Reedham station is a railway station in the south of Purley

Purley, London

Purley is a place in the London Borough of Croydon, England. It is a suburban development situated 11.7 miles south of Charing Cross.The name derives from "pirlea", which means 'Peartree lea'. Purley has a population of about 72,000....

 in the London Borough of Croydon

London Borough of Croydon

The London Borough of Croydon is a London borough in South London, England and is part of Outer London. It covers an area of and is the largest London borough by population. It is the southernmost borough of London. At its centre is the historic town of Croydon from which the borough takes its name...

 on the Tattenham Corner Line

Tattenham Corner Line

The Tattenham Corner Line is a railway line in Southern England. It was opened in two parts: from Purley to Tadworth as the Chipstead Valley Railway in 1893, and to Tattenham Corner as the Epsom Downs Extension Railway in 1894. Both companies were then acquired by the South Eastern Railway...

. The local area is residential and the station is near the A23

A23 road

The A23 road is a major road in the United Kingdom between London and Brighton, East Sussex. It became an arterial route following the construction of Westminster Bridge in 1750 and the consequent improvement of roads leading to the bridge south of the river by the Turnpike Trusts...

 Brighton Road. The Brighton main line

Brighton Main Line

The Brighton Main Line is a British railway line from London Victoria and London Bridge to Brighton. It is about 50 miles long, and is electrified throughout. Trains are operated by Southern, First Capital Connect, and Gatwick Express, now part of Southern.-Original proposals:There were no fewer...

 is adjacent, but is not served by this station.

It is sometimes referred to as Reedham (London) or as Reedham (Surrey) to distinguish it from another Reedham railway station in Norfolk.

History

The station opened as Reedham Halt on 1 March 1911. The halt was renamed as a station on 5 July 1936. The platforms were extended in 1982 to take eight-car trains in the days when a train had both a driver and a guard. However nowadays, due to lack of station CCTV to assist the driver to close the doors safely, trains without train-mounted external cameras are only permitted to open the doors on the first four carriages.

The station was named after the Reedham Asylum for Fatherless Children, founded by philanthropist Dr Andrew Reed in 1844, and about 300 metres away. The asylum was renamed Reedham Orphanage in 1904 and Reedham School in 1950. It closed in 1979, but the trust which ran it still occupies the original lodge (gatehouse) of the estate.

Services

External links

• The Reedham Trust and old map of