Downton railway station
Encyclopedia
Downton was a railway station serving Downton, a village in Wiltshire
. The village contained a large tanning mill on the River Avon, which has now closed, and has been redeveloped as residential property. The station was one of many casualties of the mass closure
of British railway lines in the 1960s and 1970s; the last service was on 2 May 1964. It was served by the Salisbury and Dorset Junction Railway
, a line running North-South, along the River Avon
just to the West of the New Forest
, connecting Salisbury
to the North and Poole
to the South, meeting the Southampton and Dorchester Railway
at West Moors
.
Today, the site of the station is a residential estate.
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
. The village contained a large tanning mill on the River Avon, which has now closed, and has been redeveloped as residential property. The station was one of many casualties of the mass closure
Beeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
of British railway lines in the 1960s and 1970s; the last service was on 2 May 1964. It was served by the Salisbury and Dorset Junction Railway
Salisbury and Dorset Junction Railway
The Salisbury and Dorset Junction Railway was a railway that ran in the English counties of Wiltshire, Hampshire and Dorset from 1866 until its closure in 1964. Working from Salisbury, trains left the Salisbury to Southampton line at the remote Alderbury Junction. Here there was a signal box, some...
, a line running North-South, along the River Avon
River Avon, Hampshire
The River Avon is a river in the south of England. The river rises in the county of Wiltshire and flows through the city of Salisbury and the county of Hampshire before reaching the English Channel through Christchurch Harbour in the county of Dorset....
just to the West of the New Forest
New Forest
The New Forest is an area of southern England which includes the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in the heavily-populated south east of England. It covers south-west Hampshire and extends into south-east Wiltshire....
, connecting Salisbury
Salisbury
Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...
to the North and Poole
Poole
Poole is a large coastal town and seaport in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council...
to the South, meeting the Southampton and Dorchester Railway
Southampton and Dorchester Railway
-Planning and Construction:The Southampton and Dorchester Railway, operating in the counties of Hampshire and Dorset, received Parliamentary Assent in 1845 and opened in 1847. The railway was promoted by a Wimborne solicitor, Charles Castleman...
at West Moors
West Moors
West Moors is a village in East Dorset, England, on the northern fringe of the Poole-Bournemouth conurbation, just outside the larger settlements of Ferndown and Verwood...
.
Today, the site of the station is a residential estate.