Battlestations: Itmaybe167 yearsold,butGradeII-listedBattlestati oninEast
Sussexlooksasgoodasnewafteramajorconservationprojec tdescribedbylocal
MPHuwMerrimanas“remarkable”.Schoolofthought:SouthernRailway Schools4-4-0No. 30901WinchesterapproachesBa ttlestation’sUpplatformwitha
CharingCross-boundtrainonSeptember9,1 956.Thestationbuilding,whichisb ehindthephotographer,isal istedGoth ic
structurethat isadmiredasoneofthefinestofitskindinthecountry.Atthetimeofthephotograph,theplatformswere
stag gere danddidnotoverlapuntilafterelectrificati onin1986.RCRILEY/ TRANSPORTTREASURY
Classicearly-Victorian main linerailway
architecture savedfor future generations
ByGeoffCourtney
AN early -Victorian main line station,
lauded as one of thecountr y’sfinest
examplesofGothicrailway architecture,
hasreceivedamajorrefurbishment that
haspreservedthe buildingand ensured
its su rvival fordecadesto co me.
Thestation isat Battle,ont he
London CharingCross to Hastings
line,fivemiles north of the south
coast resort. It wasopenedby the
South EasternRailwayin1852, is
Grade II listed,and it currently handles
morethan 500,000 passengersayear
served by Southeastern.
On giving it Grade II status inMay
1987,Historic England described its
designasa“Victorian vicarage in the
medieval style”while one geographic
websiterecently said thatafter St
Pancras,the station building on
the Up platformwas th e“next-best
Gothic railway station in thecountr y”.
Designedby SER architectWilliam
Tress,whose tasteran fro mGothic
to Italia nate,the station includes
an atmosphericcombined booking
hall andwaitingroom with ornate
trefoil windows,and steeply-pitched
roofswith decorativetiles and large
stepped chimneys.
James Kenton, an associate of
ClagueArchitects,which led the
£500,000 project, said:“Securing the
fabric of this glorious stationwasa
challenging one intermsoft he scale
of theconservation required,and
also becauseSoutheasternneeded
to keep the station’s platforms and
booking hall open. Battle onceagain
has astation it can be proud of.”
Thework, whichtook 10 months,
includedreplacing theroof,
rebuilding the chimneys, cleaning
the brickwork andre-homing a
3000-strong beehive. Duetoits listed
status,planningconsentfor the work
madecertain stipulations about
the materials used,and thesewere
sourcedlocally whenever possible,
including tiles thatwas hand-made in
Wealden clay.
Southeasternmanaging director
DavidStatham described the stationas an“iconic historic building”, while
Bexhill &Battle MP HuwMerriman
enthused:“The refurbished station
looks fantastic.Itisasignificantlocal
building,and theattention to detail
involved inrestoring itto its original
gloryisr emarkable.The restor ation
has not only preservedthe building,
but it has ensured it willcontinue
to servepassengers and visitorsfor
generations to come.”
Among those funding the
projectwerethe Railway Heritage
Trust,supportedbyNetwork
Rail,Southeastern, South East
Local Enterpri se Partnership,East
SussexCounty Council andRother
DistrictCouncil,Writetous:Heritage Railway,MortonsMediaLtd,POBox43,Horncastle, Lincs LN 96 LZ. Heritagerailway.co.uk 23
VANDALSwho targeted the
dual-gaugeRiverside Miniature
Railway in St Neot s, Cambridgeshire
and rendered the track unusable
mayhavejeopardised the future
operation of the line,accordingto the
volunteers who runit.
Policewereinvestigating afteragroup ofyouths were seen on the
siteonMonday, July1,d amaging
the CCTVcameraand the track,
plus equipmentbelongingto a
thirdparty.
Aspokesmanforthe railway said:
“Furthervandalism mayaffect
futureopenings.Its addens us thatthe veryoperation of therailway is
nowatrisk.
“Wehaveclear CCTVpictures of
the responsible individuals andwe
have passed thisfootage onto the
police.”
The7¼in/5in dual-gauge
miniaturerailway is setinp arkland.Vandals targetCambri dgeshire parkland miniatureline