Horsebridge was a railway station on the closed

Sprat and Winkle Line The Sprat and Winkle Line was the common name of the Andover to Redbridge railway line which ran between Andover and Redbridge in Hampshire, England. In the Romsey area it joined, and then left, the Salisbury to Southampton line. It was built by ...

which served the

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

village of

Houghton Houghton may refer to: Places Australia * Houghton, South Australia, a town near Adelaide * Houghton Highway, the longest bridge in Australia, between Redcliffe and Brisbane in Queensland * Houghton Island (Queensland) Canada *Houghton Township, ...

. It closed in 1964, a casualty of the closure programme proposed by the Beeching Axe which sounded the death knell for many rural railway stations.

Working years

The station, located six miles north of Romsey alongside the

River Test The River Test is a chalk stream in Hampshire in the south of England. It rises at Ashe near Basingstoke and flows southwards for to Southampton Water. Settlements on the Test include the towns of Stockbridge and Romsey. Below the village of ...

in the

Test Valley Test Valley is a local government district and borough in Hampshire, England, named after the valley of the River Test. Its council is based in Andover. The borough was formed on 1 April 1974 by a merger of the boroughs of Andover and Romsey, a ...

, was opened in 1865 by the

London and South Western Railway The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exeter ...

as part of their "

" that connected Redbridge with

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andove ...

. The railway line was constructed over the abandoned

Andover Canal The Andover Canal was a canal built in Hampshire, England. It ran from Andover to Redbridge through Stockbridge and Romsey. The canal had a fall of through 24 locks, and for much of its length paralleled the River Anton and River Test. I ...

. The station assumed special significance during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

when it was used as a staging post for the transport of men, munitions, horses and equipment from Salisbury Plain which were sent to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

via

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. Declining passenger numbers after 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 opposi ...

led to the line's eventual closure in 1964. The station comprised three front rooms – the office, booking hall and waiting room, with the remainder of the property set aside for the stationmaster who had two bedrooms, a living room and kitchen at his disposal, but no bathroom.This is Hampshire, "The loco life we lead", 2 March 2002
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Restoration

Following closure, the station remained empty and soon became derelict. Bricks and tiles were stolen by vandals and the former

signalbox On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetabl ...

was dismantled and taken away by unknown persons. The station was even used by the local fire brigade who practised falling down through the floor. Salvation came in the shape of Hampshire County Council's plan to turn the trackbed of the railway line into a footpath, the

Test Way The Test Way is a http://documents.hants.gov.uk/countryside/walks/TestWayleaflet.pdf long-distance footpath in England from Walbury Hill in West Berkshire to Eling in Hampshire, which follows much of the course of the River Test. The northern ...

. In 1985 the derelict station was sold for £50,000 to Anthony and Valerie Charrington, a commercial property surveyor and professional singer, who obtained

planning permission Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building per ...

to convert the property into a two-bedroom dwelling subject to the condition that no swimming pool could be constructed in the gap between the platforms. The Charringtons undertook substantial works in an attempt to restore the station to how it would have looked during the Victorian era. In 1988 they purchased a 1922 third-class Southern Railway passenger carriage for £1,500 and spent £30,000 refurbishing and installing it on a set of reinstated tracks at the station. The carriage was subsequently used as a dining room. A replacement signalbox and signals were also purchased. In 1991 once restoration had been completed, the station's former parcel office as well as the carriage were let out as holiday accommodation and as a venue for parties. The station was subsequently Grade II listed. The station became so popular as a wedding venue that the Charringtons applied for planning permission to erect a marquee. This was, however, rejected by Test Valley Borough Council as an "undesirable and unsustainable development in the countryside". In March 2011 this application was successful on appeal and the station was subsequently marketed as a wedding venue.

References

External links

Pictures of station

{{Closed stations Hampshire Disused railway stations in Hampshire Grade II listed railway stations Former London and South Western Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1865 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1964 Beeching closures in England