Mortimer railway station
Encyclopedia
Stratfield Mortimer
Stratfield Mortimer is a village and civil parish, just south of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire.Strictly speaking, the village of Stratfield Mortimer sits at the foot of Mortimer Hill which rises westward from the Foudry Brook. The much larger, and better known, village of Mortimer...
in the county of Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The station is notable for its well-preserved Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS , was a British civil engineer who built bridges and dockyards including the construction of the first major British railway, the Great Western Railway; a series of steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship; and numerous important bridges...
-designed Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
(GWR) station buildings, which are still in use. The station is served by local services operated by First Great Western
First Great Western
First Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd, a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that serves Greater London, the South East, South West and West Midlands regions of England, and South Wales....
.
History
The station was opened in 1848, along with the Reading to Basingstoke railway lineReading to Basingstoke Line
The Reading to Basingstoke Line is a short railway link between the South Western Main Line and the Great Western Main Line, constructed by the Great Western Railway between 1846 and 1848. The line is served by First Great Western local services between Reading and Basingstoke, which stop at the...
and both it, and the station buildings, have been in continuous use ever since. The line was promoted by the nominally independent Berks and Hants Railway, but this company was absorbed into the GWR two years before Mortimer station opened. The approval of the Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
, who lived nearby at Stratfield Saye House
Stratfield Saye House
Stratfield Saye House is a large stately home at Stratfield Saye in the north-east of the English county of Hampshire. It has been the home of the Dukes of Wellington since 1817.-Early history:...
was required for the station's construction.
After railway nationalisation in 1948
Transport Act 1947
The Transport Act 1947 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Under it the railways, long-distance road haulage and various other types of transport were acquired by the state and handed over to a new British Transport Commission for operation...
, operation of the Reading to Basingstoke line, and management of the station, was passed to their Southern Region of British Railways
Southern Region of British Railways
The Southern Region was a region of British Railways from 1948. The region ceased to be an operating unit in its own right in the 1980s and was wound up at the end of 1992. The region covered south London, southern England and the south coast, including the busy commuter belt areas of Kent, Sussex...
(BR). BR undertook major renovations of the station buildings in time for the celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the GWR, including removing the 1920s slates and replacing them with orange pantile
Pantile
Pantile may refer to:*A type of roof tile*The Pantiles, an area of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England...
s in the original style.
Following the privatisation of British Railways, the station is again served by trains running under the Great Western name.
Description
The station is on the double-track Reading to Basingstoke LineReading to Basingstoke Line
The Reading to Basingstoke Line is a short railway link between the South Western Main Line and the Great Western Main Line, constructed by the Great Western Railway between 1846 and 1848. The line is served by First Great Western local services between Reading and Basingstoke, which stop at the...
, and comprises two side platform
Side platform
A Side platform is a platform positioned to the side of a pair of tracks at a railway station, a tram stop or a transitway. A pair of side platforms are often provided on a dual track line with a single side platform being sufficient for a single track line...
s linked by a footbridge. Road access is to the north of the station, next to the up (Reading-bound) platform.
The brick-built single-storey main building has a ticket office and waiting room and is on the up platform. The down platform has a matching waiting shelter. Both buildings are Italianate
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
, designed by Brunel for the GWR. They are the only substantially intact survivors of this, once common, design, although a much modified example exists at . The buildings are listed Grade II*.
Services
The station is served by First Great Western — local trains. There are generally two trains per hour in each direction on weekdays and Saturdays, and one train per hour on Sundays. Trains take 11 minutes to reach Reading, and 13 minutes to reach Basingstoke.Fast passenger trains on CrossCountry
CrossCountry
CrossCountry is the brand name of XC Trains Ltd., a British train operating company owned by Arriva...
services linking Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, the North of England and the Midlands
English Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
with and , pass through the station without stopping. A significant number of freight trains pass through the station, mostly container trains for the Port of Southampton
Port of Southampton
The Port of Southampton is a major passenger and cargo port located in the central part of the south coast of England. It benefits from shelter provided by the Isle of Wight and Southampton Water, unique "double tides" and close proximity to the motorway and rail networks...
.
Culture
- The station appears briefly in the 1974 BBC Doctor WhoDoctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
serial Planet of the SpidersPlanet of the SpidersPlanet of the Spiders is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from May 4 to June 8, 1974. It was Jon Pertwee's last serial as the Doctor and marks the first, uncredited appearance of Tom Baker in the role. It also marks...
. - The buildings were used as the basis for a model station produced by Tri-ang RailwaysTri-ang RailwaysTri-ang Railways was a British manufacturer of toy trains, one of the elements of the Lines Bros Ltd company who traded using the Tri-ang brand name...
.