Rosherville Halt railway station
Encyclopedia
Rosherville Halt was a railway station on the Gravesend West Line
which was built to serve the popular Rosherville Gardens
, a pleasure garden in Gravesend, Kent
which closed in 1910. The station survived a further 23 years before itself closing in 1933.
, the London, Chatham and Dover Railway
decided to open a station in the hope of attracting some of their custom. It was an initially successful venture with 14,000 people visiting Rosherville Gardens on Whit Sunday in 1886, many of whom arrived by rail. However, the steamers were not going to give up their passengers without a fight and began to undercut the fares charged by the railway company. In the event, the popularity of Rosherville Gardens was on the wane and it eventually closed in 1910. Dwindling traffic led to the station being downgraded to an unstaffed halt in 1928, before eventually closing in 1933.
As with Southfleet
and Longfield
stations, Rosherville Halt was situated in a cutting near a road overbridge from which a footbridge led down to a single island platform
. Rosherville lay just to the west of a bridge carrying the A226 Dartford - Gravesend road
over the line. The covered footbridge complete with two generously wide staircases to accommodate the expected traffic to Rosherville Gardens led from the station buildings at ground level to the platform. Two wooden canopy sections were installed on the platform, and a signal box
was installed in a recess in the brick retaining wall on the down side of the station. A stationmaster's house was sited some distance from the main station buildings, overlooking the cutting.
was converted into the A2260 Thames Way. The cutting was deepened and widened requiring the demolition of the dilapidated stationmaster's house. Only the former railway tunnel to the north-east of the station, now part of the A2260, remains as the surviving remnant of the railway which once served Rosherville.
Gravesend West Line
The Gravesend West Line was a short railway line in Kent that branched off the Swanley to Chatham line at Fawkham Junction and continued for a distance of 5 miles to Gravesend where the railway company constructed a pier to connect trains with steamers...
which was built to serve the popular Rosherville Gardens
Rosherville Gardens
-The Gardens:The gardens were laid out in 1837 by George Jones in one of the disused chalk pits in Northfleet, covering an area of 17 acres...
, a pleasure garden in Gravesend, Kent
Gravesend, Kent
Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, on the south bank of the Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. It is the administrative town of the Borough of Gravesham and, because of its geographical position, has always had an important role to play in the history and communications of this part of...
which closed in 1910. The station survived a further 23 years before itself closing in 1933.
History
The route of the Gravesend West branch through Gravesend adjoined the famous Rosherville Pleasure Gardens which had opened in 1839 on land leased by the Rosher family who gave their name to the popular attraction. Although already served by steamerSteamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
, the London, Chatham and Dover Railway
London, Chatham and Dover Railway
The London, Chatham and Dover Railway was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1859 until the 1923 grouping which united it with other companies to form the Southern Railway. Its lines ran through London and northern and eastern Kent to form a significant part of the Greater London...
decided to open a station in the hope of attracting some of their custom. It was an initially successful venture with 14,000 people visiting Rosherville Gardens on Whit Sunday in 1886, many of whom arrived by rail. However, the steamers were not going to give up their passengers without a fight and began to undercut the fares charged by the railway company. In the event, the popularity of Rosherville Gardens was on the wane and it eventually closed in 1910. Dwindling traffic led to the station being downgraded to an unstaffed halt in 1928, before eventually closing in 1933.
As with Southfleet
Southfleet railway station
Southfleet was a railway station on the Gravesend West Line which served the small village of Southfleet in Kent, England.- Opening :...
and Longfield
Longfield Halt railway station
Longfield Halt was a railway station on the Gravesend West Line which served the settlement of Grubb Street in Kent, England.- History :...
stations, Rosherville Halt was situated in a cutting near a road overbridge from which a footbridge led down to a single island platform
Island platform
An island platform is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange...
. Rosherville lay just to the west of a bridge carrying the A226 Dartford - Gravesend road
A226 road
The A226 road travels in a west-east direction, from Crayford in the London Borough of Bexley, along north Kent through Gravesend to the Medway Towns. It is about 11 miles in length. Before road numbering began in the United Kingdom, the road was part of the major route between London and Dover,...
over the line. The covered footbridge complete with two generously wide staircases to accommodate the expected traffic to Rosherville Gardens led from the station buildings at ground level to the platform. Two wooden canopy sections were installed on the platform, and a signal box
Signal box
On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetable...
was installed in a recess in the brick retaining wall on the down side of the station. A stationmaster's house was sited some distance from the main station buildings, overlooking the cutting.
Post-closure
The signal box was removed following closure and the ground level buildings were subsequently converted into domestic use. The platform buildings remained intact until the mid-1960s. The line through the station was closed in 1968 when freight traffic ceased at Gravesend West. What remained was swept away when the trackbed of the Gravesend Branch from Vale Road as far as Gravesend WestGravesend West railway station
Gravesend West was a railway station on the Gravesend West Line which served Gravesend in Kent. It opened in 1886 and was, for some time, a regular destination for boat trains from London which linked with steamers on the station's pier to ferry passengers to a variety of coastal towns and resorts....
was converted into the A2260 Thames Way. The cutting was deepened and widened requiring the demolition of the dilapidated stationmaster's house. Only the former railway tunnel to the north-east of the station, now part of the A2260, remains as the surviving remnant of the railway which once served Rosherville.