Baynards railway station

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Baynards

Location

Location

Baynards

Area

Waverley, Surrey

Grid reference

TQ077351

Operations

Pre-grouping

London, Brighton and South Coast Railway

Post-grouping

Southern Railway
Southern Region of British Railways

Platforms

History

2 October 1865

Station opened

14 June 1965

Station closed

Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom

Closed railway stations in Britain
A B C D-F G H-J K-L M-O P-R S T-Z

UK Railways Portal

Baynards was a railway station on the Cranleigh Line. The line was single-tracked and opened on 2 October 1865.

The station comprises the stationmaster's house, two waiting rooms, covered platforms, storesheds, a booking hall, a porch and a large goods shed. The station covers in all 0.45 acres. Its construction is owed to Lord Thurlow, the owner of nearby Baynards Park, whose land was on the route of the proposed railway line. As a condition of sale, Lord Thurlow insisted on having a station built to serve his estate, despite there being no nearby settlement. The station was also used as the local post office in times when up to 30 horses and carts would queue outside on market days.

Near the station was the Baynards Brick and Tile Works which was served by its own private siding. In early years it was a brickworks, producing fullers earth for the wool industry, and then foundry clay in later years. It then became a chemical processing works, receiving annually 400 tons of goods by rail (including sulfur from Italy via the Thames docks, tin from Swansea and packaging from Sittingbourne), whilst also sending out its own goods, from seed dressings to polishing compounds.

In February 1957 the BBC filmed a version of The Railway Children here. The Stationmaster during this period, Geoff Birdfield, won a prize for the best display of dahlias on the railway line; he had around 1000 dahlias of 240 different varieties which were grown behind the platforms. After closure of the line in 1965, Birdfield erected a 52 x 12 ft glasshouse on one platform and cold frame on the trackbed. He remained at Baynards until 1970 and finally retired as a relief signalman in 1980, having spent 44 years working for the railway.

The station building was auctioned on 21 June 1973 at Bramley Grange Hotel where it was purchased by its current owners who have carefully restored it to its original condition. Every year the Rudgwick Preservation Society organises a guided walk to the station where the owners give a tour, attracting up to 150 people.