Cherryhinton railway station explained

Cherryhinton
Status:Disused
Borough:Cherry Hinton, City of Cambridge
Country:England
Coordinates:52.1899°N 0.1764°W
Grid Name:Grid reference
Original:Newmarket and Chesterford Railway
Years:9 October 1851
Events:Opened
Years1:1 May 1854
Events1:Closed

Cherryhinton railway station (spelling) was located on the Newmarket Railway's line between and,[1] serving the Cambridgeshire village of Cherry Hinton.

History

The station opened on 9 October 1851, along with the Newmarket Railway's extension from to Cambridge.[2] The Newmarket Railway was absorbed by the Eastern Counties Railway on 30 March 1854,[3] and just over a month later, Cherryhinton station closed on 1 May 1854. The line remains in use.

Reopening of the station was proposed by Cambridgeshire County Council in May 2013 as part of an infrastructure plan to deal with projected population growth up to 2050.[4] [5] A proposal to reopen the station had previously been made in 1996 but 70% of residents who responded to a Council questionnaire were against it; in any event, a new station was not considered viable at that time.[5]

Station house

The original Cherry Hinton station house still stands on the corner of High Street and Railway Street, diagonally opposite the Cherry Hinton C of E Primary School. It serves as a landmark to local residents and its location is represented in the middle of Cherry Hinton village's historic crest, with coordinates made up of the railway line running horizontally across the crest, and the High Street running vertically down the crest.

The property was offered for sale by Grainger plc as a private residence in February 2013.[6] The official name of the station house on its deed is the Gate House, as it formerly served as a level crossing gatehouse to the gate keeper who manually opened and closed the level crossing gates for the railway line.[6]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Dewick, Tony. 2002. Complete Atlas of Railway Station Names. Ian Allan. 0-7110-2798-6.
  2. Book: Allen, Cecil J. . Cecil J. Allen . The Great Eastern Railway . 2nd . 1956 . 1955 . . Hampton Court . 44 .
  3. Book: Awdry, Christopher . Christopher Awdry . Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies . 1990 . Guild Publishing . London . CN 8983 . 126 .
  4. Web site: Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Long Term Transport Strategy. 2013-05-15. 2013-05-10. Cambridgeshire County Council. pp. 33 and 36.
  5. News: Cambridgeshire railway stations' reopening proposed. 2013-05-14. BBC News Online. 2013-05-15.
  6. Web site: 2 bedroom house for sale . 2013-06-10 . Rightmove . Rightmove.