Birmingham Curzon Street railway station (formerly Birmingham 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 ...

in central

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, England. Initially used as a major early passenger terminus before being eclipsed by newer facilities and converted into a goods depot, it was a continuously active railway facility up until 1966. The station was jointly built and operated by the

London and Birmingham Railway The London and Birmingham Railway (L&BR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom, in operation from 1833 to 1846, when it became part of the London and North Western Railway (L&NWR). The railway line which the company opened in 1838, betw ...

(L&BR) and the

Grand Junction Railway The Grand Junction Railway (GJR) was an early railway company in the United Kingdom, which existed between 1833 and 1846 when it was amalgamated with other railways to form the London and North Western Railway. The line built by the company w ...

(GJR), being the meeting point between the two railways, as well as the terminus for the first intercity line to be built into

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. As such, it served as a joint

terminus Terminus may refer to: * Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end destination * Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination Geography *Terminus, the unofficial original name of Atlanta, Georgia, United ...

for the scheduled passenger trains of both companies to major destinations such as London,

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, between 1838 and 1854. It was formally opened on 24 June 1838, and received its first train from London on 17 September of that year. Being incapable of permitting through trains, it quickly proved to be inadequate even after expansion efforts to accommodate longer trains. Thus, during the 1840s, the newly-created

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 ...

opted to build a larger and more suitable station,

Birmingham New Street Birmingham New Street is the largest and busiest of the three main railway stations in Birmingham city centre, England, and a central hub of the British railway system. It is a major destination for Avanti West Coast services from , and vi ...

, half a mile away from the earlier station that would take over most of its passenger traffic in 1854. During the 1850s, Curzon Street station found a new role handling freight traffic; conversion work was undertaken between 1860 and 1965 to turn it into a dedicated

goods station A goods station (also known as a goods yard or goods depot) or freight station is, in the widest sense, a railway station where, either exclusively or predominantly, goods (or freight), such as merchandise, parcels, and manufactured items, are l ...

. In addition, limited passenger traffic, such as special excursion trains, called at that station up until its closure to passengers in 1893. It was heavily used for railway freight into the British Rail era, only being closed to rail-based goods traffic in 1966. Many original features were demolished at this time, such as the platforms and trainshed, but the principal entrance building survived and was given

Grade I 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 ...

status. While much of the site continued to be used for road-based parcel traffic, the principal building was used as office space for various purposes, including the occasional art event. During the 2010s, it was announced that the site and the principal building would be reused and integrated into the new

Birmingham Curzon Street railway station Birmingham Curzon Street railway station is the planned northern terminus of Phase 1 of High Speed 2 in the city centre of Birmingham, England. The new railway will connect Birmingham to via and . Curzon Street will have seven terminal platf ...

, and host the high speed services on

High Speed 2 High Speed 2 (HS2) is a planned high-speed railway line in England, the first phase of which is under construction in stages and due for completion between 2029 and 2033, depending on approval for later stages. The new line will run from its m ...

History

Background

The construction of the station, which was originally known simply as ''Birmingham station'', is closely associated with the creation of the

(L&BR), the first intercity line to be built into London and the largest project to have ever been undertaken in Britain at the time. At Birmingham, the L&BR connected with the

(GJR), which was constructed at the same time; it had been intended for the two railways to meet end on as to facilitate the running of through services; however, on account of the opposition of influential land owners, the GJR's desired alignment was blocked, necessitating the creation of two adjacent termini stations, one for each company, at Curzon Steet. The L&BR's station was built on the south side of the site, featuring a pair of platforms in parallel (one for arrivals and the other for departures), along with four carriage sidings next to the tracks leading to the two outer platforms; six lines in total served the station. A sizable

train shed A train shed is a building adjacent to a station building where the tracks and platforms of a railway station are covered by a roof. It is also known as an overall roof. Its primary purpose is to store and protect from the elements train car ...

that was supported by a pair of

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag Inclusion (mineral), inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a ...

truss spans covered both the platforms and the six tracks, covering an area of 217 feet (66 metres) long and 113 feet (34 metres) wide. To the rear of the departure platform, a lengthy building accommodating booking offices, waiting rooms and a parcels office was present. Furthermore, it also featured a grand three-storey ''Principal Building'' complete with four massive Ionic columns that intentionally matched the

Doric Doric may refer to: * Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece ** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians * Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture * Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode * Doric dialect (Scotland) * Doric ...

Euston Arch The Euston Arch, built in 1837 (and demolished in 1962), was the original entrance to Euston station, facing onto Drummond Street, London. The arch was demolished when the station was rebuilt in the 1960s, but much of the original stone was later ...

present at the London terminus. Curzonplatforms

The GJR's station was located on the northern side of the site in a triangular area of land. It featured parallel departure and arrivals platforms, which had to be staggered in order to fit into the available land. The GJR also built their own independent entrance building and booking office (now demolished) which were located behind the departure platform. Separate yards for passengers and their horse-drawn carriages were present between the station and Curzon Street. The GJR's facilities were mainly designed by Joseph Franklin. Various additional railway facilities were also constructed nearby on land to the south and east of the station; these included carriage sheds for the L&BR, a sixteen-sided engine house, and freight handling areas for the transhipment of goods between the L&BR and the neighbouring

Birmingham Canal The BCN Main Line, or Birmingham Canal Navigations Main Line is the evolving route of the Birmingham Canal between Birmingham and Wolverhampton in England. The name ''Main Line'' was used to distinguish the main Birmingham to Wolverhampton rout ...

. A dedicated L&BR freight depot was also established to the north of the station.

As a passenger station

While the station was formally opened on 24 June 1838, however, due to the delayed completion of

Kilsby Tunnel The Kilsby Tunnel is a railway tunnel on the West Coast Main Line in England, near the village of Kilsby in Northamptonshire, roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of Rugby. It is long. The Kilsby Tunnel was designed and engineered by Rober ...

, the first train from

did not arrive until on 17 September of that year. That first train had traversed the 112 miles between the two cities in four hours and 48 minutes. During 1839, the GJR arrived at Curzon Street; although the line had opened two years earlier, one year before the L&BR, it originally ran to a temporary terminus at

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...

until a 28-span

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 ...

over the

River Rea The River Rea (pronounced "ray") is a small river which passes through Birmingham, England. It is the river on which Birmingham was founded by the Beorma tribe in the 7th century. Since 2012, TA Media had obtained the rights and access to th ...

valley had been completed along with their side of the station. Birmingham & Bordesley RJD 7

By 1846, the station was already being extensively modified. The train shed was extended so that it could accommodate the running of longer trains, while the departure platform was extended to create a new bay platform for the use of the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway. Furthermore, the Principal Building had been extended along its northern side for the purpose of providing additional refreshment space for passengers, including a hotel. Within only a few years of opening, the station had become quite heavily trafficked; however, the arrangement of the parallel platforms quickly proved to be an inconvenience to the travelling public and operators alike, the inability to perform through trips complicated many train journeys. It was also inconveniently located on the eastern edge of Birmingham city centre. Accordingly, its use as a major passenger station was relatively short-lived. Following the merging of the L&BR and GJR into the

London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lo ...

(LNWR) in 1846, work started on the new and more conveniently located 'Grand Central' station, which would become known as

, which was shared with the

. Located only half a mile to the west of the preceding station, New Street was completed in

1854 Events January–March * January 4 – The McDonald Islands are discovered by Captain William McDonald aboard the ''Samarang''. * January 6 – The fictional detective Sherlock Holmes is perhaps born. * January 9 – The Teut ...

; unsurprisingly, the majority of passenger services were diverted away from the older station that same year. Furthermore, the smaller Lawley Street station, terminus of the

Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway The Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway was a British railway company. From Birmingham it connected at Derby with the North Midland Railway and the Midland Counties Railway at what became known as the Tri Junct Station. It now forms part ...

(a forerunner of the

) was also opened a short distance to the east not long thereafter.

As a goods station

During November 1852, the name of the station was changed from ''Birmingham'' to ''Birmingham Curzon Street''. The primary use of the station became the handling of goods; initially this was as an overflow to the adjacent goods depot, rail freight increased considerably during the mid 1850s. During 1860, work commenced on the formal conversion of the site into a

, which included the closure of the nearby engine shed; it was at this time that the general station buildings were demolished, while the train sheds and the Principal Building were retained, the latter to serve as offices. The conversion was completed in 1865. In early 1874, a portion of Curzon Street station (at the corner of New Canal Street and Banbury Street) was adapted and used from

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

that year as an 'excursion station' to relieve New Street station at peak times, such as holidays or fair days. The station provided frequent public holiday excursion services to

Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield or the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, known locally as Sutton ( ), is a town and civil parish in the City of Birmingham, West Midlands, England. The town lies around 8 miles northeast of Birmingham city centre, 9 miles south ...

. These excursions continued until Easter 1893, their discontinuation was to facilitate the expansion of the main lines into New Street from two to four. During the early years of its life as a good station, horses were primarily used to shunt wagons around the depot, while capstans and

turntable A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

s were also used to transfer wagons between tracks as well as to marshal them into trains. Different goods were handled across the site; while fruit and vegetables went through the old GJR arrival platform train shed, grain and flour was processed at the old GJR departure area. General freight was typically addressed beneath the 1838 L&BR train sheds. In 1914, Curzon Street employed more than 2,000 people, along with roughly 600 horses and 900 wagons. During 1923, as a result of the

Railway Groupings The Railways Act 1921 (c. 55), also known as the Grouping Act, was an Act of Parliament enacted by the British government and intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, by "grouping" them into four la ...

, the ownership of Curzon Street station was transferred to the newly-created

London Midland & 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 ...

(LMSR). Amid the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, an

incendiary bomb Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices, incendiary munitions, or incendiary bombs are weapons designed to start fires or destroy sensitive equipment using fire (and sometimes used as anti-personnel weaponry), that use materials such as napalm, t ...

struck the Principal Building, causing mostly superficial damage, while numerous other bombs impacted nearby, after which it was repaired. In 1952, the Principal Building was given a Grade 1 Listing in recognition of its historical importance; in subsequent years, it would become the only surviving part of the original station and the world’s oldest example of monumental railway architecture. Curzon Street station continued to be used into the British Rail era as a goods station up until 1966. The platforms, along with the original train sheds, were demolished that same year. For several decades, the site was used as a

Parcelforce Parcelforce Worldwide is a courier and logistics service in the United Kingdom. Parcelforce Worldwide is a trading name of the Royal Mail and is organised within the UK Parcels, International and Letters division of the group. The company del ...

depot; this was demolished in May 2006. For a time, the site was largely used as a car park.

The surviving entrance building

The surviving

entrance building was designed by

Philip Hardwick Philip Hardwick (15 June 1792 in London – 28 December 1870) was an English architect, particularly associated with railway stations and warehouses in London and elsewhere. Hardwick is probably best known for London's demolished Euston Arch ...

, having been intended to be used as the company's offices and boardroom. Built during 1838, it is among the world's oldest surviving pieces of monumental railway architecture. Built at a cost of £28,000, the

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

inspired, following Hardwick's trip to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

in 1818–19. It has tall pillars running up the front of the building, made out of a series of huge blocks of stone. The design mirrored the

at the London end of the L&BR. In the original design, the building was to be flanked by two arches leading into the station: excavations have revealed that these were never built. The interior was modified in 1839 to accommodate a 'hotel' (the Victoria), although this was probably more in the nature of a refreshment room or public house, and later the booking hall, with a large iron balustraded stone staircase and offices. It is three storeys tall but relatively small. A detailed paper from Historic England can be found a
the Warwickshire Railways website.
Curzon Street Station -Birmingham-UK

In 1841, a hotel extension – known originally as the Queen's Hotel – was added to the northern (Curzon Street) side of the building, but was eclipsed (and renamed the Railway Hotel) when a new Queen's Hotel was opened next to New Street station. During June 1900, the Railway Hotel was closed, after which the contents were sold and the space was converted into offices for the goods depot. On 27 January 1847, the

Institution of Mechanical Engineers The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is an independent professional association and learned society headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that represents mechanical engineers and the engineering profession. With over 120,000 member ...

was established with

George Stephenson George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was a British civil engineer and mechanical engineer. Renowned as the "Father of Railways", Stephenson was considered by the Victorians a great example of diligent application and thirst for ...

as its first president in the Queen's Hotel; a plaque commemorating the centenary of the event was placed inside the station building when the hotel was demolished. In 1897,

Ansells Brewery Ansells Brewery was a regional brewery founded in Aston, Birmingham, England in 1858. It merged with Taylor Walker and Ind Coope in 1961 to form Allied Breweries. The brewery remained in operation until 1981, after which production transferred ...

had a purpose built public house,

The Woodman The Woodman is a public house on Albert Street in Birmingham, England that is Grade II listed. It stands beside the Eastside City Park and the abandoned, but listed, Curzon Street railway station which will be part of the new station being de ...

, that was built opposite the station. It was still open by 2020. In separate instances, during 1970 and 1978, British Rail applied to demolish the Principal Building, but permission to proceed was repeatedly refused on both occasions. Instead, in 1979, the ownership of the building was transferred to

Birmingham City Council Birmingham City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local council area in the United Kingdom (e ...

, which carried out carried out extensive restoration and repairs over the following three years, at which time the newer hotel wing was demolished. Once the renovations were completed, the building was intermittently used as offices for various groups. Amongst these users was a

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

student theatre group, the ' Three Bugs Fringe Theatre'. The building was also proposed as a home for the

Royal College of Organists The Royal College of Organists (RCO) is a charity and membership organisation based in the United Kingdom, with members worldwide. Its role is to promote and advance organ playing and choral music, and it offers music education, training and de ...

, but the proposal foundered in 2005 for lack of funds. A

commemorative plaque A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other ...

was installed next to the station entrance in 1988 which reads: "THIS PLAQUE COMMEMORATES THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARRIVAL OF THE FIRST LONDON TO BIRMINGHAM TRAIN AT THIS STATION ON MONDAY 17TH SEPTEMBER 1838". The building was unused except for the occasional art exhibition. Birmingham City Council had hoped to refurbish the building and find an alternative tenant. It was expected to be the centrepiece of the City Park and Masshouse development scheme, which is located around the site, most of the surrounding buildings having been demolished. However, these plans were superseded by the

proposal, which will incorporate the surviving entrance building into the eastern entrance of a new station. A masonry colonnade screen will connect the historic structure and the new HS2 station viaducts and eastern concourse at New Canal Street. The renovated building will have a visitor centre and office space that will be used by HS2 Ltd, Birmingham City University, and

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...

. Renovation of the building was funded through a housing and regeneration grant rather than the HS2 Act, and when funding ran out in May 2022, work was temporarily suspended. Internal refurbishment was "well advanced" but funding could not be secured for external facade repairs. HS2 said it was working to "identify further heritage funding to fully restore this iconic landmark for the city." File:Roscoe L&BR(1839) p202 - Entrance to the London & Birmingham Railway, Birmingham.jpg, An 1839 drawing of Curzon Street, showing the planned flanking arches, which were never built File:Curzon Street Railway station.JPG, Print from a 19th-century guide book showing the 1840 hotel extension to the north of the terminus building File:Grand Junction Railway Curzon Street Station.jpg, Joseph Franklin's Curzon Street Station screen for GJR, now largely demolished File:Curzon Street Railway Station, Birmingham, Warwickshire - 1943 - E B Musman .jpg, 1943 drawing by E. B. Musman File:Curzon Street Station rear.jpg, Rear of station building, across former freight depot (now car park), with

Masshouse Masshouse is a development site in Birmingham, United Kingdom where 13 highrise blocks are being constructed for public services, commerce and residential purposes. When completed, the blocks will have a prominent position on the Eastside skyli ...

block M behind File:Curzon Street Station plaque -Birmingham -UK.JPG, The plaque to the right of the entrance commemorating the first train from London to Birmingham

References

Notes

Citations

External links

Curzon Street on warwickshirerailways.com

Birmingham.gov.uk

Rail Around Birmingham: Curzon Street railway station
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Birmingham Curzon Street railway station (1838-1966) Disused railway stations in Birmingham, West Midlands Disused railway goods stations in Great Britain Former London and Birmingham Railway stations Grand Junction Railway Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1838 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1893 1838 establishments in England Philip Hardwick buildings Grade I listed railway stations Grade I listed buildings in Birmingham Art museums and galleries in Birmingham, West Midlands Terminating vistas in the United Kingdom