Botolph's Bridge Halt railway station
Encyclopedia
Botolphs Bridge Halt railway station was a little-used station on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway
in Kent
, England
.
Botolphs Bridge is a hamlet
on the Romney Marsh
, consisting of a small group of family homes and a public house. Although the railway passes some distance from the settlement, the long road from the hamlet to the coast is called "Botolphs Bridge Road", and intersects the railway at a level crossing
. Here a small halt was provided when the line opened in 1927, with a single wooden waiting shelter for the convenience of passengers.
The halt was closed in 1939 due to very low traffic figures. The manner of its closure was somewhat spectacular, and well reported locally at the time. Captain Howey, the railway's founder and principal shareholder, declared the station closed, instructed train drivers not to stop there, and then set fire to the wooden shelter. With no public warning of the impending closure, the flames and smoke prompted an emergency call to the Fire Brigade, who turned out an appliance and crew. The firemen were very surprised to arrive on scene and discover the burning building's owner with a box of matches.
Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway
The Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway is a gauge light railway in Kent, England. The line runs from the Cinque Port of Hythe via Dymchurch, St...
in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Botolphs Bridge is a hamlet
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
on the Romney Marsh
Romney Marsh
Romney Marsh is a sparsely populated wetland area in the counties of Kent and East Sussex in the south-east of England. It covers about 100 mi ² .-Quotations:*“As Egypt was the gift of the Nile, this level tract .....
, consisting of a small group of family homes and a public house. Although the railway passes some distance from the settlement, the long road from the hamlet to the coast is called "Botolphs Bridge Road", and intersects the railway at a level crossing
Level crossing
A level crossing occurs where a railway line is intersected by a road or path onone level, without recourse to a bridge or tunnel. It is a type of at-grade intersection. The term also applies when a light rail line with separate right-of-way or reserved track crosses a road in the same fashion...
. Here a small halt was provided when the line opened in 1927, with a single wooden waiting shelter for the convenience of passengers.
The halt was closed in 1939 due to very low traffic figures. The manner of its closure was somewhat spectacular, and well reported locally at the time. Captain Howey, the railway's founder and principal shareholder, declared the station closed, instructed train drivers not to stop there, and then set fire to the wooden shelter. With no public warning of the impending closure, the flames and smoke prompted an emergency call to the Fire Brigade, who turned out an appliance and crew. The firemen were very surprised to arrive on scene and discover the burning building's owner with a box of matches.