Stamford railway station serves the town of
Stamford in
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...
, England, and is located in
St Martin's. The station is west of
Peterborough
Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...
. It was opened by the
Syston and Peterborough Railway
The Syston and Peterborough Railway was an early railway in England opened between 1846 and 1848 to form a connection from the Midland Counties Railway near Leicester to Peterborough, giving access to East Anglia over the Eastern Counties Railway ...
, part of the present day
Birmingham to Peterborough Line.
CrossCountry operate the majority of services as part of their
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
to
Stansted Airport
London Stansted Airport is a tertiary international airport serving London, England, United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, England, northeast of Central London.
London Stansted serves over 160 destinations acro ...
route. It is owned by
Network Rail
Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...
and managed by
East Midlands Railway
The station was formerly known as Stamford Town to distinguish it from the now closed
Stamford East station in Water Street. It is often printed on timetables and train tickets as Stamford (Lincs) to distinguish it from either
Stamford Hill station in London or
Stanford-le-Hope station in Essex.
The station building is a fine stone structure in
Mock Tudor
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 ...
style, influenced by the nearby
Burghley House, and designed by
Sancton Wood
Sancton Wood (27 April 1814 – 18 April 1886) was an English architect and surveyor, known for his work on railway buildings.
Life and family
Sancton Wood was born on 27 April 1814 in Nursery Place, Hackney Terrace, Hackney, London. He was ...
. It was upgraded to Grade II* listed building status in March 2020.
Services
From Stamford there is generally an hourly service (operated by
CrossCountry) each day towards
Leicester and
Birmingham New Street
Birmingham New Street is the largest and busiest of the three main railway stations in Birmingham city centre, England, and a central hub of the British railway system. It is a major destination for Avanti West Coast services from , and vi ...
westbound and Peterborough,
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
and
Stansted Airport
London Stansted Airport is a tertiary international airport serving London, England, United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, England, northeast of Central London.
London Stansted serves over 160 destinations acro ...
eastbound as well as additional PM peak hour services.
Services westbound to Birmingham go via
Oakham
Oakham is the county town of Rutland in the East Midlands of England, east of Leicester, south-east of Nottingham and west of Peterborough. It had a population of 10,922 in the 2011 census, estimated at 11,191 in 2019. Oakham is to the west o ...
,
Melton Mowbray
Melton Mowbray () is a town in Leicestershire, England, north-east of Leicester, and south-east of Nottingham. It lies on the River Eye, known below Melton as the Wreake. The town had a population 27,670 in 2019. The town is sometimes promo ...
, Leicester,
Narborough,
Hinckley
Hinckley is a market town in south-west Leicestershire, England. It is administered by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council. Hinckley is the third largest settlement in the administrative county of Leicestershire, after Leicester and Loughbo ...
,
Nuneaton and
Coleshill. Services eastbound to Stansted Airport or Cambridge call at Peterborough,
March
March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March ...
,
Ely and
Audley End
Audley End House is a largely early 17th-century country house outside Saffron Walden, Essex, England. It is a prodigy house, known as one of the finest Jacobean houses in England.
Audley End is now one-third of its original size, but is st ...
.
Despite managing the station,
East Midlands Railway only operates three daily services to the station (mainly for train crew route knowledge purposes); two early morning services to
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
and a late night service to
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...
.
Development
Central Trains
Central Trains was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by National Express that operated a variety of local and inter-regional trains from 2 March 1997 until 11 November 2007.
Overview
Created out of the Central division o ...
undertook internal modifications and refurbishment to the ticket office and booking hall towards the end of their franchise.
Network Rail
Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...
also invested £500,000 on refurbishment of the station building, modern lighting, overbridge and foot crossing to further update the station in late 2007.
In late July 2008,
Network Rail
Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...
was granted
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
consent to make alterations to the then Grade II listed station building to enable larger freight trains of W10
loading gauge to travel on the Peterborough to
Nuneaton route. This will involve changes to the platform alignment and the platform canopy and a temporary platform will be provided during the works.
It is planned that both platforms will be extended by up to 5 metres by no later than 2012.
History
Openings
![2018 at Stamford station - exterior](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/2018_at_Stamford_station_-_exterior.JPG)
Opened by the
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It ama ...
on its
Syston and Peterborough Railway
The Syston and Peterborough Railway was an early railway in England opened between 1846 and 1848 to form a connection from the Midland Counties Railway near Leicester to Peterborough, giving access to East Anglia over the Eastern Counties Railway ...
, train services began on 2 October 1846 on the
Peterborough
Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...
to Stamford section, using a temporary station in Water Street, as the tunnel was not complete. The contract for the erection of the permanent station was obtained by Groocock and Yates of Leicester in 1847. The permanent station opened along with through services to
Leicester on 20 March 1848.
The
London and North Western Railway opened their single track branch line from
Rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
via
Market Harborough
Market Harborough is a market town in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, in the far southeast of the county, forming part of the border with Northamptonshire.
Market Harborough's population was 25,143 in 2020. It is the adm ...
on 2 June 1851. This actually joined the Midland line at
Luffenham, but trains generally worked through to Stamford and terminated in the LNWR bay, platform 3, the far side of the current Leicester platform, which is now disused and filled in.
In 1863, the weekday train service comprised 5 each way per day on the
Peterborough
Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...
- Stamford -
Leicester route, 3 each way per day on the Stamford -
Market Harborough
Market Harborough is a market town in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, in the far southeast of the county, forming part of the border with Northamptonshire.
Market Harborough's population was 25,143 in 2020. It is the adm ...
-
Rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
route, and 1 each way per day on the Stamford -
Market Harborough
Market Harborough is a market town in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, in the far southeast of the county, forming part of the border with Northamptonshire.
Market Harborough's population was 25,143 in 2020. It is the adm ...
-
Northampton route, including through coaches to London Euston, then known as Euston Square.
The LNWR Rugby line was double tracked in 1878, but in 1879 the LNWR built a new line from to
Wansford Wansford may refer to the following places in England:
* Wansford, Cambridgeshire
** Wansford railway station, headquarters of the Nene Valley Railway
* Wansford, East Riding of Yorkshire
{{Geodis ...
on their existing
Peterborough
Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...
to
Northampton Nene valley line, and from this time, Rugby to Peterborough was operated as the main line and the Stamford to Seaton section became a branch line, and was singled again in 1907.
Closures
When
Stamford East station closed in 1957, the Stamford to
Essendine
Essendine is a village and civil parish at the eastern end of the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England, located 5 miles (7 km) north of Stamford and 6 miles (10 km) south of Bourne. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 cen ...
services were diverted to Town station, but these services ceased in 1959. Some minor stations on the Midland line closed in the 1950s and 1960s and the remaining village stations such as
Helpston
Helpston (also, formerly, "Helpstone") is an England, English village formerly in the Soke of Peterborough, geographically in Northamptonshire, subsequently (1965–1974) in Huntingdon and Peterborough, then in Cambridgeshire, and administered b ...
and
Ketton & Collyweston closed in 1966, along with the Seaton branch line from Luffenham.
1970s
With the end of steam traction, the service in the 1970s and early 1980s generally comprised a stopping service formed of 2-car
DMUs running between Peterborough and Leicester every two hours, supplemented by a two or three times a day Peterborough to Stamford shuttle service. There was also a four or five times daily through
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
to
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
service usually formed by a
Class 31 with four or five Mark 1 coaches, these services generally ran non-stop between Peterborough and Leicester.
1980s
General goods services in Stamford finished in the late 1960s but the coal yard remained in use until 16 May 1983.
When the coal yard closed, the opportunity was also taken to close the signal box. All pointwork was removed and mechanical signals were replaced by colour lights controlled by Ketton signal box. Ketton signal box was retained due to the need to monitor the level crossing.
With no crossover, the Peterborough to Stamford shuttles were for a time reversed at Ketton, before being withdrawn altogether.
With the line to the bay platform lifted, the bay was filled in to form a flowerbed.
1990s
In the late 1990s, the toilets were closed, having been the subject of vandalism and variously available since the 1960s. The ticket office is only open in the mornings. The small bicycle rack outside the station was removed.
Summary of former train services
Timetable for February 1863
The table below shows the train departures from Stamford Town on weekdays in February 1863.
Timetable for July 1922
The table below shows the train departures from Stamford Town on weekdays in July 1922.
Stationmasters
In 1853 the station master Thomas Liddell had travelled to Barrowden, intending to return by train but on arriving at Luffenham, he discovered it was too late for the train home. When he got to Ketton, he persuaded a porter to get out a truck, which he proposed to ride home in, thinking that the line from Ketton to Stamford was on a descent, he would be able to travel the 3 miles without propulsion. After initial success, the truck stopped at the bridge approaching Easton-wood and he could not get it moving again on his own. After assistance from the gatekeeper he managed to reach Stamford. The incident reached the directors of the Midland Railway and an officer arrived and took him into custody.
Midland Railway
*Mr. North ca. 1846
*Francis Toplis ca. 1848 ca. 1851
*Thomas Liddell until 1853 (dismissed)
*Edward Darke ca. 1854
*Thomas Hirst ca. 1856 - 1860
(discharged)
*William Ward 1861
[ - 1882 (formerly station master at Manton)
*Thomas Alexander Watford 1882 - 1890 (formerly station master at Rugby, afterwards station master at Tamworth)
*Thomas Walker ca. 1892 - 1894 (afterwards station master at Tamworth)
*William Grant 1895 - ca. 1901
*John Francis Westcott 1903 - 1921 (formerly station master at Elstree)
*Arthur Jackson 1921 - 1930 (formerly station master at Elmton and Creswell, afterwards station master at Berkhamstead)
*William Thomas Dickens 1930 - 1940 (from 1936 also station master at Stamford East)
*Joseph Henry Marshall until 1946
*John E. Pridmore 1946 - 1959
*A. Rolling from 1960 (formerly station master at South Lynn)
]
London and North Western Railway
From 1908 it was agreed that the station be run as a joint station with the Midland Railway, with only one stationmaster.
*Jas. McColm 1862 - 1863 (dismissed)
*John Maw 1863 - ca. 1871
*Samuel Willett ca. 1872 - 1877
*George Wallis 1877 - 1897
*John Brassington 1897 - 1908
References
External links
Brief history of Stamford railways
{{Railway stations served by East Midlands Railway
Buildings and structures in Stamford, Lincolnshire
Railway stations in Lincolnshire
DfT Category E stations
Former Midland Railway stations
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1848
Railway stations served by East Midlands Railway
Railway stations served by CrossCountry
Grade II* listed railway stations
Grade II* listed buildings in Lincolnshire