Great Longstone for Ashford railway station was a station which served Great and Little Longstone in the

Peak District The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southe ...

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 ...

. It was opened in 1863 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 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 ...

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 ...

History

Originally known as Longstone railway station, in 1913 it was renamed Great Longstone for Ashford (

Ashford-in-the-Water Ashford-in-the-Water is a village and civil parish in the Derbyshire Peak District, England. The village is on the River Wye, north-west of Bakewell. It is known for the quarrying of Ashford Black Marble (a form of limestone), and for the maide ...

). Once the London, Midland and Scottish Railway reached

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 ...

the line carried expresses to

London St Pancras St Pancras railway station (), also known as London St Pancras or St Pancras International and officially since 2007 as London St Pancras International, is a London station group, central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Bor ...

and heavy mineral traffic. It closed in 1962, except that one train a day in each direction continued to stop to allow a local resident, Mrs A Boardman, to travel to work, an episode immortalised by the

British Movietone Movietone News is a newsreel that ran from 1928 to 1963 in the United States. Under the name British Movietone News, it also ran in the United Kingdom from 1929 to 1986, in France also produced by Fox-Europa, in Australia and New Zealand until 1970 ...

film ''It Only Stops For Her.''. Trains continued to pass through the station until 1968 when the line was closed. The station building, now Thornbridge Outdoors, was designed to match the nearby

Thornbridge Hall Thornbridge Hall is a large English country house situated near the village of Great Longstone in the local government district of Derbyshire Dales in Derbyshire. It is a Grade II listed building. History From the 12th to the late 18th century, ...

and is

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 ...

, and the trackbed through the station is part of 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 ...

, a walk and cycleway. Access to the Monsal Trail can be made at Great Longstone for Ashford railway station, via the ramp off Longstone Lane.

Stationmasters

From 1926 the stationmaster was also responsible for Hassop. In 1931 the stationmaster was no longer responsible for Hassop, but managed both Longstone and Monsal Dale. *Joseph Bell 1863–1868 *Richard H. Bell until 1873 *Richard Coe 1873–1906 (formerly station master at Monsal Dale) *Thomas Harlin 1907–1914 (afterwards station master at Heaton Mersey) *B. Wilson from 1914 *T.A. Huddlestone 1918-1924 (afterwards station master at Ecclesfield) *F. Smith 1924–1926 (afterwards station master at Beauchief) *J. Townson 1926–1931 (also station master at Hassop afterwards station master at Duffield) *J.H. Adams 1944–1947 (afterwards station master at Radway Green) *Horace Gundry ca. 1948–ca. 1950

Route

References

* Truman, P., Hunt, D., (1989) ''Midland Railway Portrait,'' Sheffield: Platform 5 Publishing * Radford, B., (1988) ''Midland Though The Peak,'' Unicorn Books

External links

Longstone station on navigable 1947 O. S. map
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1863 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1967 Disused railway stations in Derbyshire Former Midland Railway stations Grade II listed buildings in Derbyshire 1863 establishments in England 1967 disestablishments in England {{EastMidlands-railstation-stub

History

Stationmasters

Route

See also

References

External links