Northampton St. John's Street railway station

Northampton St. John's Street was a railway station and the northern terminus of the Midland Railway's former Bedford to Northampton Line which served the English county town of Northampton from 1872 to 1939. Its closure came about as a cost-cutting measure implemented by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway which diverted services to the nearby Northampton Castle station. After closure the elegant station building was used as offices and the line for the storage of rolling stock; the site was cleared in 1960 to make way for a car park. The car park has now been built on and is the location of St Johns Halls of Residence for The University of Northampton.

Northampton St. John's Street
The site of the station in 2007
General information
LocationNorthampton, Northampton
England
Grid referenceSP755601
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyBedford & Northampton Railway
Pre-groupingMidland Railway
Post-groupingLondon Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
10 June 1872[1]Opened as Northampton
2 June 1924Renamed Northampton St. John's Street
3 July 1939[2]Closed

History

In 1871, the Midland Railway purchased a plot of land within the grounds of the former St. John's Priory near the centre of Northampton where it was to build the northern terminus of its line from Bedford to Northampton.[3] The plot was bounded on its north by St. John's Street and to the south by Victoria Gardens leading to Cattle Market Road. The station was a large elegant building[4] of a light sandy-coloured limestone was constructed above street level on red brick arches with retaining walls which carried the line above Cattle Market Road as it meandered southwards past Northampton Cattle Market and then across the River Nene. An imposing train shed covered the central part of the two platforms. No passenger footbridge was provided, and so passengers crossed the line using a barrow crossing or a footpath going behind the signal box located on the down side of the line just beyond Cattle Market Road bridge.[5]

Six passenger services ran daily from Northampton to Bedford, the first train departing at 0615 and the last at 1952; the journey time was around 40 minutes. A service also ran to Wellingborough, 30 minutes being taken to cover the 12 mile distance. The station did not see any freight services as these were run to the Midland's separate goods station located near Bridge Street station.[6] In 1923, the Midland Railway became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway and in July 1939 it was decided to close St. John's as a cost-cutting measure. Services were switched to Castle station via Hardingstone junction.[7] Following closure, the lines leading into the old station were used for a number of years as sidings and the storage of rolling stock. In 1948, the station building was converted into offices and were finally demolished in 1960 to make way for a car park.[6]

Stationmasters

From 1925 the station master was in charge of all three stations in Northampton.[8]

  • C. Barnes 1872 - 1875[9]
  • James Yaxley 1875[9] - 1883[10] (afterwards station master at Bath)
  • Richard Henry Tabbern 1883[10] - 1919[11]
  • J.T. Bentham 1920[12] - 1925 (formerly station master at Hereford)
  • John Tompkins 1925 - 1928[13] (afterwards station master at Coventry)
  • J.T. Bentham 1928[14] - 1931[15]
  • F.C. O’Connor 1932 - 1937[16] (afterwards station master at Sheffield)
  • Henry Preston 1937 - 1939

Routes
Map of railways in the vicinity of Northampton in 1930
Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Terminus   London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Bedford to Northampton Line		   Piddington
Line and station closed
  London and North Western Railway
Northampton and Peterborough Railway		   Billing
Line and station closed

Present day

The station site is now the location for the St Johns Hall of Residence for the University of Northampton. Also nearby is a pedestrian walk way called St Johns Passage. Much of the trackbed of the Bedford to Northampton Line remains intact, and there have been proposals to reopen the line.[17][18][19]

References
  1. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations, Patrick Stephens Ltd, Sparkford, ISBN 1-85260-508-1, p. 172.
  2. 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. p. 102. ISBN 0-905466-19-5.
  3. 'The borough of Northampton: Gilds and religious houses', A History of the County of Northampton: Volume 3 (1930), pp. 57-61. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=66256 Date accessed: 3 July 2009.
  4. Kingscott, Geoffrey (2008). Lost Railways of Northamptonshire (Lost Railways Series). Newbury, Berkshire: Countryside Books. pp. 140–143. ISBN 978-1-84674-108-1.
  5. Essery, Bob. "Northampton St. John's Street". LMS Journal (5): 21.
  6. Essery, B., p. 23.
  7. Oppitz, Leslie (2000). Lost Railways of the Chilterns (Lost Railways Series). Newbury, Berkshire: Countryside Books. p. 141. ISBN 978-1-85306-643-6.
  8. "Railway Parcels Traffic". Northampton Chronicle and Echo. England. 20 October 1925. Retrieved 5 February 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. "1871-1879 Coaching". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 544. 1871. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  10. "1880-1908 Kettering, Northampton, Luton". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 70. 1880. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  11. "Death of Mr R.H. Tabbern". Northampton Mercury. England. 5 November 1926. Retrieved 8 February 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. "Mr. J.T. Bentham". Northampton Chronicle and Echo. England. 9 February 1920. Retrieved 8 February 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  13. "Mr. J. Tompkins Leaving Northampton". Northampton Mercury. England. 12 October 1928. Retrieved 5 February 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  14. "New Stationmaster at Northampton". Northampton Chronicle And Echo. England. 4 December 1928. Retrieved 5 February 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  15. "Mr. J. Bentham to retire". Northampton Mercury. England. 6 November 1931. Retrieved 5 February 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  16. "Stationmaster Going to Sheffield". Northampton Mercury. England. 5 March 1937. Retrieved 5 February 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  17. "Sole Trader Self Employed, "Bedford - Olney - Northampton"". Archived from the original on 28 May 2010. Retrieved 3 July 2009.
  18. BBC News, "New bid to reopen old rail link", 21 June 2004.
  19. English Regional Transport Association "Northampton - Bedford Booklet - February 2017"

52.2349°N 0.8955°W / 52.2349; -0.8955

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