Shrivenham railway station was a station on the
Great Western Main Line
The Great Western Main Line (GWML) is a main line railway in England that runs westwards from London Paddington to . It connects to other main lines such as those from Reading to Penzance and Swindon to Swansea. Opened in 1841, it was the or ...
serving the village of
Shrivenham
Shrivenham is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire, England, about south-west of Faringdon. The village is close to the county boundary with Wiltshire and about east-northeast of Swindon. The 2011 Census recorde ...
in what was then part 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 Berk ...
.
History
The station was about south of the village, on the west side of the
B4000 Station Road, south of the
Wilts & Berks Canal
The Wilts & Berks Canal is a canal in the Historic counties of England, historic counties of Wiltshire and Berkshire, England, linking the Kennet and Avon Canal at Semington near Melksham, to the River Thames at Abingdon, Oxfordshire, Abingdon. ...
, and 5.6 miles along the line east of
Swindon
Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...
.
The main station building was built in 1840. It was very small, faced with flint, had
Tudor style
Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...
windows and a roof that projected in the form of a canopy.
On 10 May 1848 six passengers were killed and 13 injured at Shrivenham when two porters pushed a horse-box and cattle van onto the main line to free a waggon turntable. The Exeter express struck them; the locomotive was undamaged but the side of the leading coach was torn out killing six passengers and injuring 13 more.
On 15 January 1936 an express from Penzance, hauled by
GWR 6000 Class
The Great Western Railway (GWR) 6000 Class or King Class is a class of 4-6-0 steam locomotives designed for express passenger work and introduced in 1927. They were the largest locomotives built by the GWR, apart from the unique Pacific ( ''The ...
4-6-0
A 4-6-0 steam locomotive, under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, has four leading wheels on two axles in a leading bogie and six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles with the abse ...
No. 6007 ''King William III'', collided with some coal wagons just outside the station that had become detached from an earlier train hauled by
GWR 2800 Class
The Great Western Railway (GWR) 2800 Class is a class of Churchward-designed 2-8-0 steam locomotive.
History
The class was designed by George Jackson Churchward for heavy freight work. They were the first 2-8-0 locomotive class in Great B ...
2-8-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels. ...
No. 2802. Two people (the male driver and a female passenger) were killed and 10 injured.
On 7 December 1964
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 ...
ways withdrew passenger services from Shrivenham and all other intermediate stations between
Didcot
Didcot ( ) is a railway town and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire and the historic county of Berkshire. Didcot is south of Oxford, east of Wantage and north west of Reading. The town is noted for its railway heritage, Di ...
and
Swindon
Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...
. The station buildings were demolished in 1965 but remnants of the platforms survive.
Burman, Peter & Stratton, Michael ''Conserving The Railway Heritage'' p. 82
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Routes
References
{{Closed stations Oxfordshire
Disused railway stations in Oxfordshire
Great Western Main Line
Former Great Western Railway stations
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1840
Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1964
Beeching closures in England