Hampton Row Halt railway station

Railway stations in Bath
Legend  Great Western Main Line to London  Bathford Halt  Wessex Main Line to Westbury  Bathampton Hampton Row Halt Bath Spa(ex-GWR) Bath Green Park(MR and SDJR) Westmoreland Street(GWR, later goods only) Oldfield Park ( SDJR to Radstock ) Weston (Bath) Twerton-on-Avon ( MR to Bristol and Gloucester )  Great Western Main Line to Bristol

Hampton Row Halt railway station is a former railway station in Bath, Somerset, England.

Architecture and opening

Hampton Row station from Kennet and Avon Canal

Hampton Row was named after the street that leads eastwards from Sydney Gardens. The station was built as a halt for the eastern suburbs of Bath. It opened as a railway station in 1907 for Great Western Railway stopping train services from Bristol, Swindon and Westbury, Wiltshire.

The station had two platforms linked by an iron foot bridge which still exists.

The station is on the south side of the river Avon, but to the north of the Kennet and Avon Canal which had to be relocated further south when the railway was built.

Subsequent history

The station was open for only a short period as at the same time trams and motor transport were becoming more commonplace. As a street, Hampton Row leads only on to the canal towpath, which limited the station's accessibility.

Closure

The station was closed on the 25 April 1917 as an economy measure during the First World War as with Twerton station, which served the west of the city. Neither station reopened when peace came.

Current uses

The station has been almost entirely dismantled showing up only as a vacant space between the railway lines and the road or canal embankment. A section of rail forms a barrier between a turning/parking area at the end of Hampton Row and railway property. Hampton Row suffered bomb damage during World War II and was never redeveloped.

References

• Mike Oakley, (2002). Somerset Railway Stations. Dovecote Press, Wimborne.  ISBN 1 904349 09 9