Baynards railway station

Baynards was a railway station on the Cranleigh Line, between Guildford, Surrey, and Horsham, West Sussex, England. The station opened with the line on 2 October 1865.

Baynards
General information
LocationBaynards Park, Waverley, Surrey
England
Grid referenceTQ077351
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Pre-groupingLondon, Brighton and South Coast Railway
Post-groupingSouthern Railway
Southern Region of British Railways
Key dates
2 October 1865Station opened
14 June 1965Station closed

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 (0.18 ha).

History

Baynards station was built for 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 large settlement nearby.The line was built as a single track, but since Baynards was approximately midway between Guildford and Horsham, the station was constructed with two platforms and a signal box to enable trains to pass.[1]

Baynards railway station in 1961

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 Fuller's earth for the wool industry, and then foundry clay in later years. It then became a chemical processing works,[2] receiving annually 400 tons of goods by rail (including sulphur[3] 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.

During the Second World War, there was a camp for American troops at Baynards Park. The station was heavily used to supply the training facilities with armoured vehicles and ammunition.[4]

Baynards goods yard closed in September 1963[3] and the station closed in June 1965 when passenger services Cranleigh Line were withdrawn as part of the Beeching Axe.[1] The station was restored and most of the buildings (including the engine shed) and the platforms remain intact.[5]

The station was used in the 1957 BBC television adaptation of The Railway Children,[6] and several films including: They Were Sisters (1945),[7] Room at the Top (1959),[8] The Grass Is Greener (1960),[7] The Horsemasters (1961),[9] and Rotten to the Core (1965).[7]

Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Cranleigh
Line and station closed		   London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
Horsham and Guildford Direct Railway		   Rudgwick
Line and station closed

Other Cranleigh Line stations

References
  1. Jackson 1999, pp. 59–61.
  2. Jackson 1999, pp. 202–203.
  3. Hood 1975, p. 43.
  4. Jackson 1999, pp. 168.
  5. Oppitz 1988, p. 81.
  6. "Echo of Baynard's Railway Children". BBC. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  7. Hood 1975, p. 41.
  8. "Room at the Top". Reel Streets. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  9. Welch 2006, p. 39.

Sources
  • Hood, H. R. (1975). The Horsham and Guildford Direct Railway. The Locomotion Papers. Vol. 87. Blandford Forum: The Oakwood Press.
  • Jackson, Alan A. (1999). The railway in Surrey. Penryn: Atlantic Transport. ISBN 0-90689-990-7.
  • Oppitz, Leslie (1988). Surrey railways remembered. Reading: MRM. ISBN 1-85306-005-4.
  • Welch, Michael (2006). Southern branch lines. Harrow: Capital Transport. ISBN 1-85414-306-9.
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