Laverton Halt railway station
Encyclopedia
Laverton Halt Railway station is a demolished halt on the Honeybourne Line from Honeybourne
to Cheltenham
which served the hamlet of Laverton in Gloucestershire
between 1905 and 1960. The line through the station is being relaid by the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway
and the first service to the site of the halt ran on 30 March 2011.
on 9 July 1859. The Great Western Railway
acquired the OW&W in 1883 with a view to combining it with the Birmingham to Stratford Line
to create a high-speed route from the Midlands
to the South West
.
Laverton Halt was opened on 14 August 1905. It was situated half a mile from the village of Laverton, from which it was separated by what is now the B4632 road. As well as Laverton, the halt served the villages of Buckland
, Wormington and Stanton
. To the south of Laverton Halt is Stanway Viaduct, a viaduct
comprising 15 arches, each of which is 15 ft (4.6 m) in width and 46 ft (14 m) in height constructed of Staffordshire blue brick
.
The station was a simple rail motor
halt constructed of timber, much like other halts on the line. The two wooden trellis platforms had no passenger facilities beyond a small pagoda hut
on each platform. The 100 ft (30.5 m) platforms cost £235 (£ as of ) and were extended in November 1906 to 158 ft (48.2 m) at a cost of £29 (£ as of ). A footpath from the road was constructed in 1909 at a cost of £54 (£ as of ).
At first, Laverton was supervised by the stationmaster at , but it later came under the control of . A timetable from August 1906 shows that Laverton Halt was served by seven services each way between Honeybourne and Cheltenham, with trains calling there 6 minutes after leaving Broadway in the Down direction and 7 minutes after leaving Toddington in the Up direction. By 1932, the service was supplemented by three trains each way between Cheltenham and Broadway, and one to and back. The station was used by many schoolchildren who used it to travel to Cheltenham. It closed on 7 March 1960, the same day on which the local passenger service was withdrawn from the Honeybourne Line.
facility at Laverton. It was replaced in December 2009 by a bridge which provided the same headroom as the previous one - 13 in 3 in (4.04 m). The cost of the new bridge was met by National Grid which now operates the gas facility.
The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway
, which is currently in the process of reopening a major section of the Honeybourne to Cheltenham line towards Broadway, ran the first train to the site of Laverton Halt on 30 March 2011. The platforms have yet to be installed.
Honeybourne
Honeybourne is a village and civil parish about east of Evesham in Worcestershire, England. Much of the parish is farmland. RAF Honeybourne just south of the village was operational from 1940 until 1947.-History:...
to Cheltenham
Cheltenham
Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
which served the hamlet of Laverton in Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
between 1905 and 1960. The line through the station is being relaid by the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway
Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway
The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway is a volunteer-run heritage railway on the Gloucestershire/Worcestershire/Warwickshire Borders that has reopened the closed railway line between Laverton Halt and Cheltenham Racecourse railway stations in Gloucestershire/Worcestershire., it currently...
and the first service to the site of the halt ran on 30 March 2011.
History
The Honeybourne Line from to Cheltenham via was opened by the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton RailwayOxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway
The Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton railway was a company authorised on 4 August 1845 to construct a railway line from the Oxford and Rugby Railway at Wolvercot Junction to Worcester, Stourbridge, Dudley, and Wolverhampton, with a branch to the Grand Junction Railway at Bushbury...
on 9 July 1859. The Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
acquired the OW&W in 1883 with a view to combining it with the Birmingham to Stratford Line
Birmingham to Stratford Line
The Birmingham to Stratford Line, also known as the North Warwickshire Line is a commuter railway line predominantly in the West Midlands region of the United Kingdom...
to create a high-speed route from the Midlands
English Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
to the South West
South West England
South West England is one of the regions of England defined by the Government of the United Kingdom for statistical and other purposes. It is the largest such region in area, covering and comprising Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. ...
.
Laverton Halt was opened on 14 August 1905. It was situated half a mile from the village of Laverton, from which it was separated by what is now the B4632 road. As well as Laverton, the halt served the villages of Buckland
Buckland, Gloucestershire
Buckland is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 256. The village is situated near the Worcestershire border and is about 9 miles south of Evesham....
, Wormington and Stanton
Stanton, Gloucestershire
Stanton is a small village 3½ miles south of Broadway, and north of Cheltenham. It is completely constructed out of Cotswold stone, with a high street, and a pub, The Mount, at the end. Pevsner calls it 'architecturally, the most distinguished of the smaller villages in the North Cotswolds'.It is...
. To the south of Laverton Halt is Stanway Viaduct, a viaduct
Viaduct
A viaduct is a bridge composed of several small spans. The term viaduct is derived from the Latin via for road and ducere to lead something. However, the Ancient Romans did not use that term per se; it is a modern derivation from an analogy with aqueduct. Like the Roman aqueducts, many early...
comprising 15 arches, each of which is 15 ft (4.6 m) in width and 46 ft (14 m) in height constructed of Staffordshire blue brick
Staffordshire blue brick
Staffordshire blue brick is a strong type of construction brick, originally made in Staffordshire, England.The brick is made from the local red clay, Etruria marl, which when fired at a high temperature in a low-oxygen reducing atmosphere takes on a deep blue colour and attains a very hard,...
.
The station was a simple rail motor
GWR steam rail motors
The steam rail motors were self-propelled carriages operated by the Great Western Railway in England and Wales from 1903 to 1935. They incorporated a steam locomotive within the body of the carriage.-History:...
halt constructed of timber, much like other halts on the line. The two wooden trellis platforms had no passenger facilities beyond a small pagoda hut
Pagoda
A pagoda is the general term in the English language for a tiered tower with multiple eaves common in Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and other parts of Asia. Some pagodas are used as Taoist houses of worship. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most commonly Buddhist,...
on each platform. The 100 ft (30.5 m) platforms cost £235 (£ as of ) and were extended in November 1906 to 158 ft (48.2 m) at a cost of £29 (£ as of ). A footpath from the road was constructed in 1909 at a cost of £54 (£ as of ).
At first, Laverton was supervised by the stationmaster at , but it later came under the control of . A timetable from August 1906 shows that Laverton Halt was served by seven services each way between Honeybourne and Cheltenham, with trains calling there 6 minutes after leaving Broadway in the Down direction and 7 minutes after leaving Toddington in the Up direction. By 1932, the service was supplemented by three trains each way between Cheltenham and Broadway, and one to and back. The station was used by many schoolchildren who used it to travel to Cheltenham. It closed on 7 March 1960, the same day on which the local passenger service was withdrawn from the Honeybourne Line.
Present and future
The underbridge to the north of the station was removed in August 1988 to allow tall machinery to access the British GasBritish Gas
British Gas is the name of several companies:* British Gas plc, the former gas monopoly in the United Kingdom and its successor companies** Centrica, which has the rights to the British Gas name in the UK...
facility at Laverton. It was replaced in December 2009 by a bridge which provided the same headroom as the previous one - 13 in 3 in (4.04 m). The cost of the new bridge was met by National Grid which now operates the gas facility.
The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway
Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway
The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway is a volunteer-run heritage railway on the Gloucestershire/Worcestershire/Warwickshire Borders that has reopened the closed railway line between Laverton Halt and Cheltenham Racecourse railway stations in Gloucestershire/Worcestershire., it currently...
, which is currently in the process of reopening a major section of the Honeybourne to Cheltenham line towards Broadway, ran the first train to the site of Laverton Halt on 30 March 2011. The platforms have yet to be installed.