Denbigh Hall railway station

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Denbigh Hall railway station - Wikipedia

Coordinates: 52°00′36″N 0°44′38″W / 52.010°N 0.744°W

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Denbigh Hall

A contemporary engraving of the Denbigh Hall railway bridge, near the site of the temporary station, with the same view taken in 2013 for comparison.

General information

Location

Milton Keynes
England

Coordinates

52°00′36″N 0°44′38″W / 52.010°N 0.744°W

Grid reference

SP861354

Other information

Status

Disused

History

Original company

London and Birmingham Railway

Key dates

9 April 1838

Opened

17 September 1838

Closed

Route map

Legend

1837 – July 1846

Birmingham Curzon Street

1 mi 656 yd

2.21 km

)

(

closed

1838

)

Bletchley

(

opened

1838

)

Leighton

Aylesbury Junction

(

opened

1839

)

(

opened

1839

)

Watford Tunnel

					stagecoach shuttle April–September 1838
					stationary steam engine (ticket platforms from 1844)

Location

Denbigh Hall railway station was a temporary terminus station on the London and Birmingham Railway in the Denbigh area of what is now Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire, England. It was open for less than six months, between April and September 1838, and was situated near a point where the railway crossed Watling Street, about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the current location of Bletchley railway station, though Bletchley did not open until after Denbigh Hall had closed.

History

The route of the London and Birmingham Railway was designed and engineered by Robert Stephenson. Two of the major civil engineering projects on the line were the six-span, 18 metres (59 ft) high Wolverton viaduct over the river Great Ouse,^[1] and the 1 mile 656 yards (2.209 km) long Kilsby Tunnel near Rugby.^[2] Work on this tunnel was prolonged, due to the builders unexpectedly encountering quicksand, and the route was not ready for the scheduled opening of the railway on 9 April 1838.^[3]^[a] As a temporary measure, Denbigh Hall station was built near the point where the line crossed Watling Street, allowing passengers to transfer to stage-coaches to continue their journey to Rugby station,^[b] also near Watling Street, a distance of approximately 37 miles (60 km).^[6] Denbigh Hall station was named after a nearby inn on Watling Street, dating from 1710.^[7] The bridge over Watling Street still survives, but has been extended as the railway has widened.

The station closed with the opening of Kilsby Tunnel on 17 September 1838,^[8]^[9] though the line still exists, forming part of the West Coast Main Line from London to Glasgow. The chord with the (much later) line from Oxford (via the Bletchley Flyover) joins the main line nearby and bears the name "Denbigh Hall Junction".^[10]

Due to the temporary nature of the station, no images of it or records of its layout are known to exist, but a contemporary engraving by George Dodgson Callow and William Radclyffe shows a train on the bridge in its immediate vicinity.^[11]

Commemoration

In 1920, Herbert Leon, 1st baronet of the nearby Bletchley Park, commissioned a plaque on the bridge to commemorate the station.^[12] The plaque reads:

Prior to September 1838 the southern part of this railway terminated at this bridge whence passengers were conveyed by coach to Rugby where they rejoined the railway for Birmingham. Inscribed by Sir Herbert Leon Bart and Lady Leon of Bletchley Park Bucks. By permission of the L&NW Railway Company August 1920.^[13]

Service summary

Stations in and around Milton Keynes

Legend

West Coast Main Line

towards Glasgow Central

Northampton loop

to Northampton

Roade

Bedford–Northampton line

towards Northampton

Stratford-upon-Avon and

Midland Junction Railway

Salcey Forest

Hanslope Junction

towards Bedford

Deanshanger

Old Stratford

Stony Stratford

Great Linford

Wolverton

Bradwell

East West Rail /

Marston Vale line

to Bedford

Woburn Sands

Milton Keynes Central

Bow Brickhill

Denbigh Hall

Fenny Stratford

Bletchley TMD

Bletchley

former Varsity Line /

planned East West Rail

Oxford

Bletchley Flyover

Leighton Buzzard

West Coast Main Line

towards Euston

Preceding station	Historical railways			Following station
Leighton^[c] Line and station open		London and Birmingham Railway		Rugby By stagecoach

Notes

^ Some sources state a date of 9 April 1836, however this is almost certainly incorrect.
^ This was not the modern station at Rugby, but another temporary station, lasting between 1838 and 1840, north-west of the current location.^[4]^[5]
^ Now called Leighton Buzzard. Bletchley did not open until after Denbigh Hall had closed.

References

^ Geoffrey Ealden; Anna McEvoy; Julia Newman; Andra Roach; Peter Smith. "Wolverton: From Aqueduct to Viaduct". Wolverton Society for Arts and Heritage and Milton Keynes Heritage Association. Retrieved 7 December 2007.
^ Yonge, page 10
^ "Kilsby Tunnel". Spartacus Educational. Archived from the original on 3 September 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
^ Butt, page 201
^ Dewick, page 10
^ "Denbigh Hall Bridge, Bletchley". Our Transport Heritage. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
^ "Milton Keynes Heritage" (map) - English Partnerships 2004
^ Butt, page 77
^ "London and Birmingham". Spartacus Educational. Archived from the original on 3 March 2013. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
^ Yonge, page 9
^ Roscoe, facing page 76
^ "Bletchley: Introduction". Living Archive. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
^ Hughes, Les (27 November 2003). Henry Mundy: A Young Australian Pioneer. Next Century Books. p. 15. ISBN 978-0954401122.

Bibliography

Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
Dewick, Tony (2002). Complete Atlas of Railway Station Names (1st ed.). Hersham: Ian Allan Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-7110-2798-6.
Roscoe, Thomas; Lecount, Peter (c. 1838). The London and Birmingham Railway.
Yonge, John (2005). Gerald Jacobs (ed.). Railway Track Diagrams - Book 4: Midlands & North West (Quail Track Plans) (2nd ed.). Bradford on Avon: Trackmaps (formerly Quail Map Co.). ISBN 0-9549-8660-1. OCLC 133041211. Retrieved 21 February 2013.

v t e Closed railway stations in Buckinghamshire
Banbury to Verney Junction branch line	Fulwell & Westbury Water Stratford Halt Radclive Halt Buckingham Padbury Verney Junction
Metropolitan Railway	Verney Junction Winslow Road Granborough Road
Varsity Line	Winslow Swanbourne Claydon Marsh Gibbon and Poundon
Brill Tramway	Waddesdon Road Westcott Wotton Wood Siding Brill
Wycombe Railway	Bledlow Loudwater Wooburn Green West Wycombe
Great Central Railway	Akeman Street Waddesdon Calvert Wotton
Newport Pagnell branch	Bradwell Great Linford Newport Pagnell
Great Western & Great Central Joint Rly	Brill and Ludgershall Dorton Halt Haddenham Ilmer Halt
Other lines	Aylesbury High Street Bledlow Bridge Halt Denbigh Hall Olney Penn South Aylesbury Halt Twyford Bridge Halt Castlethorpe

Categories:

Hidden categories:

History

Commemoration

Service summary

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography