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LMS Route: The Shakespeare Route

Burton Dassett Platform

The first station at Burton Dassett, just over three miles from Kineton station, was called Warwick Road and opened with the line on 1st June 1871. The station was on the Fenny Compton side of the road bridge which carried the Warwick to Banbury road over the railway. The lack of available business in the locality, both for passengers and goods, meant the station lasted only for a very short time, closing during June 1873. Dick Riley and Bill Simpson state in their book on the line 'In March 1885 a public siding was opened by the E&WJR on the other side of the road bridge called North End Siding, after the nearby village. About this time some ironstone was being loaded there from the Dassett Hills with an aerial ropeway going from the sidings up into the hills, the ropeway being powered by a portable steam engine. The sidings and this aerial ropeway were on the same side of the running the line as the Edge Hill Quarry built a few years later (see 'smjbd195') but were separated by the road which crossed the railway. Eric Tonks states the working agreement for this siding was with a company called Attenborough & Company. Unfortunately, the ironstone workings were soon uneconomical and closed down sometime in the late 1880s. All plant, buildings and rails became the property of the railway. A few years later the workings were reopened with much more substantial equipment: larger derricks and buckets with a permanent steam engine'. However, the 1894 edition of The Railway Clearing House's Handbook of Railway Stations records that North End was only able to provide a passenger (P) service. The 1929 edition of the Railway Clearing House's 1929 Handbook of Railway Stations records the name 'Burton Dassett' but with no services offered in any category. As would be expected, there is no reference to North End in this edition.

According to Arthur Jordan in his book on the line, a ground frame, 'Burton Hill' was brought into use during August 1898 controlling several sidings but the 'public siding was not opened until December 1909'. However. JM Dunn in his book on the line notes that the name change to Burton Dassett Platform occurred circa 1900. The 1904 Ordnance Survey Map shows no name on the map Both authors indicated in their books that an unadvertised workman's service called here although only JM Dunn provides a date, 1st December 1909. This date is the same as the official opening of the goods facilities (see 'smjbd189'). Two sidings with ground frame and a weighbridge were installed on 1st December 1909. They were used by the Willingworth Iron Company and unlocked by the key on the train staff. Traffic became sufficient to warrant a goods porter to be stationed there. Also a lot of coal came in presumably for the steam engine and other uses on the Edge Hill Quarry site. The site was again to cease production until 1918 when with belated war demand it was reopened by T & I Bradley who also supported construction of the Edge Hill site close by. Like the Edge Hill operation it was to fade out of production about 1925. With the opening of the Marlborough Farm War Department Depot it became designated a station and therefore a platform and an office was constructed but it was not recorded in any public timetables.

The opening of the Edge Hill Light Railway in 1922 with its adjacent junction provided a brief development but it fell victim to the post-First World War economic down turn and closed in 1925 with the office books recording the last load leaving on 27th January 1925. The Second World War saw a government depot established in 1939 and it was used for troop movements. The public siding was finally closed on 11th November 1963. A special treat for Sunday School children at Stratford upon Avon was a day out in the Dassett Hills by special train, using this platform. In January 1940 LMS 4-6-0 'Black Five' No 4840 was seen working at the sidings but by 1947 it was found to be unoccupied and derelict. This part of the line withstood complete closure up until the present day (2017) with the acquisition of a section of it from Fenny Compton for 3½ miles to Kineton Central Ammunition Depot. The depot itself has an extensive railway system of 76 miles of track. This section of line being part of Kineton Ministry of Defence railway means that it is also a severely restricted area and must be avoided, unless proper authorisation can be obtained to visit.

Much of the information provided on this and other linked pages has been derived from books written by: Arthur Jordan The Stratford upon Avon and Midland Junction Railway published by OPC; JM Dunn's The Stratford upon Avon & Midland Junction Railway published by The Oakwood Press; RC Riley and Bill Simpson A History of the Stratford-Upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway published by Lamplight Publications; and finally, Eric Tonks 'The Ironstone Quarries of the Midlands: History, Operation and Railways' published by Runpast Publications. We would like to express our thanks to the members of the SMJ Society (www.smj.me) for use of their information and images, in particular the late John Jennings whose contribution can be seen on many of our SMJ pages.

View of Burton Dassett Platform's simple combined office and storage shed facilities
Ref: smjbd8
JR Hollick
View of Burton Dassett Platform's simple combined office and storage shed facilities
Close up showing the porter in charge of Burton Dassett Platform's unique brick built platform structure
Ref: smjbd8a
JR Hollick
Close up showing the porter in charge of Burton Dassett Platform's unique brick built platform structure
A side on view of Burton Dassett Platform showing the storage facilities on the left and the office on the right
Ref: smjbd83
Anon
A side on view of Burton Dassett Platform showing the storage facilities on the left and the office on the right
Looking towards Stratford upon Avon and the Edge Hill Railway from Burton Dassett Platform on 27th May 1939
Ref: smjbd190
N Shepherd
Looking towards Stratford upon Avon and the Edge Hill Railway from Burton Dassett Platform on 27th May 1939
Looking East towards Stratford upon Avon showing Burton Bassett Platform's building now abandoned
Ref: smjbd7
LGRP
Looking East towards Stratford upon Avon showing Burton Bassett Platform's building now abandoned

Close up showing Burton Dassett Platform's derelict structure built with 9 inch brick walls
Ref: smjbd7a
LGRP
Close up showing Burton Dassett Platform's derelict structure built with 9 inch brick walls
An unidentified ex-MR 2F 0-6-0 speeds through Burton Dassett on a Stratford on Avon to Blisworth service
Ref: smjbd84
JR Hollick
An unidentified ex-MR 2F
0-6-0 speeds through Burton Dassett on a Stratford on Avon to Blisworth service
An SMJ announcement of the opening of Burton Dassett Siding on 1st December 1909
Ref: smjbd189
Anon
An Stratford Midland Junction poster announcing the opening of Burton Dassett Siding on 1st December 1909

Ordnance Survey Maps and Schematic Plans

A schematic drawing showing Burton Dassett Platform and its two sidings goods yard post 1909
Ref: smjbd188
RC Riley
A schematic drawing showing Burton Dassett Platform and its two sidings goods yard post 1909
A 1904 25 inch to the mile Ordnance Survey Map showing the extent of Burton Dassett Sidings
Ref: smjbd194
National Library of Scotland
A 1904 25 inch to the mile Ordnance Survey Map showing the extent of Burton Dassett Sidings
A 1904 25 inch to the mile Ordnance Survey Map showing the extent of Burton Dassett Sidings
Ref: smjbd195
National Library of Scotland
A 1904 six inch to the mile OS Map showing the connection between the E&WJR and Burton Hills by the ropeway