Lullingstone railway station is an unopened station on the Maidstone line which was constructed to serve a proposed airport and expected residential development at

Lullingstone Lullingstone is a village in the county of Kent, England. It is best known for its castle, Roman villa and its public golf course. Lullingstone was a civil parish until 1955, when it was annexed to Eynsford. The parish was in Axstane Hundred a ...

near Eynsford in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. The station was never brought into use as

World War II 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 opposin ...

and subsequent post-war planning legislation put an end to the plans for the area. Largely demolished in 1955, the remains of the station are visible to the south of the Eynsford Tunnel.

History

During the 1920s and 1930s,

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 ...

's suburbs expanded rapidly, leading to a period of unprecedented housebuilding. As new sites for development were sought out, so the Kemp Town Brewery Co. purchased a 5,000-acre estate near the rural community of

. At the same time, the British government had been studying the future of air transport and airports in the London area and had decided that London would be served by four airports: the existing sites at

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

and

Heston Heston is a suburban area and part of the Hounslow district in the London Borough of Hounslow. The residential settlement covers a slightly smaller area than its predecessor farming village, 10.8 miles (17.4 km) west south-west of Charing ...

, together with new airports at

Fairlop Fairlop is a district in the north of Ilford, part of the London Borough of Redbridge in east London. The district consists of fields, forestry and open land providing space for sport/ activity centres (Redbridge Sport Centre), some houses, far ...

and

In August 1936, it was reported in the '' Kentish Times'' that the Southern Railway were proposing to establish an

aerodrome An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

at Lullingstone which would be used by

Imperial Airways Imperial Airways was the early British commercial long-range airline, operating from 1924 to 1939 and principally serving the British Empire routes to South Africa, India, Australia and the Far East, including Malaya and Hong Kong. Passenger ...

. The airport would be served by a new station on the

Maidstone East Line The Maidstone line is a railway line between Swanley, Maidstone and Ashford in Kent, England. The line diverges from the Chatham Main Line at Swanley Junction and proceeds down the Darenth valley to Otford junction Retrieved 2012-01-12 (where th ...

, electrified between and in 1935, which would be situated from . Although the proposal was abandoned by the Southern Railway, it was taken up by the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

which saw Lullingstone as the most suitable site for a fourth airport to serve the London metropolis. In March 1938, the Southern Railway announced its intention not to proceed with the airport. Lullingstone railway station

Plans had been drawn up by the Southern Railway for a substantial four-platform station situated immediately to the south of the Eynsford Tunnel. Two platforms would serve the main line, with two others on a new branch line curving away to the west to reach the proposed airport. The layout, which was nearly identical to , meant that only trains travelling south could access the airport branch. A footbridge would span the four platforms and also lead to a booking office and passenger facilities located above the platforms. The official opening date of the station was scheduled for 2 April 1939. By early 1939, the main line platforms and their

ferro-concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low ultimate tensile strength, tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion ...

station buildings had been completed as well as steps leading up to a footbridge which would span the platforms. The local authority, Dartford Rural District Council, objected to the name of the station because it was not in Lullingstone parish.Minutes of Dartford RDC 6 June 1939 Further work ceased upon the outbreak of

, although the station was shown, unserved, in public timetables. It was shown in

Bradshaw's Guide ''Bradshaw's'' was a series of railway Public transport timetable, timetables and travel guide books published by W.J. Adams and later Henry Blacklock, both of London. They are named after founder George Bradshaw, who produced his first timet ...

between July 1939 and June 1941 as served by trains, but with a note that the opening date would be announced. From January 1942, the trains and note were removed but the station was still shown. As a result of the war and the failure of the airport to materialise, Lullingstone station was never brought into use and gradually became derelict. The introduction of the post-war Green Belt Act put a halt to any potential residential development and the incomplete station, standing in the middle of fields, was useless. It was mostly dismantled in 1955, leaving only the concrete supports for the platforms. The station canopy was removed and re-erected in 1960 at . substantial remains of the platforms and the abandoned concrete approach road remain.

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History

References

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Further reading