Longridge railway station was a passenger terminus of the

Preston and Longridge Railway The Preston and Longridge Railway (P&LR) was a branch line in Lancashire, England. Originally designed to carry quarried stone in horse-drawn wagons, it became part of an ambitious plan to link the Lancashire coast to the heart of Yorkshire. Th ...

. It served the town of

Longridge Longridge is a market town and civil parish in the borough of Ribble Valley in Lancashire, England. It is situated north-east of the city of Preston, at the western end of Longridge Fell, a long ridge above the River Ribble. Its nearest neigh ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, England. The line first opened in 1840 to carry stone from the recently opened Tootle Heights quarry on the northeastern side of the village of Longridge, as it then was. Wagons carrying quarried stone ran downhill to Preston and were hauled in the other direction by horses. There were rudimentary passenger facilities at a level crossing in Burey Lane (later called Berry Lane) which at the time was a rural lane with only a couple of houses; the village of Longridge was at the southeast end of the lane. A hotel was built next to the station, and was known as the ''Longridge Railway Tavern'' and the ''Station Hotel'' before being renamed in 1853 the ''Towneley Arms'', as it is still known today. After the railway converted to steam power in 1848, Longridge expanded rapidly. Four cotton mills were built alongside the railway and Berry Lane became the town centre.Pattinson, p.6 By 1867, the railway was owned jointly by the

Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways. It was the third-largest railway system based in northern ...

and 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 ...

, and three years later the railway bought the ''Towneley Arms''. A station building was built on the side of the hotel in 1872. On the opposite side of Berry Lane were many goods sidings, for the local mills, gasworks and a coal merchant. The line continued to the Tootle Heights quarries. The line and the station closed to passengers on 31 May 1930. Goods traffic continued until November 1967; within the next year the tracks were lifted.Pattinson, p.16 Today the former station building and canopy still exist and are used as the headquarters of Longridge Town Council. Where the tracks once ran through the station is a war memorial, erected in 1981. Part of the goods yard opposite has become a supermarket car park. In late 2008, a

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

grant of £221,600 was awarded to restore the former station building for use as a heritage centre and community area. The restoration was completed in 2010.Longridge Station
retrieved 9 January 2011

Notes

References

* Pattinson, M. (Ed.) (1999) ''Longridge — The Way we Were'', Hudson History of Settle, * Suggitt, G. (2003, revised 2004) ''Lost Railways of Lancashire''
Countryside Books, Newbury
* Till, J.M. (1993) ''A History of Longridge and its People''
Carnegie Publishing, Preston

External links

Longridge Heritage Plaques

The Old Station Official Website
{{Borough of Ribble Valley culture Disused railway stations in Ribble Valley Former Preston and Longridge Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1840 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1930 Longridge