Bakewell railway station was a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

built to serve the town of

Bakewell Bakewell is a market town and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England, known also for its local Bakewell pudding. It lies on the River Wye, about 13 miles (21 km) south-west of Sheffield. In the 2011 census, ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

, England, by the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It am ...

on its extension of the

Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway The Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway ran from a junction with the Midland Railway at Ambergate to Rowsley north of Matlock and thence to Buxton. In time it would become part of the Midland Railway's main line betwee ...

line from

Rowsley Rowsley () is a village on the A6 road in the English county of Derbyshire. The population as at the 2011 census was 507. It is at the point where the River Wye flows into the River Derwent and prospered from mills on both. The border of the ...

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.

History

The station was opened by the

on 1 August 1862. Being the nearest station to

Haddon Hall Haddon Hall is an English country house on the River Wye near Bakewell, Derbyshire, a former seat of the Dukes of Rutland. It is the home of Lord Edward Manners (brother of the incumbent Duke) and his family. In form a medieval manor house, it ...

, it was built in a grand style as the local station for the

Duke of Rutland Duke of Rutland is a title in the Peerage of England, named after Rutland, a county in the East Midlands of England. Earldoms named after Rutland have been created three times; the ninth earl of the third creation was made duke in 1703, in who ...

over whose land the line had passed. Designed by

Edward Walters Edward Walters (December 1808, in Fenchurch Buildings, London – 22 January 1872, in 11 Oriental Place, Brighton) was an English architect. Life Walters was the son of an architect who died young. He began his career in the office of Isaac Cla ...

of Manchester, the buildings were of fine ashlar with intricate carvings which incorporated the duke's coat of arms. Since the line was climbing steeply towards its summit at

Peak Forest Peak Forest is a small village and civil parish on the main road the ( A623) from Chapel-en-le-Frith to Chesterfield in Derbyshire. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 335. The village grew from the earlier settlement of Da ...

, the station was located uphill about half a mile from the town, which became a disadvantage when road transport developed. The busiest time was during the Bakewell Show but the station was also popular with campers and tourists. The station was host to an LMS

caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Camel train, a convoy using camels as pack animals *Convoy, a group of veh ...

from 1935 to 1939. A camping coach was also positioned here by the

London Midland Region The London Midland Region (LMR) was one of the six regions created on the formation of the nationalised British Railways (BR), and initially consisted of ex-London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) lines in England, Wales and Northern Irelan ...

from 1954 to 1967. In the

Grouping Grouping may refer to: * Muenchian grouping * Principles of grouping * Railways Act 1921, also known as Grouping Act, a reorganisation of the British railway system * Grouping (firearms), the pattern of multiple shots from a sidearm See also ...

of all lines (into four main companies) in 1923 the station became part of the

London, Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally u ...

. During the

nationalisation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

of Britain's railways in 1948 the station was passed on to the

London Midland Region of British Railways The London Midland Region (LMR) was one of the six regions created on the formation of the nationalised British Railways (BR), and initially consisted of ex-London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) lines in England, Wales and Northern Irela ...

, and despite escaping the Beeching Axe the station was closed when passenger services ceased on 6 March 1967. Trains continued to pass through the station until 1968 when the line was closed.

Stationmasters

*John Tomlinson 1862–1873 *Alfred Fewkes 1873–1880 *George R. Gardner 1880–1891 *Albert C. Bilham 1891–1898 (afterwards stationmaster at Matlock Bath) *Thomas Pitt 1898–1901 (formerly stationmaster at Rowsley) *Frank Porter 1901–1907 (formerly stationmaster at Spondon) *Harry l’Anson 1907–1911 (formerly stationmaster at Grindleford, afterwards stationmaster at Matlock) *Harry S. Dawes 1911–1922 (formerly stationmaster at Whatstandwell) *Ernest Clowes 1922–1932 (formerly stationmaster at Hathern) *E. Miles from 1932

After closure

The station buildings still survive and are

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. They are perched half a mile east of the centre of Bakewell, high upon the hillside due to the alignment that the railway was forced to take. In time the station was replaced with Bakewell Industrial Estate; the station building is still in use as a warehouse along with the platforms (but the gap between platforms have been filled in to facilitate the

Monsal Trail The Monsal Trail is a cycling, horse riding and walking trail in the Derbyshire Peak District. It was constructed from a section of the former Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway, which was built by the Midland Railway in 18 ...

). Ridged canopies existed over platform 1, and there was a goods shed and cattle dock, but all have since been removed.

References

Bibliography

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External links

Flickr
{{Closed stations Derbyshire Disused railway stations in Derbyshire Former Midland Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1862 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1967 1862 establishments in England Edward Walters railway stations Grade II listed buildings in Derbyshire Bakewell