Cirencester Town railway station explained

Cirencester Town
Status:Disused
Borough:Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Country:England
Coordinates:51.7145°N -1.9717°W
Grid Name:Grid reference
Platforms:1
Original:Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway
Pregroup:Great Western Railway
Postgroup:Great Western Railway
Events:Opened as Cirencester
Years1:1 July 1924
Events1:Renamed Cirencester Town
Events2:Closed for passengers
Years3:4 October 1965
Events3:closed for freight
Embedded:
Embed:yes
Designation1:UK GRADE II
Designation1 Offname:FORMER RAILWAY STATION, SHEEP STREET
Designation1 Number:1187518

Cirencester Town railway station was one of three railway stations which formerly served the town of Cirencester, Gloucestershire, England; the others were and .

History

The Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway was promoted to link the towns of Cheltenham and Gloucester to the Great Western Railway at ; there was to be a branch from to Cirencester.[1] The line was authorised on 21 June 1836, but took several years to build. The first section to open was that between Swindon and Kemble (where there was no station at first) together with the Cirencester branch; it opened on 31 May 1841.[2]

On 12 September 1874 as the first train from Kemble Junction was entering the station the engine ran off the rails. No passengers were injured.[3]

On 1 July 1924 the station was renamed Cirencester Town. A fire broke out on 7 April 1948 in the packing office when a stove pipe overheated and ignited the ceiling joists. The damage was confined to ceiling timbers.[4] In 1956 some additions to the station were made by Howard Cavanagh, architect to the Western Region of British Railways. The ticket hall to the left of the main building was rebuilt using Bath stone and oak window frames to harmonise with the original.[5]

The station closed to passengers on 6 April 1964.

The 1841 building, designed by Brunel, which was listed as Grade II on 23 July 1971, is owned by Cotswold District Council. It was reported to be in a poor internal condition in 2016,[6] having been empty since 2012.[7] The original overall roof was removed in 1874.[8]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: MacDermot, E.T. . History of the Great Western Railway, vol. I: 1833-1863 . 1927 . . Paddington . 164 .
  2. Book: Butt, R.V.J. . The Directory of Railway Stations . 1995 . Patrick Stephens Ltd . Yeovil . 1-85260-508-1 . R508 . 61 .
  3. News: . Railway Accident . Shields Daily Gazette . England . 14 September 1872 . 12 March 2019 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
  4. News: . Station Fire at Cirencester . Gloucestershire Echo . England . 8 April 1949 . 12 March 2019 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
  5. Web site: Rebuilding of Cirencester Town Station. March 1956. Railway Magazine. 2017-05-23.
  6. Web site: Cirencester Town to mark '175'. April 2016. Railway Magazine. 2017-05-23.
  7. Web site: Cirencester Civic Society. www.ccsoc.org.uk. 2017-05-23.
  8. Web site: End of an Experiment. Tolson. John M.. October 1964. Railway Magazine. 2017-05-23.