Sarsden Halt railway station
| Sarsden Halt | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Place | Churchill |
| Area | West Oxfordshire |
| Grid reference | SP276248 |
| Operations | |
| Original company | Great Western Railway |
| Pre-grouping | Great Western Railway |
| Post-grouping |
Great Western Railway Western Region of British Railways |
| Platforms | 1 |
| History | |
| 2 July 1906 | Opened |
| 3 December 1962 | Closed to passengers |
| 7 September 1964 | Line closed |
| Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom | |
| Closed railway stations in Britain A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z |
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Sarsden Halt was an unstaffed railway station on the Banbury and Cheltenham Direct Railway.
When the Chipping Norton Railway from Kingham on the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway to Chipping Norton opened in June 1855 a goods siding was provided at Churchill Mill. The inspector's report prior to the opening of the line refers to a siding at Churchill, on the 1899 Ordnance Survey map it is named as "Sarsden Siding".
The name is interesting since the location is more than a mile from the hamlet of Sarsden and much closer to the village of Churchill. The reason for the name is unknown, but the following factors may have had a bearing.
Firstly, James Haughton Langston MP of Sarsden House was one of the promoters of the railway and owned much of the land on which it was built. Much of the traffic to the siding would be destined for his estate, which included the village of Churchill. In 1852 James Haughton Langston had earlier tried to obtain a railway siding on the OW&W Railway, as recorded in that company's Traffic Committee minutes for 20 November:
A letter was read from Mr. Varden relative to a siding near Sarsden. Resolved that Mr. Lewis and Mr. Busby with the Superintendent call upon Mr. Langston and ascertain the amount of traffic likely to be put upon the line to and from the point where the siding is required.
The proposed siding on the main line was not built.
Secondly the OW&WR already had a station at Churchill near Kidderminster (later Churchill & Blakedown, now Blakedown). The need to avoid wagons and passengers being routed to the wrong destination would suggest the use of a name other than the obvious geographic name Churchill.
The siding was a loop and about 480 feet long. The loop's points were unlocked by a key on the train staff.
A level crossing carried the road from Churchill to Churchill Mill. Initially this was not regarded as a public crossing as it served only the mill yard. Later hand-operated gates were provided.
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Wikipedia