Hayles Abbey Halt railway station

Hayles Abbey Halt railway station was a halt opened by the Great Western Railway on the Honeybourne Line from Honeybourne to Cheltenham which served the hamlet of Hailes in Gloucestershire, as well as the nearby Hailes Abbey, between 1928 and 1960. The line through the site of the station was reinstated in 1987 by the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway, although no new halt was provided.

History

The Honeybourne Line from Stratford-upon-Avon to Cheltenham via Honeybourne was opened by the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway on 9 July 1859.^[1][2] 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.^[3]

Hayles Abbey Halt was opened on 24 September 1928.^[4] Situated 10 miles 38 chains (16.9 km) from Honeybourne East Loop, the station consisted of two facing platforms constructed of sleepers, on each of which was a small corrugated iron passenger waiting shelter.^[5][6][7] Footpaths from the adjacent road led to the platforms^[4] which were lit by oil lamps^[8] maintained by porters at Toddington whose stationmaster had overall responsibility for the station.^[9]

The provision of the halt coincided with the opening of a museum at nearby Hailes Abbey, a ruined Cistercian abbey founded in 1246 by Richard of Cornwall.^[6] By July 1932, the station was served by six daily railmotor services from Honeybourne to Cheltenham and back, plus one Honeybourne to Winchcombe and back.^[10] The Sunday offering consisted of two services from Honeybourne to Cheltenham and back.^[10] Nearly 30 years later, the final timetable for Hayles Abbey Halt showed the same service pattern, the only difference being an additional service to Honeybourne on weekdays.^[11] The station closed on 7 March 1960,^[4][12] the same day on which the local passenger service was withdrawn from the Honeybourne Line.^[10]

Present day

The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway has reopened the line through Hayles Abbey Halt, with the first services between Toddington and Winchcombe running on 2 August 1987.^[13][14]

Although a new halt was planned on the site in 1998,^[15] this has not materialised. It is hoped the halt could someday eventually be rebuilt to serve the nearby Abbey in the future, once funding could begin.

References

Sources

• Baker, Audie (1994). The Stratford on Avon to Cheltenham Railway. Grasscroft, Oldham: Irwell Press. ISBN 978-1-87160-862-5. 
• Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1 85260 508 1. R508. 
• Clinker, C.R. (October 1978). Clinker's Register of Closed Passenger Stations and Goods Depots in England, Scotland and Wales 1830-1977. Bristol: Avon-Anglia Publications & Services. ISBN 0-90546-619-5. 
• Kingscott, Geoffrey (2009). Lost Railways of Warwickshire. Newbury, Berkshire: Countryside Books. ISBN 978-1-84674-174-6. 
• Maggs, Colin G.; Nicholson, Peter (1985). The Honeybourne Line: The continuing story of the Cheltenham to Honeybourne and Stratford upon Avon Railway. Cheltenham, Glos.: Line One Publishing. ISBN 978-0-907036-12-8. 
• Mitchell, Victor E.; Smith, Keith (August 2005) [1998]. Stratford upon Avon to Cheltenham. Country Railway Routes. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN 1-901706-25-7. 
• Yorke, Stan (2009). Lost Railways of Gloucestershire. Newbury, Berkshire: Countryside Books. ISBN 978-1-84674-163-0.