Hampton Row Halt railway station

v t e Railway stations in Bath
Legend
Great Western Main Line to London Bathford Halt River Avon Bathampton Junction Wessex Main Line to Westbury Bathampton Hampton Row Halt St James's Bridge Bath Green Park Bath Spa (GWR) (MR and SDJR)   Skew Bridge Westmoreland Road goods yard Oldfield Park Somerset & Dorset Jt Rly to Radstock River Avon Weston Twerton-on-Avon Midland Bath Branch to Bristol and Gloucester Great Western Main Line to Bristol

Hampton Row Halt railway station is a former railway station in Bath, Somerset, England.

Description

The station was built as a halt for the eastern suburbs of Bath, and named after the street that leads eastwards from Sydney Gardens. It opened in 1907 for Great Western Railway stopping train services from Bristol, Swindon and Westbury, Wiltshire.

The station had two platforms, linked by an iron foot bridge which still exists. Its site is on the south side of the River Avon, and to the north of the Kennet and Avon Canal which had to be diverted to the south when the railway was built.

Accidents and incidents

On 15 August 1876 a freight train was derailed at Hampton Row after a bale of cotton fell off a wagon and derailed the one behind it.^[1]

Closure

The station was open for only a short period, as at the same time trams and motor transport were becoming more commonplace. As a street, Hampton Row leads only on to the canal towpath, which limited the station's accessibility.

The station was closed on 25 April 1917 as an economy measure during the First World War, as was Twerton station, which served the west of the city. Neither station reopened when peace came.

Present day

The station has been entirely dismantled, leaving a vacant space between the railway lines and the road or canal embankment. A section of rail forms a barrier between a turning/parking area at the end of Hampton Row and railway property. Numbers 9-14 Hampton Row became derelict after Buchanan's Plan for Bath was released in the 1960s, with a new road intended to pass through the site. The houses were compulsorily purchased, but the plan never came to fruition.

References

• Oakley, Mike (2002). Somerset Railway Stations. Wimborne: Dovecote Press. ISBN 1-904349-09-9.