Mortimer railway station is a
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...
in the village of
Stratfield Mortimer in the county of
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Ber ...
in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
. It is from . The station is notable for its well-preserved
Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "one ...
-designed
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
(GWR) station buildings, which are still in use. The station is served by local services operated by
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
.
The station is on the double-track
Reading to Basingstoke Line, and comprises two
side platform
A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platfo ...
s linked by a footbridge. Road access is to the north of the station, next to the up (Reading-bound) platform.
The brick-built single-storey main building has a ticket office and waiting room and is on the up platform. The down platform has a matching waiting shelter. Both buildings are
Italianate, designed by Brunel for the GWR. They are the only substantially intact survivors of this once-common design, although a much modified example exists at . The buildings are
listed Grade II*.
[
]
History
The station was opened in 1848, along with the Reading to Basingstoke railway line and both it, and the station buildings, have been in continuous use ever since. The line was promoted by the nominally independent Berks and Hants Railway, but this company was absorbed into the GWR two years before Mortimer station opened. The approval of the Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister ...
, who lived nearby at Stratfield Saye House was required for the station's construction.
After railway nationalisation in 1948, operation of the Reading to Basingstoke line, and management of the station, was passed to the Southern Region of British Railways (BR). BR undertook major renovations of the station buildings in time for the celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the GWR, including removing the 1920s slates and replacing them with orange pantiles in the original style.[
Following the privatisation of British Railways, the station is again served by trains running under the Great Western name.]
Services
The station is served by Great Western Railway — local trains. There are generally two trains per hour in each direction on weekdays and Saturdays, and one train per hour on Sundays. Trains take 11 minutes to reach Reading, and 13 minutes to reach Basingstoke.
Cultural references
The station appears briefly in the 1974 BBC ''Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...
'' serial '' Planet of the Spiders''.
References
External links
Video footage of the station on YouTube
{{coord, 51, 22, 19.39, N, 1, 02, 08.22, W, region:GB_type:railwaystation, display=title
Railway stations in Berkshire
DfT Category E stations
Former Great Western Railway stations
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1848
Railway stations served by Great Western Railway
Grade II* listed buildings in Berkshire
Grade II* listed railway stations
Isambard Kingdom Brunel railway stations