Paulsgrove Halt was a railway station opened in 1928 to serve the adjacent Portsmouth

Racecourse A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also use ...

, a pony racing stronghold. The racecourse, and station, lay in the

Paulsgrove Paulsgrove is an area of northern Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. Initially a small independent hamlet for many centuries, it was admitted to the city limits in 1920 and grew rapidly after the end of the Second World War. History Paulsgrove exi ...

district of

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, southern

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 b ...

, rather than the modern area now known as Wymering. The station was located on the West Coastway Line between

Cosham Cosham ( or ) is a northern suburb of Portsmouth lying within the city boundary but off Portsea Island. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 along with Drayton and Wymering (mainland) and Bocheland ( Buckland), Frodington (Fratton) and Co ...

and

Portchester Portchester is a locality and suburb northwest of Portsmouth, England. It is part of the borough of Fareham in Hampshire. Once a small village, Portchester is now a busy part of the expanding conurbation between Portsmouth and Southampton on ...

, and generated substantial income within the area. The funding for the station, along with that for the racecourse, was provided by local businessman George Cooper, who lived at nearby Paulsgrove House and was a keen sports fan. The station was built in the style of a halt rather than a full station. The station closed along with the racecourse when the land was acquired by the military in 1939, at the outbreak of

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 opposing ...

; it was to be used as an ammunition dump. Since the end of World War II the area has been developed for housing and there have been a number of attempts made to open a station on the same site. Provision for a station has been included in the Local Development Plan of the City of Portsmouth for many years. On 26 October 2007, Portsmouth F.C. announced plans to relocate to a new 36,000-seat stadium on

Horsea Island Horsea Island was an island located off the northern shore of Portsmouth Harbour, England; gradually subsumed by reclamation, it is now connected to the mainland. Horsea falls within the city of Portsmouth and was wholly owned by the Ministr ...

, which is situated to the south of the former station site. As part of the stadium plans, they are drawing up an integrated transport policy which includes examining the feasibility of opening a station. South West Trains indicated on 29 October 2007, via an interview in the ''Portsmouth News'', that the club's plan may generate sufficient business, even if the station was only opened on match days,New Paulsgrove Station
/ref> for them to consider a further study should the club wish to proceed.

Gallery

file:Bridge over railway line to Southampton Road - geograph.org.uk - 607980.jpg, The halt was located by this bridge File:Racecourse Lane - geograph.org.uk - 615309.jpg, Racecourse Lane, Paulsgrove

External links

References

{{Closed stations Hampshire Disused railway stations in Portsmouth Former Southern Railway (UK) stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1928 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1939