Fishponds railway station was a station in

Fishponds Fishponds is a large suburb in the north-east of the English city of Bristol, about from the city centre. It has two large Victorian-era parks: Eastville Park and Vassall's Park (once the Vassall Family estate, also known as Oldbury Court). ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

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 ...

, a victim of Dr Beeching's cuts in the 1960s. Fishponds station was just south of where

Morrisons Wm Morrison Supermarkets, trading as Morrisons, is the fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, the company had 497 supermarkets across England, Wales and Scotland, as well as one in Gibraltar. The company is headqu ...

supermarket car park is today. The railway line was built in 1835 for transport of coal from

Coalpit Heath Coalpit Heath is a small village in the parish of Westerleigh, South Gloucestershire, England, south of Yate and east of Frampton Cotterell in South Gloucestershire. Background Due to the expansion of Coalpit Heath and the neighbouring vill ...

to industry in the centre of

. The station, originally named ''Fish Ponds'', was opened in March 1866, and was renamed ''Stapleton'' on 1 April 1866. It was part of the Bristol to

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

line of the Midland Railway. The station was renamed ''Fish Ponds'' on 1 January 1867, and ''Fishponds'' on 1 May 1939. It had two platforms plus a shunting line constructed in 1905 for the Avonside Locomotive Works to move their newly built

locomotives A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, motor coach, railcar or power car; the ...

onto the main line.

Network

The stations at the Bristol end of the Midland line were St Philips (where it ended within walking distance of

Bristol Temple Meads Bristol Temple Meads is the oldest and largest railway station in Bristol, England. It is located away from London Paddington. It is an important transport hub for public transport in the city; there are bus services to many parts of the city ...

), then Fishponds, Staple Hill and

Mangotsfield Mangotsfield is an urban area and former village in the unitary authority area of South Gloucestershire, in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England, to the north-east of Bristol. The village was mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086 ...

. At Mangotsfield the lines split, and passengers could continue onto

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

past Parkfield Colliery and Coalpit Heath, and or through

Warmley Warmley is a village in South Gloucestershire, England. Warmley is situated in between Bristol and Bath. It is a parish, with its own church, and has some minor landmarks, such as a World War One memorial the focus of Remembrance Services, and ...

Oldland Common Oldland Common is a village in the far south region of South Gloucestershire, England, on the outskirts of Bristol. It is in the civil parish of Bitton, approximately 8 miles between the centres of cities Bristol and Bath. Oldland Common is ...

and

Bitton Bitton is a village and civil parish of South Gloucestershire in England, to the east of the Greater Bristol area on the River Boyd. It is in South Gloucestershire. The parish of Bitton has a population of 9,307, and apart from the villag ...

when the

Mangotsfield and Bath Branch Line The Mangotsfield and Bath branch line was a railway line opened by the Midland Railway Company in 1869 to connect Bath, Somerset, Bath to its network at Mangotsfield railway station, Mangotsfield, on its line between Bristol and Birmingham. It wa ...

was opened in 1869. There was also a spur to

Clifton Down Clifton Down is an area of public open space in Bristol, England, north of the village of Clifton. With its neighbour Durdham Down to the northeast, it constitutes the large area known as The Downs, much used for leisure including walking and ...

, the

Clifton Extension Railway The Clifton Extension Railway was a joint railway in Bristol, owned by the Great Western Railway (GWR) and the Midland Railway (MR) companies. Description of line The railway ran from a junction with the GWR at Narroways Hill, just north of St ...

, built in 1874 and closed to passenger traffic in 1941.

Closure

The line was closed in the

Beeching cuts The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the M ...

of the 1960s. Stopping passenger services on the Bristol to Gloucester line ceased on 4 January 1965; the station closed to goods traffic on 31 December 1965. However, trains continued between Bristol and Bath Green Park until 7 March 1966. The signal box remained open until 12 April 1968, when most of the station buildings were demolished. The line through the station was due to close on 3 January 1970, but a landslip at nearby Staple Hill led to its closure a week early. The tracks were later removed. There are still remains including the stairs to the footbridge on the Bristol side. The line was converted into the

Bristol & Bath Railway Path The Bristol and Bath Railway Path is a off-road cycleway, part of National Cycle Network National Cycle Route 4. It has a wide tarmacked surface, and was used for 2.4 million trips in 2007, increasing by 10% per year. It was built by the c ...

which was completed in 1986, though the trail through the Fishponds station site deviates from the original rail line because of the roads associated with a supermarket on adjoining land.

Services

References

*Peter Aughton (2007). ''Bristol: A People's History.'' *John Bartlett (2004). ''Images of England, Fishponds.''

External links

Fishponds Local History Society

Bristol & Bath Railway Path
{{coord, 51.4777, -2.5293, type:railwaystation_region:GB, display=title Former Midland Railway stations Disused railway stations in Bristol Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1866 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1966 Beeching closures in England 1866 establishments in England