Hayles Abbey Halt railway station

Hayles Abbey Halt
BR 9F 2-10-0 92203 Black Prince heads south through the station site on 18 September 2010.
Location
Place	Hailes
Area	Tewkesbury
Operations
Original company	Great Western Railway
Post-grouping	Great Western Railway Western Region of British Railways
Platforms	2
History
24 September 1928	Opened
7 March 1960	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
UK Railways portal

Hayles Abbey Halt railway station was a halt opened by the Great Western Railway on the Honeybourne Line from Honeybourne to Cheltenham which served the hamlet of Hailes in Gloucestershire, as well as the nearby Hailes Abbey, between 1928 and 1960. The line through the site of the station was reinstated in 1987 by the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway, although no new halt was provided. The GWSR however, have started to rebuild this, with the aim of re-opening it towards the end of 2017. Unlike the original, however, it will only have a single platform.

History

On 9 July 1859, the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway opened a line from Stratford-upon-Avon to Honeybourne.^[1][2] The OW&W became the West Midland Railway in 1860 and was acquired by Great Western Railway in 1883 with a view to combining it with the Birmingham to Stratford Line to create a high-speed route from the Midlands to the South West.^[3][4] The GWR obtained authorisation in 1899 for the construction of a double-track line between Honeybourne and Cheltenham and this was completed in stages by 1908.^[5]

Hayles Abbey Halt was opened on 24 September 1928.^[6] Situated 10 miles 38 chains (16.9 km) from Honeybourne East Loop, the station consisted of two facing platforms constructed of sleepers, on each of which was a small corrugated iron passenger waiting shelter.^[7][8][9] Footpaths from the adjacent road led to the platforms^[6] which were lit by oil lamps^[10] maintained by porters at Toddington whose stationmaster had overall responsibility for the station.^[11]

The provision of the halt coincided with the opening of a museum at nearby Hailes Abbey, a ruined Cistercian abbey founded in 1246 by Richard of Cornwall.^[8] By July 1932, the station was served by six daily railmotor services from Honeybourne to Cheltenham and back, plus one Honeybourne to Winchcombe and back.^[12] The Sunday offering consisted of two services from Honeybourne to Cheltenham and back.^[12] Nearly 30 years later, the final timetable for Hayles Abbey Halt showed the same service pattern, the only difference being an additional service to Honeybourne on weekdays.^[13] The station closed on 7 March 1960,^[6][14] the same day on which the local passenger service was withdrawn from the Honeybourne Line.^[12]

Present day

The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway (GWSR) has reopened the line through Hayles Abbey Halt, with the first services between Toddington and Winchcombe running on 2 August 1987.^[15][16]

Although a new halt was planned on the site in 1998,^[17] this did not materialise. In March 2015, it was reported that the board of the GWSR had authorised the reconstruction of the station to a design to match the original.^[18] However, unlike the original, only a single two-coach platform will be provided on the Cotswolds side of the line.^[18] In June 2016, it was confirmed that a corrugated iron shelter, recovered from Usk, would be re-erected at the station.^[19]

In August 2016, work finally commenced on the rebuild of Hayles Abbey Halt.

References

1. Yorke 2009, p. 82.
2. Maggs & Nicholson 1985, p. 7.
3. Kingscott 2009, p. 97.
4. Oppitz 2004, p. 33.
5. Oppitz 2004, pp. 33-35.
6. Butt 1995, p. 116.
7. Maggs & Nicholson 1985, p. 31.
8. Baker 1994, p. 102.
9. Yorke 2009, pp. 87-88.
10. Mitchell & Smith 2005, fig. 70.
11. Baker 1994, p. 99.
12. Maggs & Nicholson 1985, p. 60.
13. Mitchell & Smith 2005, fig. 71.
14. Clinker 1978, p. 61.
15. Yorke 2009, p. 93.
16. Baker 1994, p. 139.
17. Mitchell & Smith 2005, fig. 72.
18. Johnston, Howard (4–17 March 2015). "Regional News". RAIL. No. 769. p. 24.
19. Johnston, Howard (22 June – 5 July 2016). "Regional News". RAIL. No. 803. p. 24.

Sources

• Baker, Audie (1994). The Stratford on Avon to Cheltenham Railway. Grasscroft, Oldham: Irwell Press. ISBN 978-1-871608-62-5.
• Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
• 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. ISBN 0-905466-19-5.
• Kingscott, Geoffrey (2009). Lost Railways of Warwickshire. Newbury, Berkshire: Countryside Books. ISBN 978-1-84674-174-6.
• Maggs, Colin G.; Nicholson, Peter (1985). The Honeybourne Line: The continuing story of the Cheltenham to Honeybourne and Stratford upon Avon Railway. Cheltenham, Glos.: Line One Publishing. ISBN 978-0-907036-12-8.
• Mitchell, Victor E.; Smith, Keith (August 2005) [1998]. Stratford upon Avon to Cheltenham. Country Railway Routes. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN 1-901706-25-7.
• Oppitz, Leslie (2004) [2002]. Lost Railways of Herefordshire & Worcestershire. Newbury, Berkshire: Countryside Books. ISBN 978-1-85306-754-9.
• Yorke, Stan (2009). Lost Railways of Gloucestershire. Newbury, Berkshire: Countryside Books. ISBN 978-1-84674-163-0.

Coordinates: 51°58′31″N 1°55′59″W / 51.97521°N 1.93314°W