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Eynsham railway station

April 27, 2024

Eynsham railway station served the Oxfordshire town of Eynsham and the Eynsham Sugar Beet Factory on the Oxford, Witney and Fairford Railway between Oxford and Witney.

Eynsham
Eynsham Station in 1972 after closure
General information
LocationEynsham, West Oxfordshire
England
Coordinates51°46′35″N 1°22′43″W / 51.77644°N 1.37874°W / 51.77644; -1.37874
Grid referenceSP430088
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyWitney Railway
Pre-groupingGreat Western Railway
Post-groupingGreat Western Railway
Key dates
14 November 1861 (1861-11-14)Opened
May 1944Passing loop and second platform built
18 June 1962Closed to passengers
26 April 1965Closed to goods
2 November 1970Line closed

History edit

The Witney Railway, including Eynsham station, opened on 14 November 1861.[1][2][3] It was originally a single platform station, but was the Witney Railway's principal intermediate station.[4][5] The contractor who built the line, Malachi Bartlett, erected single-storey wooden station building in the same style as that at the line's other stations at South Leigh and Witney.[6] It was weather-boarded and had a Welsh slate hip roof with a shallow pitch and broad eaves.[6] In 1892 the Great Western Railway added a signal box next to the station building, very similar to that at Fairford.[4][5][6] A large Cotswold stone goods shed stood at the Fairford end of the platform, a few yards from the signal box.[4][7]

The station had a goods yard that handled significant goods traffic. It had two sidings (later three) and a 11⁄2-ton crane. The largest traffic was coal, for which the third siding was added in 1878 north of the goods shed.[6] In its heyday in the 1920s, Eynsham station was handling up to 12,000 tons of freight a year, while passenger bookings averaged 14,000 annually over the same period.[4] There was a large sugar beet factory 40 chains (800 m) east of the station that had three sidings. It opened in 1927 but was not successful and closed in 1931.[8] In the Second World War the factory became a Royal Army Service Corps depot. Afterwards it became a storage depot for the Colonial Development Corporation, then the premises of J. Harding (Eynsham) and finally a depot for British Leyland.[5][9][10]

In May 1944 a 22-chain (440 m) passing loop and second platform and platform were added to the station, increasing capacity on the single-track line for troop and armaments movements in preparation for the Normandy landings. The loop and platform were on the Down side, and the original became the Up platform.[4][5][11] The station also handled agricultural traffic and wagonloads of bones for the local glue factory.[4] At the Oxford end of the station was a level crossing where the line crossed the Stanton Harcourt road.[4]

Armed robbery edit

In the early hours of Monday 5 December 1927 two armed and masked thieves, Frederick Browne and William Kennedy, held up the station.[12] Browne had formerly lived in Eynsham and was on the run from the police after having shot dead a policeman, PC Gutteridge, in Essex in September 1927; Kennedy was also wanted, as Browne's accomplice.[12] Browne drove along the line from near South Leigh to Eynsham.[12] There a porter, Frederick Castle, arrived by motorcycle, discovered the thieves and challenged them. They held Castle at gunpoint and tied him to a chair in the stationmaster's office.[12] Castle had no key to the safe so Browne and Kennedy tried unsuccessfully to detach it from the floor.[12] They moved Castle from the stationmaster's office to the building housing the ground frame, then escaped with tobacco and the stationmaster's typewriter.[13] Both were arrested the following January and, after trial at the Old Bailey, were hanged in May 1928 for the murder of PC Gutteridge.[13]

Closure edit

The Western Region of British Railways closed the station to passenger traffic on 18 June 1962 and to goods on 26 April 1965.[1][2][3][14] An enthusiasts' special organised by the Locomotive Club of Great Britain called at the closed station in April 1970.[15] BR closed the line to goods traffic on Monday 2 November 1970, after which the local council asphalted over the level crossing "with almost indecent haste".[16]


Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
South Leigh
Line and station closed 		  Great Western Railway
Witney Railway 		  Cassington Halt
Line and station closed

The site since closure edit

A section of the trackbed between Eynsham and the Siemens plant on Wharf Road has been converted into the B4449 road to Stanton Harcourt and Standlake.[15] Eynsham station site is now covered by buildings and an access road to an office building known as "Station Point",[15] having previously been the site of Oxford Instruments headquarters opened in 1984.[10][17] The 1944 sectional platform was dismantled in 1984 by the Great Western Society and is now at Didcot Railway Centre.[15][18][19] The goods shed survived until 1987 as a scenery workshop for the Oxford Playhouse.[17][19][20]

The station has been proposed for reopening or a site to the north of the town as part of a project to restore the railway to Carterton via Witney, as well as to serve a new proposed settlement called Salt Cross Garden Village. The new site would also be next to a proposed park and ride site.[21][22]

References edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b Butt (1995), p. 93.
  2. ^ a b Quick (2009), p. 168.
  3. ^ a b Clark (1976), Eynsham.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Jenkins (1985), p. 83.
  5. ^ a b c d Simpson (1997), p. 173.
  6. ^ a b c d Mitchell, Smith & Lingard (1988), fig. 23.
  7. ^ Mitchell, Smith & Lingard (1988), fig. 24.
  8. ^ Jenkins (1985), p. 62.
  9. ^ Mitchell, Smith & Lingard (1988), fig. 22.
  10. ^ a b Crossley & Elrington (1990), pp. 127–142.
  11. ^ Mitchell, Smith & Lingard (1988), fig. 25.
  12. ^ a b c d e Jenkins (1985), p. 63.
  13. ^ a b Jenkins (1985), p. 65.
  14. ^ Clinker (1988), p. 46.
  15. ^ a b c d Stretton (2006), p. 83.
  16. ^ Jenkins (1985), p. 120.
  17. ^ a b Waters & Doyle (1992), p. 95.
  18. ^ Mitchell, Smith & Lingard (1988), fig. 31.
  19. ^ a b Jenkins (1985), p. 146.
  20. ^ Mitchell, Smith & Lingard (1988), fig. 28.
  21. ^ Miranda Norris (2 February 2022). "Campaigners welcome fresh hope for Oxford to Witney railway". Witney Gazette. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  22. ^ "About Witney Oxford Transport Group". Witney Oxford Transport Group. Retrieved 9 February 2022.

Sources edit

  • Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
  • Clark, R.H (1976). An Historical Survey of Selected Great Western Stations: Layouts and Illustrations. Vol. 1. Headington: Oxford Publishing. ISBN 0-902888-29-3.
  • Clinker, C. R. (1988) [1978]. Clinker's Register of Closed Passenger Stations and Goods Depots in England, Scotland and Wales 1830–1980 (2nd ed.). Bristol: Avon-Anglia Publications & Services. ISBN 978-0-905466-91-0. OCLC 655703233.
  • Baggs, A.P.; Blair, W.J.; Chance, Eleanor; Colvin, Christina; Cooper, Janet; Day, C.J.; Selwyn, Nesta; Townley, Simon C. (1990). "Eynsham – Economic History". In Crossley, Alan; Elrington, C.R. (eds.). A History of the County of Oxford. Victoria County History. Vol. 12: Wootton Hundred (South) including Woodstock. pp. 127–142. ISBN 978-0-19722-774-9.
  • Jenkins, Stanley C (1985) [1975]. The Witney & East Gloucestershire Railway (Fairford Branch). Locomotion Papers. Vol. 86. Tarrant Hinton: Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-853613-16-8.
  • Mitchell, Victor E.; Smith, Keith; Lingard, Richard (April 1988). Branch Line to Fairford. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN 0-906520-52-5.
  • Quick, Michael (2009) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (4th ed.). Oxford: Railway & Canal Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-901461-57-5. OCLC 612226077.
  • Simpson, Bill (1997). A History of the Railways of Oxfordshire. Vol. Part 1: The North. Witney: Lamplight Publications. ISBN 978-1-89924-602-1.
  • Stretton, John (2006). Oxfordshire; A Second Selection. British Railways Past and Present. Vol. 55. Kettering: Past & Present Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85895-203-1.
  • Waters, Laurence; Doyle, Tony (1992). Oxfordshire. British Railways Past and Present. Vol. 15. Wadenhoe: Silver Link Publishing. ISBN 978-0-94797-187-8.

External links edit

  • Photos and details about the station
  • Station on 1947 OS Map

April 27, 2024
eynsham, railway, station, served, oxfordshire, town, eynsham, eynsham, sugar, beet, factory, oxford, witney, fairford, railway, between, oxford, witney, eynshameynsham, station, 1972, after, closuregeneral, informationlocationeynsham, west, oxfordshireengland. Eynsham railway station served the Oxfordshire town of Eynsham and the Eynsham Sugar Beet Factory on the Oxford Witney and Fairford Railway between Oxford and Witney EynshamEynsham Station in 1972 after closureGeneral informationLocationEynsham West OxfordshireEnglandCoordinates51 46 35 N 1 22 43 W 51 77644 N 1 37874 W 51 77644 1 37874Grid referenceSP430088Platforms2Other informationStatusDisusedHistoryOriginal companyWitney RailwayPre groupingGreat Western RailwayPost groupingGreat Western RailwayKey dates14 November 1861 1861 11 14 OpenedMay 1944Passing loop and second platform built18 June 1962Closed to passengers26 April 1965Closed to goods2 November 1970Line closed vteOxford Witneyand Fairford Railway Legend Oxford Worcester amp Wolverhampton Rlyto Worcester to Oxford Yarnton A40 road Cassington Halt River Evenlode Cassington Canal Eynsham South Leigh River Windrush Witney Goods Junction River Windrush Witney goods Witney A4095 road Brize Norton and Bampton Carterton Alvescot Kelmscott and Langford Little Faringdon crossing River Leach Lechlade A361 road A417 road Fairford Contents 1 History 1 1 Armed robbery 1 2 Closure 2 The site since closure 3 References 3 1 Notes 3 2 Sources 4 External linksHistory editThe Witney Railway including Eynsham station opened on 14 November 1861 1 2 3 It was originally a single platform station but was the Witney Railway s principal intermediate station 4 5 The contractor who built the line Malachi Bartlett erected single storey wooden station building in the same style as that at the line s other stations at South Leigh and Witney 6 It was weather boarded and had a Welsh slate hip roof with a shallow pitch and broad eaves 6 In 1892 the Great Western Railway added a signal box next to the station building very similar to that at Fairford 4 5 6 A large Cotswold stone goods shed stood at the Fairford end of the platform a few yards from the signal box 4 7 The station had a goods yard that handled significant goods traffic It had two sidings later three and a 11 2 ton crane The largest traffic was coal for which the third siding was added in 1878 north of the goods shed 6 In its heyday in the 1920s Eynsham station was handling up to 12 000 tons of freight a year while passenger bookings averaged 14 000 annually over the same period 4 There was a large sugar beet factory 40 chains 800 m east of the station that had three sidings It opened in 1927 but was not successful and closed in 1931 8 In the Second World War the factory became a Royal Army Service Corps depot Afterwards it became a storage depot for the Colonial Development Corporation then the premises of J Harding Eynsham and finally a depot for British Leyland 5 9 10 In May 1944 a 22 chain 440 m passing loop and second platform and platform were added to the station increasing capacity on the single track line for troop and armaments movements in preparation for the Normandy landings The loop and platform were on the Down side and the original became the Up platform 4 5 11 The station also handled agricultural traffic and wagonloads of bones for the local glue factory 4 At the Oxford end of the station was a level crossing where the line crossed the Stanton Harcourt road 4 Armed robbery edit In the early hours of Monday 5 December 1927 two armed and masked thieves Frederick Browne and William Kennedy held up the station 12 Browne had formerly lived in Eynsham and was on the run from the police after having shot dead a policeman PC Gutteridge in Essex in September 1927 Kennedy was also wanted as Browne s accomplice 12 Browne drove along the line from near South Leigh to Eynsham 12 There a porter Frederick Castle arrived by motorcycle discovered the thieves and challenged them They held Castle at gunpoint and tied him to a chair in the stationmaster s office 12 Castle had no key to the safe so Browne and Kennedy tried unsuccessfully to detach it from the floor 12 They moved Castle from the stationmaster s office to the building housing the ground frame then escaped with tobacco and the stationmaster s typewriter 13 Both were arrested the following January and after trial at the Old Bailey were hanged in May 1928 for the murder of PC Gutteridge 13 Closure edit The Western Region of British Railways closed the station to passenger traffic on 18 June 1962 and to goods on 26 April 1965 1 2 3 14 An enthusiasts special organised by the Locomotive Club of Great Britain called at the closed station in April 1970 15 BR closed the line to goods traffic on Monday 2 November 1970 after which the local council asphalted over the level crossing with almost indecent haste 16 Preceding station Disused railways Following station South LeighLine and station closed Great Western RailwayWitney Railway Cassington HaltLine and station closedThe site since closure editA section of the trackbed between Eynsham and the Siemens plant on Wharf Road has been converted into the B4449 road to Stanton Harcourt and Standlake 15 Eynsham station site is now covered by buildings and an access road to an office building known as Station Point 15 having previously been the site of Oxford Instruments headquarters opened in 1984 10 17 The 1944 sectional platform was dismantled in 1984 by the Great Western Society and is now at Didcot Railway Centre 15 18 19 The goods shed survived until 1987 as a scenery workshop for the Oxford Playhouse 17 19 20 The station has been proposed for reopening or a site to the north of the town as part of a project to restore the railway to Carterton via Witney as well as to serve a new proposed settlement called Salt Cross Garden Village The new site would also be next to a proposed park and ride site 21 22 References editNotes edit a b Butt 1995 p 93 a b Quick 2009 p 168 a b Clark 1976 Eynsham a b c d e f g Jenkins 1985 p 83 a b c d Simpson 1997 p 173 a b c d Mitchell Smith amp Lingard 1988 fig 23 Mitchell Smith amp Lingard 1988 fig 24 Jenkins 1985 p 62 Mitchell Smith amp Lingard 1988 fig 22 a b Crossley amp Elrington 1990 pp 127 142 Mitchell Smith amp Lingard 1988 fig 25 a b c d e Jenkins 1985 p 63 a b Jenkins 1985 p 65 Clinker 1988 p 46 a b c d Stretton 2006 p 83 Jenkins 1985 p 120 a b Waters amp Doyle 1992 p 95 Mitchell Smith amp Lingard 1988 fig 31 a b Jenkins 1985 p 146 Mitchell Smith amp Lingard 1988 fig 28 Miranda Norris 2 February 2022 Campaigners welcome fresh hope for Oxford to Witney railway Witney Gazette Retrieved 9 February 2022 About Witney Oxford Transport Group Witney Oxford Transport Group Retrieved 9 February 2022 Sources edit Butt R V J October 1995 The Directory of Railway Stations details every public and private passenger station halt platform and stopping place past and present 1st ed Sparkford Patrick Stephens Ltd ISBN 978 1 85260 508 7 OCLC 60251199 OL 11956311M Clark R H 1976 An Historical Survey of Selected Great Western Stations Layouts and Illustrations Vol 1 Headington Oxford Publishing ISBN 0 902888 29 3 Clinker C R 1988 1978 Clinker s Register of Closed Passenger Stations and Goods Depots in England Scotland and Wales 1830 1980 2nd ed Bristol Avon Anglia Publications amp Services ISBN 978 0 905466 91 0 OCLC 655703233 Baggs A P Blair W J Chance Eleanor Colvin Christina Cooper Janet Day C J Selwyn Nesta Townley Simon C 1990 Eynsham Economic History In Crossley Alan Elrington C R eds A History of the County of Oxford Victoria County History Vol 12 Wootton Hundred South including Woodstock pp 127 142 ISBN 978 0 19722 774 9 Jenkins Stanley C 1985 1975 The Witney amp East Gloucestershire Railway Fairford Branch Locomotion Papers Vol 86 Tarrant Hinton Oakwood Press ISBN 0 853613 16 8 Mitchell Victor E Smith Keith Lingard Richard April 1988 Branch Line to Fairford Midhurst Middleton Press ISBN 0 906520 52 5 Quick Michael 2009 2001 Railway passenger stations in Great Britain a chronology 4th ed Oxford Railway amp Canal Historical Society ISBN 978 0 901461 57 5 OCLC 612226077 Simpson Bill 1997 A History of the Railways of Oxfordshire Vol Part 1 The North Witney Lamplight Publications ISBN 978 1 89924 602 1 Stretton John 2006 Oxfordshire A Second Selection British Railways Past and Present Vol 55 Kettering Past amp Present Publishing ISBN 978 1 85895 203 1 Waters Laurence Doyle Tony 1992 Oxfordshire British Railways Past and Present Vol 15 Wadenhoe Silver Link Publishing ISBN 978 0 94797 187 8 External links editPhotos and details about the station Station on 1947 OS Map Archived page with post closure details of stations Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Eynsham railway station amp oldid 1171532605, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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