Keswick railway station was on the

Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway The Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway (CK&PR) was an English railway company incorporated by Act of Parliament on 1 August 1861, to build a line connecting the town of Cockermouth with the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) West Coas ...

between Penrith and

Cockermouth Cockermouth is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England, so named because it is at the confluence of the River Cocker as it flows into the River Derwent. The mid-2010 census estimates state that Cocke ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

(now in

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

), England. It served the town of Keswick and accommodated the offices of the Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway Company. The station has its origins in 1861, when the construction of a railway line between Cockermouth and the

West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

of the

London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lo ...

(LNWR) company at Penrith was authorised. In 1862, the company decided to establish its office at the station. The site had an engine shed, a carriage shed capable of accommodating at least six carriages and a

turntable A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

. The station was designed by the

railway engineer Railway engineering is a multi-faceted engineering discipline dealing with the design, construction and operation of all types of rail transport systems. It encompasses a wide range of engineering disciplines, including civil engineering, comput ...

Thomas Bouch Sir Thomas Bouch (; 25 February 1822 – 30 October 1880) was a British railway engineer. He was born in Thursby, near Carlisle, Cumberland, and lived in Edinburgh. As manager of the Edinburgh and Northern Railway he introduced the first roll-o ...

; construction was by contractor George Bolton & Sons. On 2 January 1865, the station was opened to passenger traffic. As a result of the

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

, the line beyond Keswick to Cockermouth and Workington was closed on 18 April 1966, leaving a single line branch between Keswick and Penrith. The station survived for six years before closing on 6 March 1972. The main station building has been used as a hotel in recent years but most of the other structures have been demolished and the land used for car parking. A trail managed by the

Lake District National Park Authority The Lake District National Park is a national park in North West England that includes all of the central Lake District, though the town of Kendal, some coastal areas, and the Lakeland Peninsulas are outside the park boundary. The area was ...

has been established along part of the former railway line.

History

Background

On 1 August 1861, the

Company was incorporated in accordance with an

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

authorising the construction of a railway between

and the

at Penrith. The line's civil engineering works were designed by

, including Keswick station. In 1862, the company's stations committee decided that the station should accommodate its main offices. The station was built on land purchased from Roger Eustace Le Fleming, about 0.5 km to the north of Keswick town centre. The station, around midway along the line, was built on an east–west alignment.“Keswick Station.”
‘’engineering-timelines.com’’, Retrieved: 29 June 2018. Following competitive bidding, the company accepted contractor George Bolton & Son's tender of £3,500 to build the station. In November 1863, the works committee approved the construction of additional facilities including an engine shed, a carriage shed capable of accommodating at least six carriages and a turntable. A

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

was added to the station design before work commenced.

Design and operations

The station was built with two platforms, the up platform to accommodate eastbound services and the down platform for westbound trains. A two-storey building of local stone, was constructed on the down platform; its upper storey housed the company's

boardroom A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

and offices for the company secretary, train coordinator and accountant, while the lower storey was occupied by the ticket office, luggage and parcels office, lavatories and

waiting room A waiting room or waiting hall is a building, or more commonly a part of a building or a room, where people sit or stand until the event or appointment for which they are waiting begins. There are two types of waiting room. One has individuals ...

s. The waiting rooms opened onto the platform, most of which was protected by a glazed roof on top of a

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a canti ...

ed valance, supported on rows of iron columns. The eastbound up platform had a waiting shelter and a large rectangular water tank. Keswick 8 67459 1

A goods station was established to the west of the station. In 1865, a refreshments room opened but by April 1875 the space it occupied was used as a first class waiting room and lavatory. In 1873, to provide better means of access between the platforms, a subway was built. A year later, a crane was installed at the east end of the up platform to ease freight loading/unloading. Around 1870, W.H. Smith & Son opened a bookstall; it was open until 1905. Between 1909 and 1921, newsagents Wyman & Sons managed the bookstall. Local stationer A. Chaplin took over until around 1931. Wymans then managed bookstalls on both platforms until the 1950s. In 1880, Cowans Sheldon & Company of

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

enlarged the water tank on the up platform. By 1893, the island platform was relocated to a more northerly position where a single-storey

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

building with brick chimneys, a

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

roof and cantilevered valances supported by iron columns was constructed.

Decline and closure

Keswick Railway Station - the last day - geograph

As a result of the

, the railway line beyond Keswick to Cockermouth and Workington was closed on 18 April 1966. Keswick was left at the end of a single line branch from Penrith. Six years later,

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

closed the line and the station on 6 March 1972. After its closure, most of the structures, including the island platform and its building and water tank, were demolished. The land was used as a car park for a nearby hotel. The building on the down platform, incorporating the offices of the Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway Company, has been integrated into the hotel. In 1976, the building was recognised as a Grade II

listed building 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 ...

. A railway trail, owned by the

, has been established since the closure. It starts at the station site, crosses several bridges along a gentle climbing route of roughly 5 km and ends at the mining museum, east of Threlkeld car park. A movement to reopen the station and the line to Penrith has conducted studies into its viability."Keswick to Penrith Railway Re-opening."
''keswickrailway.com'', Retrieved: 29 June 2018.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * {{Closed stations Cumbria Disused railway stations in Cumbria Former Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1865 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1972 Beeching closures in England Keswick Grade II listed buildings in Cumbria