Twerton on Avon railway station is a former railway station in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

Architecture and Opening

Twerton was named after the village that it served (west of Bath on the south bank of the Avon) though at the time it was also called Twiverton. The station was built in Gothic style variously called Tudor or

Jacobethan The Jacobethan or Jacobean Revival architectural style is the mixed national Renaissance revival style that was made popular in England from the late 1820s, which derived most of its inspiration and its repertory from the English Renaissance (15 ...

. This style is seen from the tunnel mouths west of Twerton to Bath Spa station including many arches and embellishment in the viaduct itself. This is something of a contrast to the Georgian buildings in the centre of Bath north of the river, but is reflected in the Victorian domestic architecture on the southern suburbs. It opened as a railway station on 16 December 1840 for

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 ...

services from

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

. Four trains a day stopped at Twerton in each direction (out of eleven services each way between Bath and Bristol).

Subsequent history

Twerton station was operated by the Great Western Railway but was renamed Twerton on Avon in 1899 to avoid confusion with Tiverton.

Closure

The station was closed in 1917 as an economy measure during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Passenger traffic into Bath had been reduced by competition from the electric tram line which terminated in Twerton, and the station was not reopened after the end of the war. In 1929 Oldfield Park station was opened nearby (but closer to Bath).

Current uses

The station building like the viaduct on which it sits is a Grade II listed structure, but was boarded up as of May 2006 and appears to be abandoned. A roadside cafe operates from its forecourt, but does not occupy any original parts of the station. In 2017, a local resident, Sean Dudden, proposed the reopening of the station.

References

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External links

www.twerton.com - Twerton Community Site
Disused railway stations in Bath, Somerset Former Great Western Railway stations Great Western Main Line Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1840 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1917