curious. Originally in the middle of nowhere on the Edinburgh-Bathgate line, and a long way from Livingston village, it was closed about 1950, as later the whole line was. Shortly afterwards this area was designated as Livingston New Town, and the substantial neighbourhood built around the former station was called Livingston Station. It used to appear as such in local bus timetables on the new routes, despite there being no station. Eventually the line was reopened to passengers, but the new Livingston North station was built in a different part of the town, to the east.

 

[Dr_Paul]

What about West Hoathly Station in Sharpthorne. Did the housing in Sharpthorne spring up after the station was built?

If we look at this map, from the 1870s and before the line was built, there is next to nothing at Sharpthorne and the nearest settlement is West Hoathly, for which the station was built, but this one, from 20 years later, after the line was built, shows some development around the station. I suspect that it was the opening of the station there that caused this development. I have a pal who lives in West Hoathly who might know something about this; I'll ask her when I next pay a visit.

Looking further at the Bluebell line, barely anything developed around Kingscote, Horsted Keynes or Sheffield Park stations. With Kingscote, I'm not that surprised as it really was (and still is) in the middle of nowhere. On the other hand, it's a little surprising that nothing grew up around Horsted Keynes station, because, as we've discussed in other posts here, stations a little distance from the settlement after which they are named have often seen a new settlement arise around them. As for Sheffield Park, it also was not built near any settlement, although unlike Kingscote it was sited on a main road (nowadays the A275) linking several major towns.

 

[Parallel]

We used to call it Severn Mud.

Actually there are some houses there now. 50 years ago it was a bizarre terminus in the middle of nowhere, with a ramshackle summer funfair but that was it. To have been served by two lines from different diirections, one via Avonmouth and one via Pilning (trains didn't work through) was extraordinary. Even more extraordinary was how it survived Beeching beyond Avonmouth, as for 9 months of the year (and on certain services 12 months) trains arrived and departed absolutely empty. More than one ghostly TV programme was set there in winter.

I’ve always found Severn Beach a very odd place. Even though there is a constant hum of traffic from the M4 toll bridge, and noise from the industries at Avonmouth, it just feels desolate and post-apocalyptic, especially as there is only one train every two hours. There is quite a lot of residential housing there now and a school, one small shop and a bakery. I picked up a leaflet when I was there about the history and it had a lagoon and boasted all kinds of summer facilities and activities. It’s really hard to imagine now. If the line to Pilning still existed, you could run Bristol circular services!

 

[HowardGWR]

^^^ #43
Just guessing here but land ownership played a big part in the past. Perhaps the owner of Sheffield Park did not want hoi polloi next door. Sometimes the landowners demolished whole villages and rebuilt them further away.

Nowadays, the planning acts and policies are the deciding factor, usually (leaving aside corruption of course!).

 

[Fearless]

I’ve always found Severn Beach a very odd place. ... I picked up a leaflet when I was there about the history and it had a lagoon and boasted all kinds of summer facilities and activities. It’s really hard to imagine now.

Have a listen to the Adge Cutler & The Wurzels Hawaiian-style song "Aloha Severn Beach" for a real tongue-in-cheek celebration of the place - when he mentions dipping your feet "in the blue lagoon" the audience erupts into laughter!

 

[duffield]

I’ve always found Severn Beach a very odd place. Even though there is a constant hum of traffic from the M4 toll bridge, and noise from the industries at Avonmouth, it just feels desolate and post-apocalyptic, especially as there is only one train every two hours. There is quite a lot of residential housing there now and a school, one small shop and a bakery. I picked up a leaflet when I was there about the history and it had a lagoon and boasted all kinds of summer facilities and activities. It’s really hard to imagine now. If the line to Pilning still existed, you could run Bristol circular services!

I went to Severn Beach this spring, for the first time in 35 years (was at uni in Bristol way back then). I was surprised how many people got off/on at Severn Beach, quite a lot of people walking up and down the 'seafront' and taking pictures of the bridge.

 

[Camden]

Ebbsfleet

Build it... and they will pass through!

 

[PeterC]

There are a few settlements which have taken the name "Station". Godstone Station in Surrey is one. Godstone is a small town, a couple of miles north of station, and the separate settlement that developed around it took its name.

Livingston Station in Scotland is curious. Originally in the middle of nowhere on the Edinburgh-Bathgate line, and a long way from Livingston village, it was closed about 1950, as later the whole line was. Shortly afterwards this area was designated as Livingston New Town, and the substantial neighbourhood built around the former station was called Livingston Station. It used to appear as such in local bus timetables on the new routes, despite there being no station. Eventually the line was reopened to passengers, but the new Livingston North station was built in a different part of the town, to the east.

Similarly the hamlet of Tring Station in Herts.

In Scotland the present village of Fordoun was originally Fordoun Station (the actual station is now long gone) which had me very confused when doing some work on my family history as I didn't realise that the village name had moved across the map after the coming of the railway.

 

[Essan]

The modern village of Campsea Ashe in Suffolk owns it's existence to the building of Wickham Market station - prior to that it consisted of nothing more than a farm, a church and a rectory.

 

[backontrack]

Lenzie, perhaps?

 

[Shimbleshanks]

There are a few settlements which have taken the name "Station". Godstone Station in Surrey is one. Godstone is a small town, a couple of miles north of station, and the separate settlement that developed around it took its name.

I think the actual settlement is called South Godstone, not Godstone Station.

Pymoor Sidings in the Fens near Ely is another one.

 

[tsr]

Tring Station village, which grew up around Tring Station, must be a worthy contender here.

I think the actual settlement is called South Godstone, not Godstone Station.

Quite correct. Many locals ask for tickets to “South Godstone” rather than just “Godstone”.

 

[Cherry_Picker]

Saunderton too I guess. Saunderton (the Village) is a couple of miles away from Saunderton station, only now there is a settlement around the station which is also called Saunderton.

 

[Dai Corner]

I went to Severn Beach this spring, for the first time in 35 years (was at uni in Bristol way back then). I was surprised how many people got off/on at Severn Beach, quite a lot of people walking up and down the 'seafront' and taking pictures of the bridge.

The story goes that the GWR built the line(s) to Severn Beach in the hope that it would develop into a seaside resort. They were to be disappointed! Recent development is due to the shortage of land in Bristol, of course.

 

[matchmaker]

Lenzie, perhaps?

Definitely. Did the Edinburgh & Glasgow Railway not offer incentives to anyone who built a house there?

 

[railjock]

Shawfair recently opened on the Borders Railway and it has nonhouses near but will be the centre of a new town.

 

[Hophead]

A station was built in 1862 (as "Sevenoaks Junction"), a mile or so from the village of Swanley, when the area around the station was undeveloped. Nine years later, it was renamed "Swanley Junction". Over time, the area around the railway grew and took the name Swanley, with the original settlement now known as "Swanley Village".

The above cribbed from Kent Rail, which has rather more detail.

 

[eisenach]

Craven Arms, Shropshire.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craven_Arms
"Craven Arms is a relatively new town (for Shropshire), being only a small village "Newton" on a map of 1695. The settlement grew when the railways came during the mid to late 19th century, making it a railway town. Newton or Newtown is still the name for the southeastern part of the present day town, while the northern part is called Newington or New Inn (another small village which existed prior to the town). The town takes its name from the Craven Arms Hotel, situated on the junction of the A49 and B4368 roads, which in turn is named after the Lords Craven (who owned nearby Stokesay Castle)".

 

[Rob F]

Carbis Bay