The Hull and Holderness Railway was a

branch line A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Industrial spur An industri ...

in the

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to t ...

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 ...

that connected the city of

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east ...

with the seaside resort of

Withernsea Withernsea is a seaside resort and civil parish in Holderness, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Its white inland lighthouse, rising around above Hull Road, now houses a museum to 1950s actress Kay Kendall, who was born in the town. The Pr ...

via the town of

Hedon Hedon is a town and civil parish in Holderness in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately east of Hull city centre. It lies to the north of the A1033 road at the crossroads of the B1240 and B1362 roads. It is pa ...

and the villages of

Keyingham Keyingham is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The village is situated approximately east of Kingston upon Hull city centre and lies on the A1033 road. History A possible Iron Age or Roman enclosure was nor ...

and

Patrington Patrington is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, in an area known as Holderness, south-east of Hedon, south-east of Kingston upon Hull and south-west of Withernsea on the A1033. Along with Winestead, it w ...

History

Background

An early proposal for a railway eastwards from Hull into Holderness was made in 1845 by the

York and North Midland Railway The York and North Midland Railway (Y&NMR) was an English railway company that opened in 1839 connecting York with the Leeds and Selby Railway, and in 1840 extended this line to meet the North Midland Railway at Normanton near Leeds. Its first c ...

for a line from a junction on a line to the east Dock ( Victoria Dock) at

Drypool Drypool (''archaic'' DripoleAlso Dritpole, Dritpol, Dripold, Dripol, Dridpol) is an area within the city of Kingston upon Hull, England. Historically Drypool was a village, manor and later parish on the east bank of the River Hull near the con ...

via

; the Patrington line was not included in the resultant acts of 1846. A second attempt at a line was promoted by Hull businessman Anthony Bannister, with the intention of linking Hull with the rich agricultural area of South

Holderness Holderness is an area of the East Riding of Yorkshire, on the north-east coast of England. An area of rich agricultural land, Holderness was marshland until it was drained in the Middle Ages. Topographically, Holderness has more in common wit ...

, and the development of a coastal village (

) into a new seaside resort. The silting up of

and

Havens was another incentive for the construction of a line, since it could no longer be used for transportation by water. A prospectus was issued in 1852, and the "Hull and Holderness Railway Act" passed 1853. Construction of the line in the flat and open Holderness plain was rapid and the line of about was opened on 24 June 1854.The date of opening was somewhere between 24 and 27 June depending on source.

Description and operations

The line was originally built as a single track line, except sections at

and near Ryehill. At Withernsea (which in 1851 had a population of only 109) a hotel, the "Station Hotel" (later called "Queen's Hotel") was built. The line began at the

's Victoria Dock station and ran east, passing

to the north; it then turned south-east, passing

Burstwick Burstwick is a village and civil parish in the Holderness region of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated about east of Hull city centre. It lies on the B1362 road. History Burstwick is described as a ''caput'', or principal ...

to the south, halfway between Ottringham and Ryehill, then the line passed

to the north and then east and south to

, before entering Withernsea, which was to the north-east, and in which the line terminated. Up till 1859 the Hull and Holderness Railway operated its own trains, but from 1860 the line was operated by the North Eastern Railway on lease rental, and in 1862 the same company acquired the line; a short connecting chord was built that allowed trains to run through onto the dock branch, and, from 1864, services ran to Paragon station in the city centre via the Victoria Dock Branch Line.

Closure

Passenger service ended following the

Beeching Report Beeching is an English surname. Either a derivative of the old English ''bece'', ''bæce'' "stream", hence "dweller by the stream" or of the old English ''bece'' "beech-tree" hence "dweller by the beech tree".''Oxford Dictionary of English Surnames' ...

. The last passenger train ran on 19 October 1964. Goods traffic continued to use the whole line until 3 May 1965, after which it only operated between Hull and

Hedon railway station Hedon railway station is a disused railway station on the North Eastern Railway's Hull and Holderness Railway on the northern edge of Hedon in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was opened by the Hull and Holderness Railway The Hull ...

. This service continued until 3 June 1968, the goods service to

Marfleet Marfleet is an area of Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, in the east of the city, near King George Dock. Marfleet was until the late 20th century a small village outside the urban area of Hull – developments includi ...

lasting until 1972.

Line post closure

Most of the trackbed remains, and parts of it have become a footpath. The Queen's Hotel in Withernsea became a convalescence home. Most of the station buildings have become private residences, with the exception of Withernsea station and Hollym Gate which have been demolished.

Notes

References

Sources

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External links

* Cab ride video {{Railway lines in Yorkshire and the Humber Closed railway lines in Yorkshire and the Humber Rail transport in the East Riding of Yorkshire Beeching closures in England Rail transport in Kingston upon Hull Railway companies established in 1853 Railway lines opened in 1854 Railway companies disestablished in 1862 1853 establishments in England British companies disestablished in 1862 British companies established in 1853