Verwood railway station

Infobox UK disused station
name = Verwood
gridref = SU077093


caption = Old Verwood Station Site While In OperationInfobox


caption = A Train Arriving At Verwood Station In 1959Infobox


caption = Current Site Of The Railway StationInfobox


caption = The Back Of The Bridge, Where The Tracks Once Were.
manager = Salisbury & Dorset Junction Railway
London and South Western Railway
owner = Southern Railway
Southern Region of British Railways
locale = Verwood
borough = East Dorset, Dorset
platforms = 2
years = 20 December 1866
events = Opened
years2 = 4 May 1964
events2 = Closed

Verwood Railway Station was a railway station serving Verwood, a village in East Dorset. The village is now much larger than when the line ran as it is within reasonable travelling distance of the South East Dorset conurbation.

History

It was one of many casualties of the mass closure of British railway lines in the 1960s and 1970s; the last service was on 4 May 1964. It was served by the Salisbury and Dorset Junction Railway, a line running North-South, along the River Avon just to the West of the New Forest, connecting Salisbury to the North and Poole to the South, meeting the Southampton and Dorchester Railway at West Moors. The station had a hotel and pub named 'The Albion Hotel', which is directly on the stations site.

Timeline

In 1844 the 'Southampton and Dorchester Railway Company' was formed to build a line between the two towns. The route chosen snaked (Castleman’e Snake) across the New Forest from Northam to Ringwood, then via Wimborne to Hamworthy, (the junction for Poole) before heading on west to Dorchester.

Because of the twists and turns the line was nicknamed 'Castleman's Corkscrew' after Charles Castleman, the Wimborne solicitor who was chiefly responsible for the building of the line. This railway was opened on the 1 June 1847.

22nd July 1861 - Parliament granted the independent ‘Salisbury & Dorset Junction Railway’ its act to link with Southampton, Dorchester and Wimborne railway.

3rd February 1864 saw building start at Downton. A ceremony was held with the Countess Nelson, who was married to Horatio Nelson, turning the first sod. She lived in Downton and was the daughter of the 2nd Earl of Normanton.

20th December 1866 – The 19 miles of single track line was opened from Alderbury Junction (between Salisbury and Dean) to West Moors and formed a link between Poole and Salisbury passing through Downton, Breamore, Fordingbridge, Daggons Road (Alderholt) and Verwood (OS Grid Ref: SU077093). The track followed the River Avon along the New Forest western edge.

The bypassing of Cranborne reduced its importance and caused the expansion of Verwood which until then had been a minor Hamlet in the Cranborne district known as Fairwood.

It was a single track line with 4 passing loops and one of these was at Verwood Station.

The Albion Inn with its attached stables was built in the Station yard, which was rather unusual and these can still be seen to the north side of the B3081 road which was re-routed to avoid the railway bridge, and now passes through the demolished station and station masters house.

The station buildings included a canopied platform on the up line along with the signal box whereas the down platform only had a canopy. There were few changes in its life and the lighting was by oil lamps until its eventual closure in 1964.

A number of girls used to travel by train to school in Parkstone and they still meet regularly today in the “Verwood Heathland Heritage Centre”; they are known as the train girls. The boys went to Wimborne Grammar School. The railway also enabled Verwoodians to go shopping in Poole.

The adjoining goods yard with cattle pens, a crane and a coal depot encouraged local trade and industry which included the exportation of sand, bricks, timber and other goods. Unfortunately it also encouraged the importation of household “enamel ware” which led to the gradual cessation of the Pottery Industry. The last pottery, which closed in 1954 was the Crossroads Pottery, now the Verwood Heathland Heritage Centre.

As Bournemouth increased in population and with motor transport available many farmers in Woodlands and Verwood found it more profitable to send their milk to Bournemouth. Many other farmers took their milk to Verwood railway station around 6 p.m. to be sent to London.

Verwood was the nearest station to the large Houses of the many “important” people living in the area and so a number of important personages alighted or passed through the station including King Edward VIII, Queen Alexandra, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.

1914 – Women took over the running of the Railways when they came under Government control as WWI broke out.

1923 - The 'Big 4' companies were created - "Great Western", "Southern", "London & North Eastern (LNER)" and "London, Midland & Scottish (LMS)" from the remaining small companies. The Verwood line was now part of the Southern Company.

1939 - Railways become a prime target for bombing in WWII and the railways came under government control yet again.

1945 - The Labour Government reintroduced the 'Big 4' and pledged Nationalisation but funds were too low at that time.

1947 - Royal assent is given to the Transport Act, which set the scene for the national ownership of the railways and canals.

1948 – Nationalisation occurred and the 'Big 4' companies now become 6 regions: Southern, Western, London Midland, Eastern, N. Eastern and Scottish. The line through Verwood came under British Railways (Southern Region)

1955 - British transport Chairman announces £1.2m plan for replacement of steam with diesel/electric traction.

1961 - Dr Beeching is appointed as chairman of the British Transport Commission under the Minister for Transport Ernest Marples.

1963 – Dr Beeching proposes cuts to the railway system and many smaller village stations (including Verwood) and lines are closed. The Great Train Robbery takes place at Seers Crossing.

4th May 1964 – Verwood Station closed with the closure being received with much regret in the area. All the last trains were full. Traffic on the line was always light and closure had been discussed prior to the Beeching Axe.

The Station Masters house shown after closure. Lessers Office Block can be seen on the right.The house was demolished to make way for the re-routing of the B3081 Road.

The Ringwood to Broadstone line continued with goods traffic until October 1966 when it terminated at West Moors for military requirements.

The lines were taken up and the buildings dismantled so that dilapidation soon set in. Few traces of its former route can be seen other than some embankments and some bridges like the one in the Albion Pub garden and also on the Alderholt Road.

The Station Site Today

The hotel named 'The Albion Hotel', was later renamed 'The Albion Inn', due to its removal of hotel facilities.

Today, the station site is the beer garden of the 'The Albion Inn'The site where the station ticket office, tracks, and platforms once was, is now a road, with a housing estate built on top of where the tracks once were.

###@@@KEYEND@@@###

External links

* [http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/stations/v/verwood/index.shtml www.disused-stations.org.uk Verwood Station at Subterranea Britannica]
* [http://www.verwoodhistorical.org/Local_History/verwood_station.htm Verwood Historical]

Further reading

*cite book|author=R.V.J.Butt, |title= The Directory of Railway Stations |publisher=Patrick Stephens Ltd |year=1995 ISBN 1 85260 508 1
* ISBN(no ISBN)