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Shrewsbury Abbey (railway station)
Encyclopedia
Shrewsbury Abbey was a railway station in Shrewsbury
, Shropshire
, England
part of the Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Railway. It was named after the nearby Shrewsbury Abbey
. The station had an adjacent goods yard and wagon building works.
Shrewsbury Abbey was originally planned to be just one station on a railway from Llanymynech
to Market Drayton
but when financial problems halted the project, it became the permanent terminus. However it was never connected to Shrewsbury Station
. All passenger services would have to change here. This was because access to the mainline station was rejected on financial grounds and the obstruction of Shrewsbury station's joint operators, the Great Western Railway
(GWR) and the London and North Western Railway
.
. In 1876 a railway carriage and wagon building works of the Midland Wagon Company operated next to the station. It closed in 1912.
When the station became the permanent terminus after financial difficulties caused the abandonment of the planned extension to Market Drayton, it struggled to make money. On 22 June 1880 Shrewsbury Abbey closed for the first time when the railway could no longer continue services; a rare example of a railway closure in Britain in the 19th century.
Several attempts were made to reopen the railway and in the 1890/91 a start was made on remodelling the station before financial problems again caused work to cease. The station was finally reopened on 13 April 1911 with a rebuilt line now known as the Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Railway. It finally closed to all passengers (except specials) on 6 November 1933.
, the Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Light Railway was taken over by the War Department. Shrewsbury Abbey station reopened for military personnel in 1941. The Royal Engineers
reconstructed the railway and built a top secret storage explosives depot at Kinnerley
. The site was not declassified until the 1950s. The entire railway was closed by the military in 1960.
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
, Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, 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...
part of the Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Railway. It was named after the nearby Shrewsbury Abbey
Shrewsbury Abbey
The Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, commonly known as Shrewsbury Abbey, was a Benedictine monastery founded in 1083 by the Norman Earl of Shrewsbury, Roger de Montgomery, in Shrewsbury, the county town of Shropshire, England.-Background:...
. The station had an adjacent goods yard and wagon building works.
Shrewsbury Abbey was originally planned to be just one station on a railway from Llanymynech
Llanymynech
Llanymynech is a village straddling the border between Montgomeryshire/Powys, Wales and Shropshire, England about 9 miles north of the Welsh town of Welshpool. The name is Welsh for "Church of the Monks"....
to Market Drayton
Market Drayton
Market Drayton is a small market town in north Shropshire, England. It is on the River Tern, between Shrewsbury and Stoke-on-Trent, and was formerly known as "Drayton in Hales" and earlier simply as "Drayton" ....
but when financial problems halted the project, it became the permanent terminus. However it was never connected to Shrewsbury Station
Shrewsbury railway station
Shrewsbury railway station is the railway station serving Shrewsbury, county town of Shropshire, England. It is the only remaining railway station in the town; Shrewsbury Abbey, as well as other small stations around the town, having long closed. The station was built in 1848 and has been extended...
. All passenger services would have to change here. This was because access to the mainline station was rejected on financial grounds and the obstruction of Shrewsbury station's joint operators, 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...
(GWR) and the London and North Western Railway
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
.
History
Shrewsbury Abbey station opened on 13 August 1866 as the temporary end of the Potteries, Shrewsbury and North Wales Railway (always known locally as 'The Potts'). It was built on part of a monastery that had been destroyed during the ReformationEnglish Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
. In 1876 a railway carriage and wagon building works of the Midland Wagon Company operated next to the station. It closed in 1912.
When the station became the permanent terminus after financial difficulties caused the abandonment of the planned extension to Market Drayton, it struggled to make money. On 22 June 1880 Shrewsbury Abbey closed for the first time when the railway could no longer continue services; a rare example of a railway closure in Britain in the 19th century.
Several attempts were made to reopen the railway and in the 1890/91 a start was made on remodelling the station before financial problems again caused work to cease. The station was finally reopened on 13 April 1911 with a rebuilt line now known as the Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Railway. It finally closed to all passengers (except specials) on 6 November 1933.
Wartime role
At the outbreak of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Light Railway was taken over by the War Department. Shrewsbury Abbey station reopened for military personnel in 1941. The Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
reconstructed the railway and built a top secret storage explosives depot at Kinnerley
Kinnerley
Kinnerley is a small village in Shropshire, England.The village was a stop on the now defunct Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Railway, that ran from 1866 to 1960. The village today has a school, a church, a shop and a pub . It is small village separating neighbouring villages Dovaston and Pentre and...
. The site was not declassified until the 1950s. The entire railway was closed by the military in 1960.