GWR Route: The North Warwickshire Line

GWR Route: Stratford Upon Avon to Hatton

Stratford upon Avon Station: gwrsa500a

In this close up of image 'gwrsa500' we can see the one side of bottom of the passengers footbridge. Vic Mitchell and Keith Smith state in their book 'Stratford Upon Avon to Cheltenham' that the footbridge was built in 1891 together with new buildings on platform 2, facing to our left. They also add that a roof covered the tracks between platforms 1 and 2 from approximately 1865 to about 1900.

Whilst the existence of a roof bridging the two platforms may well be true, we must presume Vic and Keith have seen evidence, earlier photographs suggest that the evolution of platform 2, and later platform 3, may well be different to their claim. Image 'gwrsa505' shows the station prior to the creation of the third platform, at least as a through road. It might well have been a bay because the photograph is taken from Alcester Road bridge and buildings obscure the far end of the platform.

The erection of the footbridge in 1891, which was covered, would indicate that if an overall roof did exist it would be logical for it to have gone by 1891 otherwise why erect a footbridge with a roof under an existing all over roof? Looking at the photograph above the construction of the footbridge appears to integral rather than an add on at a later date.

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