Rickmansworth (Church Street) railway station was a

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 ...

(LNWR) station in

Rickmansworth Rickmansworth () is a town in southwest Hertfordshire, England, about northwest of central London and inside the perimeter of the M25 motorway. The town is mainly to the north of the Grand Union Canal (formerly the Grand Junction Canal) and t ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, UK. Opened in 1862, it was the terminus of a

branch line A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Industrial spur An industri ...

which used to run from

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

. The station closed to passengers in 1952, although the line continued to be used as a goods line until 1967. Church Street station has since been demolished.

Rickmansworth station Rickmansworth is an interchange railway station in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, northwest of central London, served by the London Underground Metropolitan line and by Chiltern Railways. It is one of the few London Underground stations be ...

is about northwest of the site of Church Street station. Opening on 1 September 1887, it continues to serve both the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...

Metropolitan line The Metropolitan line, colloquially known as the Met, is a London Underground line between in the City of London and and in Buckinghamshire, with branches to in Hertfordshire and in Hillingdon. Printed in magenta on the tube map, the line i ...

and

Chiltern Railways Chiltern Railways, formally The Chiltern Railway Company Limited, is a British train operating company that has operated the Chiltern Railways franchise since July 1996. Since 2009, it has been a subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains. Chiltern Railw ...

between and via . Church Street station was the terminus of the

Watford and Rickmansworth Railway The Watford and Rickmansworth Railway (W&RR) ran services between Watford and Rickmansworth in Hertfordshire, England. The company was incorporated in 1860; the line opened in 1862. The Rickmansworth branch was closed in 1952, and the remaining ...

(W&RR), a business venture of the Whig politician,

Robert Grosvenor, 1st Baron Ebury Robert Grosvenor, 1st Baron Ebury PC (24 April 1801 – 18 November 1893), styled Lord Robert Grosvenor from 1831 to 1857, was a British courtier and Whig politician. He served as Comptroller of the Household between 1830 and 1834 and as Treas ...

(1801–1893). It opened on 1 October 1862. The line ran from

Watford Junction Watford Junction is a railway station that serves Watford, Hertfordshire. The station is on the West Coast Main Line (WCML), 17 miles 34 chains from London Euston and the Abbey Line, a branch line to St Albans. Journeys to London take between 16 ...

to with many small freight branches, the most notable of which ran to

Croxley Green Croxley Green is both a village and a suburb of Rickmansworth in Hertfordshire, England. It is also a civil parish. Located on the A412 between Watford to the northeast and Rickmansworth to the southwest, it is approximately northwest of centr ...

. Lord Ebury's plan was to extend the line south and to open a new railway to on the

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 ...

Uxbridge branch The Uxbridge (Vine Street) branch line was a railway line to Uxbridge in the historical English county of Middlesex, from the Great Western Railway main line at West Drayton. It opened in 1856 as a broad gauge single line, long. It was converted ...

. However, the GWR withdrew its funding for the scheme and line was never extended. The line failed to operate at a profit, the W&RR ran into financial difficulties, and eventually the operation was taken over by the

in 1881. In 1923, under the

London, Midland and Scottish The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally ...

Railway (LMS), the Rickmansworth line and the service from Watford Junction to

London Euston Euston railway station ( ; also known as London Euston) is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, managed by Network Rail. It is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line, the UK's busiest inter-city railw ...

was converted to fourth-rail electric trains. The station was renamed Rickmansworth (Church Street) on 25 September 1950. It continued to be operated as a branch line from Watford by

British Rail 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 the passenger service was withdrawn on 3 March 1952. The station and tracks continued to be used for goods services until the line was cut back to one of the intermediate freight sidings. The track to Watford has since been removed; the trackbed to Watford is now the

Ebury Way The Ebury Way is a rail trail in Hertfordshire between Watford and Rickmansworth. The route crosses the Grand Union Canal and three rivers; the River Colne, the River Chess and the River Gade. Passing lakes and fields in Rickmansworth, th ...

rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...

. The platforms and station buildings have been demolished; the site is now occupied by social housing. A new hotel now stands between the old station site and the canal.

References

External links

Subterranea Britannica - Details and pictures of Rickmansworth (Church Street)
{{Closed stations Hertfordshire Disused railway stations in Three Rivers District Former London and North Western Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1862 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1952 Rickmansworth 1862 establishments in England