The Brighton and Chichester Railway was an early railway in southern England running between the towns of Shoreham and

Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ci ...

in Sussex. It operated between 1845 and 1846.

History

Following the completion of the

London and Brighton Railway The London and Brighton Railway (L&BR) was a railway company in England which was incorporated in 1837 and survived until 1846. Its railway ran from a junction with the London and Croydon Railway (L&CR) at Norwood – which gives it access fro ...

(LBR) in 1841, with its branch line running to Shoreham, a natural extension appeared to be westwards towards

and ultimately

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

. A new company was therefore created in 1844 to build the first stage of such a line, which would then be operated by the LBR. The new company achieved Parliamentary approval in July of that year construction began.

Construction

The new line involved constructing a

viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide v ...

at Shoreham and an opening bridge over the

River Arun The River Arun () is a river in the English county of West Sussex. At long, it is the longest river entirely in Sussex and one of the longest starting in Sussex after the River Medway, River Wey and River Mole. From the series of small stream ...

Ford, West Sussex Ford is a village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It is centred south by south-west of Arundel and west of Worthing. The civil parish very gently slopes to the east, where it has the public track alongside the Rive ...

. The new line was opened in stages between November 1845 and June 1846. * Shoreham -

Worthing Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Hov ...

, November 1845 * Worthing -

Littlehampton Littlehampton is a town, seaside resort, and pleasure harbour, and the most populous civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It lies on the English Channel on the eastern bank of the mouth of the River Arun. It is south sout ...

, March 1846 * Littlehampton - Chichester, June 1846.

Extensions

In August 1845 the company received Parliamentary approval to continue their line to towards

Havant Havant ( ) is a town in the south-east corner of Hampshire, England between Portsmouth and Chichester. Its borough (population: 125,000) comprises the town (45,826) and its suburbs including the resort of Hayling Island as well as Rowland's Castl ...

and

Fareham Fareham ( ) is a market town at the north-west tip of Portsmouth Harbour, between the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton in south east Hampshire, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Fareham. It was historically an important manufact ...

. Shortly afterwards the company was purchased by the LBR, but remained separate.

Formation of LB&SCR

Construction of the extension to Havant was just commencing when the company ceased to exist when it was formally merged with others to form the

London, Brighton and South Coast Railway The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR; known also as the Brighton line, the Brighton Railway or the Brighton) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its ...

(LB&SCR) by Act on 27 July 1846.

References

{{reflist Transport in Brighton and Hove Early British railway companies Railway companies established in 1844 Railway lines opened in 1846 Railway companies disestablished in 1846 London, Brighton and South Coast Railway 1844 establishments in England British companies disestablished in 1846 British companies established in 1844