Cromford railway station is a Grade II listed

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 prep ...

owned by

Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...

and managed by East Midlands Railway. It is located in the village of

Cromford Cromford is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England, in the valley of the River Derwent between Wirksworth and Matlock. It is north of Derby, south of Matlock and south of Matlock Bath. It is first mentioned in the 11th-century Do ...

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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The station is on the Derwent Valley Line north of

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

towards Matlock.

History

Originally known as Cromford Bridge, it was opened by the

Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands 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 between ...

in 1849. This is one of the few stations on the line that has been preserved and is a Grade 2 listed building. It is said to have been designed by G. H. Stokes, son-in-law of Joseph Paxton. It is believed that Stokes designed Station House (built in 1855), the extremely ornate former station master's residence opposite the station on the side of the hill as well as the ornate villa style waiting room, on what was the 'up' platform. According to

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

, this is the original station building. The present station building on the opposite (down) platform was added 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 ama ...

at a later date Willersley Tunnel, which is long, is situated immediately north of the station. The disused southbound platform was used as the single cover of the 1995 Oasis song ''

Some Might Say "Some Might Say" is a song by English rock band Oasis. It was released as the first single on 24 April 1995 from their second studio album, ''(What's the Story) Morning Glory?'' (1995). The song was written by the band's lead guitarist Noel Gal ...

''. Following many years of neglect and decline, a long lease on the main station building was purchased by the

Arkwright Society The Arkwright Society is a registered charity engaged in the conservation of industrial monuments in Derbyshire, focusing on the water mills of Lumsdale Valley, Ashford, Cromford and Slinter Wood. It is named after Richard Arkwright who founded ...

; the building has been restored and improved, re-opening as office space in May 2009. Station House, of which the old waiting room is a part, is now self-contained holiday accommodation. In the year from 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010, journeys from the station had increased by 16.88%. On 17 September 2009, taxi driver Stuart Ludlam was murdered at the station by gun fanatic Colin Cheetham.

Station masters

On 18 January 1853, the station master William Lees was summoned by Joseph Wain, a clark employed by the railway at Matlock Bath, for having beaten him. It transpired that bad feeling had previously existed between the plaintiff and defendant; on 15 January 1853, they had met on the causeway between Matlock Bath and Cromford, close to the Glenorchy chapel. Both of them were on the pavement and a dispute arose between them as to the etiquette of taking the wall. Wain accused Lees of beating hum repeatedly but Lees denied it. The following year William Lees left Cromford. The Derbyshire Courier of 25 November 1854 reported that *William Lees 1849 - 1854 *Edwin Furniss ca 1859 - 1881 *R. J. Oram 1881 - 1888 (afterwards station master at Chorlton-cum-Hardy) *Lewis Wright 1888 - 1894 (afterwards station master at Edale) *Harry l’Anson 1894 - 1898 (afterwards station master at Chinley) *H. V. Weston 1898 - 1902 (afterwards station master at Cheadle Heath) *J. G. Goss 1902 - 1907 (afterwards station master at Bamford) *Thomas Cooper 1907 - 1913 (formerly station master at Hazel Grove, afterwards station master at Belle Vue, Manchester) *William Brown 1913 - 1921 *Walter Best from 1921 *Harry Huntington ca. 1948 until 1957 (afterwards station master at Wennington) *A. C. Phillips 1957 - 1958 (formerly station master at Whatstandwell, afterwards station master at Pelsall) *Alfred George Armitage 1958 - ca. 1960 (afterwards station master at Harlington)

Services

All services at Cromford are operated by East Midlands Railway. On weekdays and Saturdays, the station is served by one train per hour in each direction between and . The final late evening service from Matlock is extended to . On Sundays, there is a two-hourly service between Matlock and Nottingham in the morning, with services increasing to hourly from mid-afternoon onwards.

References

External links

Cromford Station Waiting Room

"Ingenious.org" Express train at Cromford station, 1911

"Geograph" Cromford Station

"English Heritage" Railway Station, Cromford, Derbyshire as it is now

Friends of the Derwent Valley Line

{{Coord, 53.113, N, 1.549, W, type:railwaystation_region:GB, display=title Grade II listed buildings in Derbyshire Railway stations in Derbyshire DfT Category F2 stations Former Midland Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1849 Railway stations served by East Midlands Railway Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1840 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1863 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1863 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1876 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1876 1840 establishments in England

History

Station masters

Services

See also

References

External links