Southwell
Southwell railway station in 2008
General information
LocationSouthwell, Newark and Sherwood
England
Grid referenceSK705544
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Pre-groupingMidland Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1 July 1847Opened
1871Rebuilt in stone
15 June 1959Closed to passengers
7 December 1964Closed for freight

Southwell railway station was a railway station that served the minster town of Southwell in Nottinghamshire, England from 1847 to 1959.

History

The station at Southwell opened on 1 July 1847 as a branch line from the Nottingham and Lincoln Railway at Rolleston Junction.[1] In its early years, the passenger service was horse-worked.[2] In 1862 gas lighting was introduced.[3]

Timetable from Mansfield Reporter, 29 November 1878

In 1871 the line was extended to Mansfield by the contractors Eckersley and Baylis (using cast iron bridges built by Andrew Handyside and Company of Derby).[4][5] The Midland Railway took the opportunity to rebuild the station building and stationmaster's house in stone and the platform shelters, and dismantle the original wooden station building, which was re-erected at Beeston railway station.[2]

The Mansfield to Southwell section, which passed through a mining area subject to subsidence, was closed to passengers by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1929,[6] the same year in which a north to south-west curve at Rolleston was opened to give direct access to the Fiskerton direction from the branch. The Southwell to Rolleston Junction section remained open to passengers until 1959, normally worked by a push–pull train. Freight services ended in 1964.

Stationmasters

  • J. Bailey, to 1860
  • Samuel Whitehouse, 1860–1863
  • I. Kilby, 1863–1865
  • William Yeomans, from 1865
  • Samuel Jacques, c. 1868 – c. 1876, former station master at Derby Nottingham Road
  • George Cherry, c. 1877–1878
  • George Peck, 1878–1886, former station master at Tewkesbury and Ashchurch[7]
  • Walter Scott, 1886–1903
  • William Clapham, 1903–1910
  • Thomas Maidens, c. 1914–1917,[8] then stationmaster at Coalville
  • Frank Porter, c. 1918–1928[9]
  • Walter Scott, 1936–1939, former station master at Appleby[10]
  • Arthur G. Sperry from 1939,[11] former station master at South Witham

Present day

Today, the station is in use as both a private residence and a b&b. The old level crossing gate is still visible by the station building. A pub called "the Final Whistle" contains many railway memorabilia and relics. The trackbed back towards Mansfield forms a trail called "the Southwell Trail". The trackbed towards Rolleston is now occupied by housing developments and the route of the old railway to Rolleston is now occupied by a road.

Rolleston Junction station remains open as Rolleston. It is close to Southwell Racecourse, about three miles (4.8 km) south-east of the town itself. Fiskerton is also an equal distance from the town.

Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Rolleston Junction
Line closed, station open		   Midland Railway
Rolleston Junction to Mansfield		   Kirklington
Line and station closed
Fiskerton
Line closed, station open		   Midland Railway
Fiskerton to Mansfield		   Kirklington
Line and station closed

References

  1. ↑ "Nottingham and Lincoln Railway". Leicestershire Mercury. 3 July 1847. Retrieved 29 August 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  2. 1 2 Leleux, Robin (1976). A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain. Vol. 9: The East Midlands. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 120. ISBN 0-7153-7165-7.
  3. ↑ Nottinghamshire Guardian, 4 April 1862.
  4. ↑ Sheffield Daily Telegraph, 24 February 1871.
  5. ↑ Derby Mercury, 8 March 1871.
  6. ↑ "Stations Closed". Derby Daily Telegraph. England. 3 August 1929. Retrieved 31 January 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ↑ "Presentation". Gloucestershire Chronicle. England. 11 May 1878. Retrieved 28 January 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ↑ "Coalville". Leicester Daily Post. England. 17 December 1917. Retrieved 26 January 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ↑ "Southwell Stationmaster". Nottingham Journal. England. 9 January 1928. Retrieved 28 January 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ↑ "Presentation to a Stationmaster". Penrith Observer. England. 4 February 1936. Retrieved 28 January 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. ↑ "New Stationmaster". Lincolnshire Echo. England. 2 September 1939. Retrieved 28 January 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.

53°04′55″N 0°56′46″W / 53.081883°N 0.94613°W / 53.081883; -0.94613

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