Massingham railway station is a now closed railway station in

North Norfolk North Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in Cromer. The population at the 2011 Census was 101,149. History The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972. It was a ...

. It was situated at

Little Massingham Little Massingham is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is located on the northern boundary of Great Massingham. It covers an area of and had a population of 74 in 37 households at the 2001 census.

and was on the line between

South Lynn South Lynn is an area of King's Lynn, in the unparished area of King's Lynn, in the King's Lynn and West Norfolk district, in the county of Norfolk, England. It is located directly south of the town, near the A47 and A418 roads. History Sou ...

and

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. A pop ...

and served the villages of Little and

Great Massingham Great Massingham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It has a primary school (including a pre-school in the grounds), a village shop, a pub (Dabbling Duck), a village hall and a church (St Mary's). There is also a spor ...

and Harpley.

History

A driving force behind the building of the Lynn & Fakenham railway line was the Reverend

Joseph Lloyd Brereton Prebendary Joseph Lloyd Brereton, (19 October 1822 – 15 August 1901), was a British clergyman, educational reformer and writer, who founded inexpensive schools for the education of the middle classes. Through his work and writings he influenc ...

. Supporters of the project used to meet at his rectory in the 1870s. As a result of their endeavours the line was built from Lynn to Massingham and the station and line was opened by the

Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway The Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway (M&GNJR) was a railway network in England, in the area connecting southern Lincolnshire, the Isle of Ely and north Norfolk. It developed from several local independent concerns and was incorporated i ...

on 16 August 1879. Later the line was extended and continued onto Fakenham opening on 16 August 1880. It later was managed by the

London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after LMS) of the " Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It operated from 1 January 1923 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. At th ...

until nationalisation in 1948 when it came under the control of

British Railways 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 ...

until closure in 1959. This was abbreviated to (M&GN), interpreted by many as meaning the Muddle & Get Nowhere Railway. Massingham was also the only station between South Lynn and Fakenham to have a footbridge. After the line was closed the main ticket office and waiting rooms and the stationmaster's house were converted into two houses.

References

Disused railway stations in Norfolk Former Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1879 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1959 {{EastEngland-railstation-stub