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Ettington Station

LMS Route: The Shakespeare Route

Ettington Station opened when the East & West Junction Railway's route from Kineton to Stratford opened on 1st July 1873. The main station building was located on the up platform and there was adjacent to the main station building, a siding leading to the cattle pens and onwards to a ramp, a siding to the goods shed and a third siding beyond for either stabling wagons before or after being unloaded in the goods shed as well as for the use by coal merchants and other users. Its subsequent history of passenger closing, re-opening and final closure to both passenger and goods traffic is shared with other stations along this section of the route. Four years after being opened to passenger traffic the station saw the service withdrawn due to lack of business until 22nd February 1885 when the service was reinstated. On the 5th April 1952 Ettington station closed because regular passenger services between Blisworth and Stratford on Avon were withdrawn. The line became part of the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway (SMJ) in a merger in 1908; at grouping on 1st January 1923 it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS); and part of British Railways when the railways were nationalisation on 1st January 1948. The goods service remained in place from the 1st July 1873 until final closure on 11th November 1963 although through traffic continued to traverse the route to gain access to the GWR until 5th July 1965 when the line still operational was closed in its entirety.

Access to the passenger station and goods yard was via an entrance which came off Wellesbourne Road to the north (Warwick) side of the railway. Inside the station gates, the goods yard was an open area to the left of the driveway to the passenger station, the two not having a boundary fence separating them. As first built the 25 inch to the mile 1884 Ordnance Survey map shows the goods yard was a simple affair having just a single siding leading to and through a good shed although the schematic drawing date 1884 created by the P Hendry's in LMS Volume One An Historical Survey of Selected LMS Stations shows the siding had a short head shunt for marshalling wagons. By the turn of the century the 1900 Ordnance Survey map showed the head shunt in place with an additional siding being added leading to a carriage landing for the end-on loading and unloading of road vehicles. Between the turn of the century and 1925 (see the 1925 OS map) an additional siding was installed behind the goods shed at the rear of the yard. This was to cater for business generated by the local coal merchants. The 1925 OS map also shows a weighbridge and office in place near to the entrance of the yard. Whilst not marked as such there are marks on the 1884 and 1900 OS maps which appear to indicate that these facilities were presence.

The station had two platforms with a passing loop serving the down (Stratford upon Avon line) for the otherwise single line. Its buildings were of brick and to a design virtually standard for the line. Being a smaller intermediate station the building had just a single gable wing whereas Kineton being more important, had two gable wings. The gable wing accommodated the Booking Office which would have also served as the station master's office and porter's office too. The room adjacent to this was the Booking Hall which would also serve as the general waiting room. It would appear that, unlike many stations throughout the country, there was no Ladies Only Waiting Room although there was a toilet accessed from the Booking Hall. The Gentlemen's Urinals were, as common throughout the country, accessed directly off the platform. The concrete signpost on the platform marking the entrance at Ettington can be seen in image 'smje218a' as well as at other stations on the line e.g. 'Binton'. There was a small waiting shelter on the down platform, access to which was by a barrow crossing. The 1939 timetable showed four passenger trains to Stratford upon Avon daily, which took about ten minutes. There were also four return trains during the day. In 1934 an evening excursion to a pantomime at Northampton was advertised in the Stratford Herald.

In common with normal single line working, tokens would be exchanged at the signal boxes associated with each station loop. Initially there was one block from Stratford to Ettington, and another from Ettington to Kineton. In 1911 the facility was added to switch Ettington box out during the night, and work with one long block - a novel system at that time. During the Second World War the station was used to transport munitions and troops to nearby RAF Wellesbourne Mountford. There is little evidence of the station left apart from one of the goods sheds and the site is now used as a timber merchants and stables. The Railway Clearing House's 1929 Handbook of Railway Stations states Binton, unlike Bidford on Avon, provided the general public and businesses with a full range of service: Goods traffic; Passenger and Parcels traffic; Furniture Vans, Carriages, Portable Engines, and Machines on Wheels; Live Stock; Horse Boxes and Prize Cattle Vans and Carriages by Passenger Train (GPFLHC). No crane was provided provided in either the goods shed or yard therefore any loading requiring cranage would require the merchant to make special arrangements. The 1894 edition of The Railway Clearing House Handbook of Railway Stations did not provide information to the same detail e.g. the number of categories listed, and only recorded Goods Station, Passenger and Parcel Stations and Livestock services (GPL).

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; Messrs Preston Hendry & Powell Hendry in An Historical Survey of Selected LMS Stations Volume One published by OPC; RC Riley and Bill Simpson in their book A History of the Stratford-Upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway published by Lamplight Publications; David Blasgrove in his book 'Warwickshire's Lost Railways' published by Stenlake Publishing which has a brief illustrated overview of some of the stations; and finally Geoffrey Kingscott's Lost Railways of Warwickshire published by Countryside Books which has a section dedicated to the SMJR with 'Now and Then' photographs. 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.

Ettington station up to 1960

Looking towards Fenny Compton and the goods station, the main station building and  the goods yard
Ref: smje11
LGRP
Looking towards Fenny Compton and the goods station, the main station building and the goods yard
Close up of  the goods shed and the siding which lay behind the main station building
Ref: smje11a
LGRP
Close up of the goods shed and the siding which lay behind the main station building
Close up of the main station building situated on the up platform which included the booking office and hall
Ref: smje11b
LGRP
Close up of the main station building situated on the up platform which included the booking office and hall
Close up showing the Kineton end of Ettington station and the access to the goods shed and siding
Ref: smje11c
LGRP
Close up showing the Kineton end of Ettington station and the access to the goods shed and siding
Looking towards Fenny Compton showing the station's main passenger building on the up platform
Ref: smje12
Real Photos
Looking towards Fenny Compton showing the station's main passenger building on the up platform

Close up showing Ettington station's main structure which housed the booking office, waiting rooms and toilets
Ref: smje12a
Real Photos
Close up showing Ettington station's main structure which housed the booking office, waiting rooms and toilets
Close up showing Ettington station's down platform and its waiting room plus the platform sited signal box
Ref: smje12b
Real Photos
Close up showing Ettington station's down platform and its waiting room plus the platform sited signal box
An unknown ex-LNWR 0-6-0 locomotive stands light engine at the up platform opposite the signal box
Ref: Ref: smje88
R Preston Hendry
An unknown ex-LNWR 0-6-0 locomotive stands light engine at the up platform opposite the signal box
Close up showing the goods shed's side elevation  facing the railway and the entrance used by road vehicles
Ref: Ref: smje88a
R Preston Hendry
Close up showing the goods shed's side elevation facing the railway and the entrance used by road vehicles
Close up showing Ettington station's main passenger building during its heyday in the 1930s
Ref: Ref: smje88b
R Preston Hendry
Close up showing Ettington station's main passenger building during its heyday in the late 1920s

Looking towards Kineton from beneath the bridge during LMS days, as indicated by the poster boards on display
Ref: Ref: smje82
WoW
Looking towards Kineton from beneath the bridge during LMS days, as indicated by the poster boards on display
Looking towards Kineton from the bridge carrying the Wellesbourne to Shipston-on-Stour road over the railway
Ref: Ref: smje218
RC Riley
Looking towards Kineton from the bridge carrying the Wellesbourne to Shipston on Stour road over the railway
Close up showing the shallow end ramp for disembarking or embarking road vehicles and the single storey station building
Ref: Ref: smje218a
RC Riley
Close up showing the shallow end ramp for embarking road vehicles and the single storey station building
Close up showing the Kineton end of Ettington station with the up starter signal pulled'off' and the signal box on the right
Ref: Ref: smje218b
RC Riley
Close up of the Kineton end of the station with the up starter signal pulled'off' and the signal box on the right
View from the station entrance of Ettington's goods shed and simple yard with the station building beyond
Ref: smje13
BR/OPC
View from the station entrance of Ettington's goods shed and simple yard with the station building beyond

Close up showing Ettington station's brick built goods shed with its rear entrance doors open
Ref: smje13a
BR/OPC
Close up showing Ettington station's brick built goods shed with its rear entrance doors open
Close up showing the front elevation of Ettington station's single storey main passenger building
Ref: smje13b
BR/OPC
Close up showing the front elevation of Ettington station's single storey main passenger building
View inside Ettington signal box showing the Railway Signal Company frame still set to switch-out the box
Ref: Ref: smje90
R Preston Hendry
View inside Ettington signal box showing the Railway Signal Company frame still set to switch-out the box
The long-section electric train staff equipment which enabled the switching out of Ettington signal box
Ref: Ref: smje91
R Preston Hendry
The long-section electric train staff equipment which enabled the switching out of Ettington signal box
An advert for Hutchings & Co Ltd which appeared in Spennell's Directory in 1921 listing the services offered.
Ref: Ref: smje425
P Johnson
An advert for Hutchings & Co which appeared in Spennell's Directory in 1921 listing the services offered.

Ettington station after closure of goods services and beyond

View looking towards Stratford on Avon showing the station after closure with the platforms removed
Ref: Ref: smje14
Lens of Sutton
View looking towards Stratford on Avon showing the station after closure with the platforms removed
Close up showing the station's platform mounted signal box and the small staging used by the signalman
Ref: Ref: smje14a
Lens of Sutton
Close up showing the station's platform mounted signal box and the small staging used by the signalman
Close up showing the passing loop on the left rejoining the single line several hundred feet past the bridge
Ref: Ref: smje14b
Lens of Sutton
Close up showing the passing loop on the left rejoining the single line several hundred feet past the bridge
Close up showing the now long closed Ettington station building from the Kineton side of the structure
Ref: Ref: smje14c
Lens of Sutton
Close up showing the now long closed Ettington station building from the Kineton side of the structure
The now redundant signal box confirmed by its name plate having been removed from above the window
Ref: Ref: smje89
R Preston Hendry
The now redundant signal box confirmed by its name plate having been removed from above the window

A colour close up showing the defunct Ettington Signal Box and Lamp Room on 20th February 1965
Ref: Ref: smje187
J Cosford
A colour close up showing the defunct Ettington Signal Box and Lamp Room on 20th February 1965
Looking towards Kineton with the station now abandoned and the platforms overgrown and cutback or removed
Ref: Ref: smje36
Lens of Sutton
Looking towards Kineton with the station now abandoned and the platforms overgrown and cutback or removed
A colour view of the long abandoned main station building as seen on 17th July 1966
Ref: Ref: smje188
J Evans
A colour view of the long abandoned main station building as seen on 17th July 1966
A colour view of the long abandoned goods shed and station building as seen on 17th July 1966
Ref: Ref: smje185
J Evans
A colour view of the long abandoned goods shed and station building as seen on 17th July 1966

Trains seen at or near Ettington Station

The South Midlander railway enthusiasts special hauled by a GWR locomotive visiting the closed station in 1955
Ref: Ref: smje129
Stations UK
The South Midlander railway enthusiasts special hauled by a GWR locomotive visiting the closed station in 1955
Ex-LMS 8F 2-8-0 No 48474 is passes through Ettington station with a down mineral train on 20th February 1965
Ref: Ref: smje183
J Cosford
Ex-LMS 8F 2-8-0 No 48474 is passes through Ettington station with a down mineral train on 20th February 1965

Ordnance Survey Maps and Schematic Plans and Diagrams

An 1885 25 inch to the mile Ordnance Survey map of Ettington station, goods yard and shed and approaches
Ref: Ref: smje214
National Library of Scotland
An 1885 25 inch to the mile Ordnance Survey map of Ettington station, goods yard and shed and approaches
Close up of the 1885 25 inch to the mile Ordnance Survey map of Ettington station and goods yard and shed
Ref: Ref: smje215
National Library of Scotland
Close up of the 1885 25 inch to the mile Ordnance Survey map of Ettington station and goods yard and shed
A 1900 25 inch to the mile Ordnance Survey map of Ettington station, goods yard and shed and approaches
Ref: Ref: smje216
National Library of Scotland
A 1900 25 inch to the mile Ordnance Survey map of Ettington station, goods yard and shed and approaches
Close up of the 1900 25 inch to the mile Ordnance Survey map of Ettington station and goods yard and shed
Ref: Ref: smje217
National Library of Scotland
Close up of the 1900 25 inch to the mile Ordnance Survey map of Ettington station and goods yard and shed
Ordnance Survey map showing the location of Ettington station and Goldicote Cutting located to north of the village
Ref: Ref: smje186
Ordnance Survey
OS map showing the location of Ettington station and Goldicote Cutting located to north of the village

Diagram showing the simple layout of Ettington station and goods yard as seen on 24th April 1884
Ref: Ref: smje182
R Preston Hendry
Diagram showing the simple layout of Ettington station and goods yard as seen on 24th April 1884
Diagram showing the more complex layout of Ettington station and goods yard as seen post 1925
Ref: Ref: smje180
A Jordan
Diagram showing the more complex layout of Ettington station and goods yard as seen post 1925
Diagram of the layout of Ettington station showing the signal, points and levers used to control the station
Ref: Ref: smje128
British Railways
Diagram of the layout of Ettington station showing the signal, points and levers used to control the station
An undated ground plan of Ettington station and goods yard showing the location of key features
Ref: Ref: smje219
RC Riley & W Simpson
An undated ground plan of Ettington station and goods yard showing the location of key features