Hellingly was a railway station on the now closed

Polegate Polegate is a town and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England, United Kingdom.OS Explorer map Eastbourne and Beachy Head Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It ...

Eridge Rotherfield is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. It is one of the largest parishes in East Sussex. There are three villages in the parish: Rotherfield, Mark Cross and Eridge. The River Rother, which ...

line (the

Cuckoo Line The Cuckoo Line is an informal name for the now defunct railway service which linked Polegate and Eridge in East Sussex, England, from 1880 to 1968. It was nicknamed the Cuckoo Line by drivers, from a tradition observed at the annual fair at ...

) in East Sussex. It served the village of

Hellingly Hellingly (pronounced 'Helling-lye') is a village, and can also refer to a civil parish, and to a district ward, in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. Geography Hellingly contains the confluence of the River Cuckmere and one of it ...

History

The station was opened by 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 ...

on 5 April 1880 It was on the line extension from

Hailsham Hailsham is a town, a civil parish and the administrative centre of the Wealden district of East Sussex, England.OS Explorer map Eastbourne and Beachy Head Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Da ...

. The station closed to passenger traffic on 14 June 1965 but freight trains continued to pass through until 1968 when the line was closed completely.

Hellingly Hospital Railway

There was also a separate platform for passengers visiting

Hellingly Hospital Hellingly Hospital, formerly the East Sussex County Asylum, was a large psychiatric hospital close to the village of Hellingly, east of Hailsham, in the English county of East Sussex. History The County Authority of East Sussex decided to bui ...

by tram, until 1933, the passenger service via Tramcar being discontinued from 1931. The line, known as the

Hellingly Hospital Railway The Hellingly Hospital Railway was a light railway owned and operated by East Sussex County Council, used for transporting coal and passengers to Hellingly Hospital, a psychiatric hospital near Hailsham, from the London, Brighton and South Coast ...

continued in use for transporting coal wagons from Hellingly Station for use at the Hospital until 1959.

Film

The station featured in the 1964 film ''Smokescreen''. The two investigators visited the station and met the station master, who said that the whole line would be closed the following year. There are some excellent shots along the platform towards the road bridge. Also clearly visible is one of the 3-car stop marks put in on this line for the Class 207 'Oxted' diesel units.

Present day

The station building survives today as a private residence, complete with canopy. The "Cuckoo Trail" public footpath and cycleway now runs along the trackbed.

References

External links

Disused stations
Disused railway stations in East Sussex Former London, Brighton and South Coast Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1880 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1965 Beeching closures in England Thomas Myres buildings

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 ...