Kibworth railway station was opened 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 ...

in 1857 on what is now the Midland Main Line.

History

Plans had been made earlier in 1847 for a line from Leicester to Bedford, but had lapsed. However the Midland, running to Rugby at that time and dependent on the

LNWR 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 Lond ...

for its path into

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, was looking for an alternative. It revived its plans for Bedford to go forward to

Hitchin Hitchin () is a market town and unparished area in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district in Hertfordshire, England, with an estimated population of 35,842. History Hitchin is first noted as the central place of the Hicce peopl ...

to join the Great Northern Railway. The station was near the summit of the Kibworth Incline, the most northerly of the Leicester to Hitchin section. It was built next to the bridge carrying the highway from

Kibworth Beauchamp Kibworth is an area of the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, that contains two civil parishes: the villages of Kibworth Beauchamp and Kibworth Harcourt . At the 2011 census, Kibworth Beauchamp had a population of 5,433 and Kib ...

, still known at Station Street, and access was by means of wooden stairs to each platform. The station buildings were of brick in the Midland Ecclesiastical Gothic style. The booking office and other facilities were on the down (northbound) platform, with a small waiting-room on the southbound. On the down side were two bay platforms, one running through a goods shed. These joined the running lines by a crossing, but also led back to longer sidings next to the down line. Next to the up line on the other side of the road bridge, was a short loop serving a cattle dock, and an unusual siding curving away from the running lines to some small sheds. At

grouping Grouping may refer to: * Muenchian grouping * Principles of grouping * Railways Act 1921, also known as Grouping Act, a reorganisation of the British railway system * Grouping (firearms), the pattern of multiple shots from a sidearm See also ...

in 1923 it became part of the London Midland and Scottish Railway. Goods services ended on 4 July 1966, and the station closed to passengers on 1 January 1968. In recent years, it has housed a fencing and wood merchants business but became empty in 2002. In the early 2000s,a number of houses were built on the car park. At some point, access to the line was removed, as were the platforms.

Stationmasters

*Caleb Porter 1857 - 1863 (afterwards station master at Lowham) *R. Peddle 1864 (formerly station master at Lowdham) *T. Turner 1864 - 1866 (formerly station master at Millers Dale, afterwards station master at Thrapston) *John William Jones 1866 - 1902 *Alfred William Kingdon 1902 - 1918 (formerly station master at Great Glen) *Charles William Marshall 1918 - 1924 (formerly station master at Leagrave) *John Jefferson 1924 - 1925 *Lester Ireson ca. 1926, ca. 1927 *J.L. Hadfield 1929 - 1935 (also station master of Great Glen, afterwards station master at Corby) *William Hankins 1935 - ca. 1938 (formerly station master at Seaton, also station master of Great Glen) *H.E. Harrison until 1955 (afterwards station master at SIleby) *L.F. Crewson ca. 1958 *Brian Edge (formerly station master at East Langton)

References

{{coord, 52.5385, -0.9937, type:railwaystation_region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(SP684939), display=title Disused railway stations in Leicestershire Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1857 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1968 Former Midland Railway stations Beeching closures in England Charles Henry Driver railway stations 1857 establishments in England Harborough District