Northampton St. John's Street railway station

Northampton St. John's Street was a railway station and the northern terminus of the Midland Railway's former Bedford to Northampton Line which served the English county town of Northampton from 1872 to 1939. Its closure came about as a cost-cutting measure implemented by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway which diverted services to the nearby Northampton Castle station. After closure the elegant station building was used as offices and the line for the storage of rolling stock; the site was cleared in 1960 to make way for a car park. The car park has now been built on and is the location of St Johns Halls of Residence for The University of Northampton.

Northampton St. John's Street
Location
Place	Northampton
Area	Northampton
Grid reference	SP755601
Operations
Original company	Bedford & Northampton Railway
Pre-grouping	Midland Railway
Post-grouping	London Midland and Scottish Railway
Platforms	2
History
10 June 1872[1]	Opened as Northampton
2 June 1924	Renamed Northampton St. John's Street
3 July 1939[2]	Closed
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
Closed railway stations in Britain A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z

History

In 1871, the Midland Railway purchased a plot of land within the grounds of the former St. John's Priory near the centre of Northampton where it was to build the northern terminus of its line from Bedford to Northampton.[3] The plot was bounded on its north by St. John's Street and to the south by Victoria Gardens leading to Cattle Market Road. The station was a large elegant building[4] of a light sandy-coloured limestone was constructed above street level on red brick arches with retaining walls which carried the line above Cattle Market Road as it meandered southwards past Northampton Cattle Market and then across the River Nene. An imposing train shed covered the central part of the two platforms. No passenger footbridge was provided, and so passengers crossed the line using a barrow crossing or a footpath going behind the signal box located on the down side of the line just beyond Cattle Market Road bridge.[5]

Six passenger services ran daily from Northampton to Bedford, the first train departing at 0615 and the last at 1952; the journey time was around 40 minutes. A service also ran to Wellingborough, 30 minutes being taken to cover the 12 mile distance. The station did not see any freight services as these were run to the Midland's separate goods station located near Bridge Street station.[6] In 1923, the Midland Railway became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway and in July 1939 it was decided to close St. John's as a cost-cutting measure. Services were switched to Castle station via Hardingstone junction.[7] Following closure, the lines leading into the old station were used for a number of years as sidings and the storage of rolling stock. In 1948, the station building was converted into offices and were finally demolished in 1960 to make way for a car park.[6]

Routes

Map of railways in the vicinity of Northampton in 1930

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Terminus		London, Midland and Scottish Railway Bedford to Northampton Line		Piddington Line and station closed
		London and North Western Railway Northampton and Peterborough Railway		Billing Line and station closed

Present day

The station site is now the location for the St Johns Hall of Residence for the University of Northampton Also near by is a pedestrian walk way called St Johns Passage and an old Swiss style signal box which has been converted into a house and stands at the end of St Johns Passage.[8] Much of the trackbed of the Bedford to Northampton Line remains intact, and there have been proposals to reopen the line.[9][10]

References

1. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations, Patrick Stephens Ltd, Sparkford, ISBN 1-85260-508-1, p. 172.
2. Clinker, C.R. (October 1978). Clinker's Register of Closed Passenger Stations and Goods Depots in England, Scotland and Wales 1830-1977. Bristol: Avon-AngliA Publications & Services. p. 102. ISBN 0-905466-19-5.
3. 'The borough of Northampton: Gilds and religious houses', A History of the County of Northampton: Volume 3 (1930), pp. 57-61. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=66256 Date accessed: 3 July 2009.
4. Kingscott, Geoffrey (2008). Lost Railways of Northamptonshire (Lost Railways Series). Newbury, Berkshire: Countryside Books. pp. 140–143. ISBN 978-1-84674-108-1.
5. Essery, Bob. "Northampton St. John's Street". LMS Journal (5): 21.
6. Essery, B., p. 23.
7. Oppitz, Leslie (2000). Lost Railways of the Chilterns (Lost Railways Series). Newbury, Berkshire: Countryside Books. p. 141. ISBN 978-1-85306-643-6.
8. Kingscott, G., p. 141-143.
9. "Sole Trader Self Employed, "Bedford - Olney - Northampton"". Archived from the original on 28 May 2010. Retrieved 3 July 2009.
10. BBC News, "New bid to reopen old rail link", 21 June 2004.