Denvilles Halt was a station located between Havant

Havant railway station

Havant railway station is a railway station near Portsmouth.It is located on the Portsmouth Direct Line which runs between London and Portsmouth...

 and Rowlands Castle

Rowlands Castle railway station

Rowlands Castle railway station is a railway station serving the village of Rowland's Castle, Hampshire, England. It is located on the Portsmouth Direct Line which runs between London and Portsmouth ....

 on the Portsmouth Direct Line

Portsmouth Direct Line

The Portsmouth Direct Line is the route of a railway service operated by South West Trains which runs between London Waterloo and Portsmouth Harbour, England...

. It was a temporary platform, erected by the L&SWR

London and South Western Railway

The London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Its network extended from London to Plymouth via Salisbury and Exeter, with branches to Ilfracombe and Padstow and via Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth. It also had many routes connecting towns in...

, as that company's adoption of the Portsmouth Direct line started a dispute with the LB&SCR

London, Brighton and South Coast Railway

The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its apex, practically the whole coastline of Sussex as its base, and a large part of Surrey...

.

Battle of Havant

In 1858, the two local railway companies started the "Battle of Havant". The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway ran the Brighton to Portsmouth Line, and refused to allow the London and South Western Railway to use their tracks to reach Portsmouth from the junction near Havant. The LB&SCR blocked the line just north of the junction, obliging the L&SWR to open a temporary halt at Denvilles as the previous station at Rowlands Castle was thought to be too far away. Passengers would travel from Denvilles in a horse drawn omnibus to Hilsea Halt

Hilsea railway station

Hilsea railway station is a railway station in Portsmouth, England with a limited service. It serves the northern end of Portsea Island, including a large industrial estate nearby....

, just south of the problem area. The passengers could then carry on into Portsmouth by train. After two years the companies came to an agreement and the L&SWR were allowed access to the disputed line.

The Site Today

Nothing remains of the station today; the site is marked only by some old semaphore signal posts, some slates and a platelayer

Platelayer

A platelayer or trackman is a railway employee whose job is to inspect and maintain the permanent way of a railway installation.The term derives from the plates used to build plateways, an early form of railway....

s' hut. The station was the only one on the line built of blue bricks. The area was not developed at the time of the station's existence so having fulfilled its political function it closed, in 1859.

Ironically, the LB&SCR opened a station to the east of Havant in 1907, calling it Denville Halt. However, the name was changed to Warblington

Warblington railway station

Warblington railway station serves the Warblington and Denvilles suburbs of Havant in Hampshire.It is located on the West Coastway Line which runs between Brighton and Southampton. Situated opposite Warblington Secondary School, the station lies very close to a major road junction: the point at...

within the month.