Leamington Spa Station (GWR)

GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

Leaminton Station is located on Old Warwick Road towards the southern edge of the town centre. The station was opened in 1852 by the Great Western Railway as part of the Birmingham to Oxford line. Its opening compelled the LNWR to build in 1854 their own Leamington station which was located adjacent to the GWR station. In 1864 a link was made between the GWR line and the LNWR after which a good deal of goods traffic was interchanged between the two lines.

By the late 1920’s there were over one million men unemployed in the UK and in an attempt to reduce this figure the government introduced the ‘Development (Loan Guarantee and Grants) Act 1929’. This Bill provided financial assistance to public utilities for what would otherwise be un-ruminative Capital expenditure schemes in the form of annual low interest grants and also grants to defray, in whole or in part, the interest payments on any Loan (with a 15 year limit).

As a result of this scheme, the Great Western developed an extensive improvement programme across its network. In the Warwickshire Area this included quadrupling the Birmingham Main Line approaches (1933), New Goods Facilities in Birmingham (1933) and reconstruction of Leamington Spa Station (1938). The first Leamington Spa Station had been built in 1853, but had been modified piecemeal over the years, with extra buildings, removal of the overall train shed roof, additional platform length and construction of a bay platform. The planned new station would have wider platforms of standard height protected by new longer canopies and connected by a new 15’ wide passenger subway with electric lifts to each platform for luggage. A new approach road was to be constructed to provide access at subway level and an impressive modern ‘Art Deco’ style, three storey station building faced with Portland stone and granite would provide additional facilities for both passengers and staff. Electric lighting would be provided to all buildings and the subway, while modern gas lighting was to be provided to the platforms and station approach roads.

Normal traffic operation and passenger access was required to continue during the station reconstruction work which resulted in the work being carried out in a series of stages and taking almost two years to complete. A temporary booking office pavilion was built in the forecourt and maintained almost to the end. The limited working space on the up platform required all surplus materials from the excavation and demolition on this side to be removed by rail. The initial stage was to construct the new subway, excavate the forecourt, demolish the down side buildings and build new retaining walls for the down platform. This was carried out by E.C.Jordan of Newport, under a contract worth almost £20,000. Approximately 18,000 cubic yards of excavation were removed to form a forecourt, which extended over ¾ acre with a separate entrance and exit and 27,000 sq feet of surfaced roadway and parking space. During the excavation water was encountered below the platforms necessitating extra drainage and the provision of a 2” cavity behind the walls.

Holliday & Greenwood were given a contract worth £35,000 to erect new station buildings and carry out platform alterations. The building was a prefabricated steel framed structure, sheathed with brickwork and externally faced with white Portland stone above a contrasting polished granite plinth. This granite plinth continued into the booking office, with tiling above, while the subway was tiled through out including the non-slip floor. The granite plinth was also retained on the 1st floor platform side with the Portland stone facing on the pillars and restaurant façade, but English bond brickwork on the remaining walls. The new platforms were paved with precast slabs obtained from the GWR depot at Taunton. The building roofs were flat surrounded by low parapets, while the new canopies were conventional Great Western design, with zinc sheets over a shallow reverse slope steelwork frame supported on cast iron pillars. The down platform canopy had glass sections to provided natural light where it adjoined the station building.

To the left of the main entrance on the ground floor of the new station building (with direct access to the forecourt) were; the parcels office, cloak room, cycle store and the refreshment room cellar. To the right was the booking office and the entrance to the former passenger subway, which on completion was converted to a public footpath allowing the removal of the footbridge at the west end of the station. At platform level on the first floor was a store, the refreshment room, down side waiting room and lavatories, pay clerks office, bookstall, telegraph office, station master’s office, staff office and mess room. On the up platform was a second refreshment room, a bookstall, lavatories and a waiting room and on the top floor of the station building was further office accommodation and at least one staff flat. The reconstruction work was completed in 1939 and would have been the template for several other stations, but for the start of the Second World War. The construction quality is confirmed by the fact that after approximately eighty years the station buildings at Leamington Spa Station have needed little alteration.

Anyone interested in the history of Leamington station must obtain copies of the Great Western Railway Journal No 57 and No 58, edited by John Copsey. The two Journals contain articles by Chris Turner and John Copsey which must be regarded as the most extensive history of the station yet published. Many of the captions used throughout this website's Leamington pages are inspired by or use their exhaustive information. Local enthusiasts and historian's should count their blessings that not only are they privileged to be able to see the railway scene captured through HJ Stretton-Ward's lens but that they are accompanied by Chris' and John's superb captions and research.

Exterior views of Leamington's original station

Ref: gwrls862 London Illustrated News An artist's impression of Leamington station and station forecourt seen just after it opened in 1853

Ref: gwrls239 Anon The original station seen from the entrance off Old Warwick Road with the pedestrian underpass on the right

Ref: gwrls239a Anon Close up showing motor taxis waiting on the upper level forecourt and canopy outside the main station buildings

Ref: gwrls239b Anon Close up of the pedestrian entrance to the subway leading to the main up and up excursion platforms

Ref: gwrls860 Anon Another view of the main station building with the First Class waiting room's bay window on the right

Ref: gwrls860a Anon Close up showing the parcel facilities which was in a separate building joined to the main building

Ref: gwrls861 Anon View of the parcels offices next to the main station building and a parcels van together with a luggage cart

Ref: gwrls859 Anon The main entrance to Leamington Station seen from the 'upper approach road' to the station forecourt

Ref: gwrls859a Anon Close up of Newton's fish van, with its fish shaped sign over the windscreen, waiting outside the parcel office

Ref: gwrls859b Anon Close up of the short canopy which projected out above the entrance to the booking office and the down platform

Ref: gwrls885a NRM Close up looking towards the Lower Avenue and Old Warwick Road junction with excavation work on the left

Ref: gwrls863 Anon A GWR 0-6-0 'Armstrong Goods' thought to No 495 crosses the bridge carrying the line over Lower Avenue

Platform and lineside views of Leamington's original station

Ref: gwrls850 NRM A view of Leamington station looking towards Birmingham just after the turn of the century

Ref: gwrls850a NRM Close up showing the glass cupola located above the junction of the down platform stairs with the subway

Ref: gwrls850b NRM Close up showing the central portion of the up platform and the ad-hoc timber windscreen erected on the columns

Ref: gwrls850c NRM Close up showing the Birmingham end of the down platform including the water column and goods shed

Ref: gwrls850d NRM Close up showing a variety of coaching stock stabled on the through lines and the signal box and water tank

Ref: gwrls850e NRM Close up of the truncated roof of the original station's excursion train shed which lay adjacent to the goods loop

Ref: gwrls850f NRM Close up showing the join where the platform was extended from very soon after building

Ref: gwrls242 RS Carpenter View of the P & W gang lifting the middle sidings in preparation for laying the two through roads

Ref: gwrls868 NRM Looking across to the down platform in the Birmingham direction with the refreshment room on the left

Ref: gwrls868a NRM Close up showing the rear of the refreshment room and the end of the remains of the old train shed

Ref: gwrls868b NRM Close up of the alterations to the old train shed which included a new canopy which sloped downwards

Ref: gwrls851 Gordon Coltas Looking towards London from the Warwick end of the down platform on a foggy day in the early 1930s

Ref: gwrls241 P Hopkins Looking towards Birmingham with with a set of commuter coaching stock standing in the down platform

Ref: gwrls852 L&GRP View of the up platform from the west end of the down platform with coaching stock seen standing in the up bay

Ref: gwrls852a L&GRP Close up showing the narrow width of the up platform which at this point also served the bay platform

Ref: gwrls865 NRM The East end of the up platform showing the point where it changed from timber to brick construction

Ref: gwrls865a Anon Close up of the bookstall and refreshment room located towards the London end of the up platform

Ref: gwrls865b Anon Close up showing the ticket inspector's booth next to the exit to the staircase leading down to the subway

Ref: gwrls867 NRM Looking to London showing the rear of the up island platform with the up bay platform in the foreground

Ref: gwrls867b NRM Close up showing two GWR bench seats provided for passenger comfort and a hand operated fire pump

Ref: gwrls867a NRM Close up showing the end of the bay platform and the remains of the 'excursion' shed roof

Ref: gwrls822 Anon View of the goods loop taken from the London end of the up platform looking towards Birmingham

Ref: gwrls824 Anon A GWR' 1076' class 0-6-0ST is seen at the head of a short goods train standing adjacent to the water column

Ref: gwrls238 P Hopkins A panoramic view of the station from the Warwick end of the down platform looking towards London

Ref: gwrls2082 J Alsop The up platform showing that two sides of the island structure were used to handle passenger traffic

Ref: gwrls2083 J Alsop Another view of the up platform and bay platform showing a local service standing in the bay

Ref: gwrls2077 Millbrook House Ltd An unidentified GWR 4-6-0 Saint Class locomotive stands at the down platform with an express for Snow Hill

Ref: gwrls238a Anon Close up showing a GWR 2-6-0 43xx class with two slip coaches to be attached to a Paddington train

Ref: gwrls2025a R Preston-Hendry Close showing one of the station's water cranes located at the southern end of the up and bay platforms

Rebuilding of the station

The main station building viewed from Old Warwick Road

Ref: gwrls880 HJ Stretton-Ward View of the steelwork for the main building and entrance to the subway to the down platform being erected

Ref: gwrls222 G Coltas View of for the new main station buildings and up platform canopy being erected in the background

Ref: gwrls2075 Warwickshire Records Office The temporary booking office erected next to the passenger under pass during the initial stages of rebuilding

Ref: gwrls217 RS Carpenter View from Old Warwick Road of the station during the rebuilding of the main station building circa 1938

Ref: gwrls218 RS Carpenter View showing the demolition of the original station's main buildings located on the down platform is now complete

Ref: gwrls214 G Coltas View showing the new station building being built in parallel with the old structure being demolished circa 1938

Ref: gwrls223 RS Carpenter Collection View of the original passenger subway taken during the being converted in to a subway for the general public

Ref: gwrls223a G Coltas Close up showing the original passenger subway which accessed the up platform and the LNWR station

Ref: gwrls221 G Coltas View of the excavation work required to construct both the down platform and the three storey station building

Ref: gwrls221a RS Carpenter Collection Close up showing the remains of the station's original booking hall and the ladies waiting room and rest room

Ref: gwrls221b G Coltas Close up showing a Ruston Bucyrus face shovel excavating the basement of the new building and forecourt

Ref: gwrls885 NRM Looking east towards the High Street with the lower section of the forecourt being used as car parking for passengers

Ref: gwrls215 G Coltas View of the new steel framed station building being erected as seen from the entrance nearest to Warwick

Ref: gwrls220 G Coltas Another view of the re-building of the main station buildings viewed from Old Warwick Road

Ref: gwrls220a RS Carpenter Close up showing the remains of Leamington station's original refreshment room and the contractors cabins

Ref: gwrls216 G Coltas View during construction clearly showing the different levels between the old and the new stations

Ref: gwrls216a G Coltas Close up showing the three storey section of Leamington station's new building and the new entrance and canopy

The down platform

Ref: gwrls2080 AT Locke A 1936 view showing that the rebuilding of the station started at the Birmingham end of the down platform

Ref: gwrls2092 Birmingham Post & Mail Looking towards London showing both bay platforms at the Birmingham end of the station on 22nd March 1937

Ref: gwrls2092a Birmingham Post & Mail Close up showing the early 20th century modifications to the original platform which formed the bay platform

Ref: gwrls2092b Birmingham Post & Mail Close up showing the erection of Leamington's new canopies which provided substantial protection to passengers

Ref: gwrls881 NRM View of the down platform showing the main station structure being erected and the down platform canopy

Ref: gwrls881a NRM Close up showing Old Warwick Road and the entrance to the new forecourt still under construction

Ref: gwrls881b NRM Close up showing a temporary wooden platform bridging the gap to join with the late 19th century extension

Ref: gwrls224 G Coltas Looking towards the up platform showing the middle section of the train shed being demolished

The up platform

Ref: gwrls878 HJ Stretton-Ward View of the up platform with its waiting rooms and lavatories which was the first section to be demolished

Ref: gwrls225a G Coltas Close up showing workmen laying timber planking to the track and track bed between the up and down platforms

Ref: gwrls226 G Coltas View of the up platform showing the new canopy whilst some of the original facilities are still in place

Ref: gwrls226a G Coltas Close up showing the up platform's new waiting room and refreshment facilities being built under the canopy

Ref: gwrls879 HJ Stretton-Ward Looking towards the up platform with the new waiting room, refreshment room and lavatories under construction

The rebuilt Leamington station

External and internal views of Leamington's new station building

Ref: gwrls874 WoW Leamington station after its rebuilding by the GWR with the access road and enlarged forecourt to its front

Ref: gwrls883 NRM View of the new station with the facade, constructed out of Portland stone, glistening in the bright sunshine

Ref: gwrls2039 AWV Mace An external view of the completed station and its forecourt shortly after the end of the Second World War

Ref: gwrls884 NRM Leamington station's new booking hall continuing the 1930s 'Art Deco' style seen throughout the new building

Ref: gwrls882 NRM The new passenger subway viewed from the booking hall with the down platform stairs to the left

Platform and lineside views of Leamington station's up platform

Ref: gwrls2126 NRM View of Leamington's newly rebuilt up platform with only the painting to complete on 27th October 1939

Ref: gwrls2126a NRM Close up of the Birmingham end of the up platform showing the section still needing to be painted

Ref: gwrls2126b NRM Close up showing the London end of the up platform with the C&W department's building behind on the right

Ref: gwrls2128 NRM Looking across from the down platform towards the London end of the up platform on 27th October 1939

Ref: gwrls2128a NRM Close up showing the middle section of the station's new up platform and the lift used primarily for parcels traffic

Ref: gwrls2128b NRM Close up showing the London end of the platform structure which housed the stairs from the subway

Ref: gwrls2113 NRM External view looking to Birmingham of the station's new refreshment room located on the up platform

Ref: gwrls2112 NRM External view looking towards London of the station's new refreshment room located on the up platform

Ref: gwrls2138 NRM View of the interior of Leamington station's up platform's refreshment room shortly after opening

Ref: gwrls2134 NRM Looking south along the goods loop line showing the Warwick end of the platform with its 1947 extension

Ref: gwrls2134a NRM Close up showing the 'bay' platform used by Birmingham services on the right with a solitary coach at the platform

Ref: gwrls2127 PJ Garland Looking across from the down platform towards the Warwick end of the up platform in May 1963

Ref: gwrls2127a PJ Garland Close up showing Leamington North Signal Box and to the right, the exchange sidings with the ex-LNWR railway

Ref: gwrls2129 HJ Stretton-Ward Looking south towards Banbury with Leamington South Signal Box in the middle distance circa 1952

Ref: gwrls2097 C Capewell View of the water crane located at the London end of Leamington station's up platform in July 1966

Ref: gwrls2151 D Churchill View of Leamington South Signal Box being stripped out after its closure during the late 1960s

Platform and lineside views of Leamington station's down platform

Ref: gwrls2135 NRM Looking north from the stairs along Leamington station's newly complete down platform towards Warwick

Ref: gwrls2135a NRM Close up showing on the left the stairs to the subway and on the right a box containing train indicator signs

Ref: gwrls2135b NRM Close up showing passengers waiting for a down service outside Leamington's new refreshment room

Ref: gwrls2132 NRM Looking along the down platform from the Warwick end of the station with the refreshment room on the right

Ref: gwrls2109 NRM External view of the station's new refreshment room located at the Birmingham end of the down platform

Ref: gwrls2108 NRM An interior view of the station's newly opened Art Deco style refreshment room on the down platform

Ref: gwrls2131 Anon Looking from the London end of the down platform whilst a train stands adjacent to the main station building

Ref: gwrls2133 HF Wheeler Looking from the up platform showing the Warwick end of the down platform on 3rd September 1955

Ref: gwrls2133a HF Wheeler Close up showing the 1947 remodelled down platform which included a new water crane, drain and brazier

Ref: gwrls2130 MC Christensen Looking northwards from the Warwick end of the down platform showing the goods shed on the left

Ref: gwrls2130a MC Christensen Close up showing on the left the bay platform and Leamington's good shed which was erected circa 1903

Ref: gwrls2130b MC Christensen Close up showing the former LNWR signal box and the ex-LNWR sidings which located on the other side of the railings

Ref: gwrls2136 RC Riley View showing the junction of the goods loop line with the main line adjacent to Leamington South Signal Box

Ref: gwrls227 G Coltas Looking towards London from the Birmingham end of the down platform with new two DMUs in both platforms

Leamington station's goods yard and sidings

Ref: gwrls837a Anon Close up of a goods train passing through the station on the goods loop which ran at the rear of the station

Ref: gwrls848 Anon GWR 'Standard Goods' 0-6-0 stands at the Birmingham end of the station with a train comprising empty coal wagons

Ref: gwrls846 Anon Looking towards Warwick with the water tank in the distance just beyond Leamington North signal box

Ref: gwrls237 Anon A panoramic view of the northern approach to Leamington station looking south

Ref: gwrls237b Anon Close up showing the goods shed and yard which lay on the Birmingham side of Leamington station

Ref: gwrls237a Anon Close up showing the approach road to the original locomotive shed and the standard GWR water tank

Ref: gwrls237c Anon Close up showing Leaminton Spa's goods yard and sidings and a rake of five cattle wagons

Ref: gwrls897a HJ Stretton-Ward Close up showing Private Owner wagons standing in the sidings behind the LNWR's Leamington Avenue station

Ref: gwrls2202a D Cooknell A close up view showing the remains of Leamington station's goods yard, sidings and goods shed circa 1980

Rebuilding of bridges on the southern approaches to Leamington station

Ref: gwrls2084 EJ Bryan A pair of GWR steam cranes, with a girder suspended between them, are seen stabled in the carriage sidings

Ref: gwrls2084a J Alsop Close up showing one end of the short train and the method adopted to stable the girder during transit

Ref: gwrls2084b J Alsop Another close up showing the GWR travelling crane already in steam and ready to move to the site of the bridge

Ref: gwrls2086 J Alsop View of bridge replacement works being undertaken by the GWR in the centre of Leamington

Ref: gwrls2086a J Alsop Close up showing workmen forming the deck to the new bridge together with adding other fixings to the bow girder

Ref: gwrls2086b J Alsop. Close up showing a GWR 0-6-0 Deans Goods locomotive standing at the head of an engineer's train

Ref: gwrls2094 WoW A group of GWR Permanent Way men are seen standing on the bridge after it has been completed

Ref: gwrls2095 WoW View of the erection of the railway bridge over the road at the bottom of Bath Street Leamington

Miscellaneous

Ref: gwrls240 Anon Horse drawn cab and motor taxi stand side by side outside the subway prior to the rebuilding

Ref: gwrls858 WoW The last horse-drawn cart used for goods delivery by the ex-GWR station in Leamington Spa

Ref: gwrls875 WoW Another view of the last horse drawn cart working at Leamington station seen on 25th August 1949

Ref: gwrls1952 DM Lee One of the wagons used in special trains to move the livestock and equipment for Circuses and Fairs

Ref: gwrls1666 GWR Magazine A scan of an original Goods consignment notice from 1933 for the return of an empty PO wagon

Ref: gwrls863a Anon Close up showing a variety of advertising posters displayed on the bridge abutment and wall in Lower Avenue

Ref: gwrls249a RS Carpenter Close up showing the evolution of the water cranes located at the London end of the up platform

Ref: gwrls175a G Coltas Close up showing the middle of the down platform whilst construction of the new station building continued

Ref: gwrls166a G Coltas Close up of open wagons stabled on sidings sited between the LNWR station and the GWR's up loop line

Ref: gwrls168a G Coltas Close up showing a train of both covered and open wagons passing through the station on the goods loop line

Ref: gwrls168b G Coltas Close up showing the Warwick end of Leamington's original station building located on the down platform

Ref: gwrls205a G Coltas Close up showing a set of suburban coaching stock standing on one of the roads adjacent to the up goods loop

Ref: gwrls2146 HJ Stretton-Ward View of the ex-GWR guards van attached to the rear of an up goods train on the loop line around the station

Maps and Layout Drawings

General maps and schematics

Ref: gwrls2110 Ordnance Survey A 1925 map of Leamington and Warwick showing the juxtaposition of the GWR and LNWR stations

Ref: gwrls2096 J Copsey Schematic plan showing the historical development of the GWR and the LNWR in Leamington

1852 Map

Ref: gwrls2106 Ordnance Survey Map showing Leamington's GWR station, goods yard and shed with avoiding lines shortly after opening in 1852

1886 Maps

Ref: gwrls2141 Ordnance Survey Part of the 1886 OS map showing the location and layout of the original Leamington Engine Shed

Ref: gwrls2143 Ordnance Survey Part of the 1886 OS map showing the northern approach to the original station and goods yard

Ref: gwrls2142 Ordnance Survey Part of the 1886 OS map showing the southern approaches to Leamington's original station

1925 Maps

Ref: gwrls2040 Ordnance Survey Map showing the proximity of the GWR and LNWR stations and the trackwork linking the two companies

Ref: gwrls2045 Ordnance Survey Map showing the northern approach to Leamington station, the goods yard and the exchange sidings

Ref: gwrls2044 Ordnance Survey Map showing Leamington shed and the carriage sidings which were adjacent to the main line to Paddington

1939 Maps

Ref: gwrls2144 Ordnance Survey Part of the 1939 OS map showing the northern approach and sidings to Leamington station

Ref: gwrls2145 Ordnance Survey Part of the 1939 OS map showing the GWR and LNWR stations and the southern approaches

Ref: gwrls2140 Ordnance Survey Part of the 1939 OS map showing the GWR and LNWR lines south of Leamington station and the junction

Ref: gwrls2125 Ordnance Survey Part of the 1939 OS map showing Leamington's second engine shed located between the LNWR's and GWR lines