Waterhouses railway station (Durham)

Waterhouses railway station, on the Deerness Valley Railway, south of the village of Esh Winning in County Durham, was opened on 1 November 1877 by the North Eastern Railway.[1] The station served as the passenger terminus of the line, although goods wagons continued to East Hedley Hope and Waterhouses collieries.

For the railway station serving Waterhouses, Staffordshire, see Waterhouses railway station (Staffordshire).

Waterhouses
Waterhouses station, 1958
Location
Place	Esh Winning
Area	County Durham
Grid reference	NZ192416
Operations
Original company	North Eastern Railway
Pre-grouping	North Eastern Railway
Post-grouping	LNER
Platforms	1
History
1 November 1877	Opened
29 October 1951	Closed to passengers
28 December 1964	Closed to freight
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

In 1914 Connie Lewcock, who led the local suffragettes, assisted by Joss Craddock burnt down the railway building at Esh Winning. Lewcock had designed a system that gave her an alibi. By the time the wooden building was alight she had an alibi. She was assisted by a miner named Joss Craddock.[2] The building burnt down but the Police could not make formal charges as she had witnesses who could testify that she was with them at the time of the fire. Lewcock became a popular politician and she was awarded an OBE in the New Years Honours List in 1966.[2]

The station closed to passengers on 29 October 1951, and freight on 28 December 1964.

The stone and timber built station[1] was demolished and the site is now a park. The trackbed now forms part of the Deerness Valley Railway Path.[3]

Deerness Valley Railway
Locale County Durham Line length 8 miles (13 km) Track gauge 4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
East Coast Main Line to Chester-le-Street Durham Lanchester Valley Railway to Consett Durham to Bishop Auckland Line to Bishop Auckland East Coast Main Line to Darlington Ushaw Moor New Brancepeth Colliery Ushaw Moor Colliery Hamsteels, Esh, and Cornsay collieries Waterhouses Waterhouses Colliery East Hedley Hope Colliery Stanley Inclines Stanley Drift Mines Wooley Colliery Bank Foot Coke Works/Chemical Plant Stanhope and Tyne Railway to Consett Crook West Durham Railway to Byers Green Weardale Extension Railway to Bishop Auckland

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Ushaw Moor Line and station closed		North Eastern Railway Deerness Valley Railway		Terminus

References

1. "Station Name: WATERHOUSES (Durham)". Disused Stations.
2. Pugh, M. (2005-05-26). Lewcock [née Ellis], Constance Mary [Connie] (1894–1980), suffragette and socialist. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 29 November 2017, from http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-89853.
3. "Deerness Valley Railway Path". Long Distance Walkers Association.

External links

• Waterhouses station on navigable 1948 O. S. map