GWR Route: North Warwickshire Line

Stratford on Avon Station

Stratford Upon Avon has had three standard gauge stations associated with the GWR or companies under its influence, two termini of branches and one through station, the current station, which itself has been subject to alterations to its layout over the years. Initially two branch lines served the town each with their own terminus. The first station to open was just south of the current station at Sancta Lane being the site of the OWWR´s (Oxford, Worcester & Wolverhampton Railway) branch terminus which was only operational for a very brief period of time, from 12 July 1859 to 24 July 1861. The second station located on the Birmingham Road, opened on 9th October 1860, was just to the north of the current station and served the Stratford Railway Company's branch line from Hatton to Stratford Upon Avon, a spur off the GWR's Oxford to Birmingham route. The obvious advantage of joining the two branch lines was quickly recognised and the current station was opened on 24 July 1861 with the Birmingham Road station being relegated to goods traffic and the occasional excursion traffic, the latter ceasing in 1869.

The Alcester Road station was built as a two platform station with possibly a bay platform located in a similar position to the current platform 3. The Birmingham Road station remained open as a goods facility until it too succumbed to the competition of road traffic on 6 May 1968. In the early part of the century, probably related to the GWR's decision to open a new main line route to the West of England, the station was rebuilt and upgraded to incorporate a third through platform on the up side of the station although it is known it handled local services from Honeybourne and Hatton. The third platform required the demolition of the up platform's building and the creation of an island platform which shortened platform 2 at the Alcester Road end to provide access to platform 3. Today with the closure of the line to the south of Stratford Upon Avon the physical layout remains the same but history has turned full circle as the town is now effectively served by a terminal station.

The GWR, as with all the railway companies, extensively promoted places to visit by their railway services and Stratford upon Avon and other areas within Warwickshire were no exception. Robert Ferris has transcribed some extracts from contemporary GWR books and these can be read by clicking here. Whilst a number of books have been written on the Great Western Railway's route to the West of England with some information on Stratford on Avon station, the most definitive work is contained in articles written by John Copsey and Chris Turner in two issues of the Great Western Railway Journal, No 52 Autumn 2004 and No 53 Winter 2005. Despite extensive use of their iterations in the captions of the photographs, many near verbatim, these two articles cover a significant amount of detailed information not included on the website. People wishing to learn more about the operations at Stratford on Avon station and shed should therefore seek to obtain copies of the two volumes published by Wild Swan of 1-3 Hagbourne Road, Didcot, Oxon, OX11 8DP, Telephone 01235 816478.

Much of the information on this and other pages of Warwickshire Railways is derived from articles or books listed in our 'bibliography'.

External views of Stratford upon Avon station

Ref: gwrsa501 Real Photographs Exterior view of Stratford on Avon station with the parcel booking office to the right of the gated entrance

Ref: gwrsa498 LGRP Stratford on Avon station in the early days of its ownership by British Railways with a Morris Van parked outside

Ref: gwrsa632 Windows on Warwickshire Looking towards Alcester Road along the main approach to the station showing horse-drawn carriages posed outside

Ref: gwrsa626 Windows on Warwickshire View of a portion of the exterior of Stratford on Avon station to the left of the gated entrance to the down platform

Ref: gwrsa629 Windows on Warwickshire View of the 1910 built section of Stratford on Avon station seen from outside which accommodated the cycle shed

Ref: gwrsa622 Windows on Warwickshire External view of the 1864 main building and the door to the booking office accessed from the down platform

Looking towards Birmingham

Ref: gwrsa505 Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Looking north from Alcester Road bridge towards Birmingham prior to the doubling of the line

Ref: gwrsa505a Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Close up of the up platform and building whilst to the left is a footpath running from Alcester Road to the platform

Ref: gwrsa505b Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Close up of the down platform and modified main station building with the new cycle shed seen on the right

Ref: gwrsa505c Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Close up of a GWR 0-6-0ST 'Dean Saddle Tank' standing at the down platform on a local service to Honeybourne

Ref: gwrsa506 Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Looking to Bearley Junction with the island platform on the left and the down platform on the right circa 1918

Ref: gwrsa502 Anon Stratford on Avon station with local passenger services standing at Platform Three and at Platform One

Ref: gwrsa502a Anon Close up of the auto-trailer standing at the down platform whilst passengers wait to board for Honeybourne

Ref: gwrsa1534 LGRP GWR 2-4-0T No 3563 is seen at the head of a five-coach Leamington Spa to Stratford on Avon local service

Ref: gwrsa1493 NRM Looking towards Wilmecote showing the recently opened island platforms and two trains standing in the station

Ref: gwrsa1493a NRM Close up showing the two local passenger trains standing in the down platform and the up 'bay' platform

Ref: gwrsa507 Real Photographs A pre World War II view of the station looking to Birmingham viewed from Alcester Road bridge on a rainy day

Ref: gwrsa615 RC Riley The Cold Store loop line at Stratford on Avon station with the Ministry of Foods depot seen on the left in 1950

Ref: gwrsa500 Lens of Sutton View from the southern end of Platform One showing a DMU in BR livery standing at Platform Three

Ref: gwrsa500a Lens of Sutton Close up showing the island platform's building which housed substantial passenger facilities

Platform views

Ref: gwrsa1514 NRM Wymans bookstall with the platform ticket barrier seen to its left and the parcel office doorway seen to the right

Ref: gwrsa1530 NRM The parcels area viewed from the island platform with the parcels office on the left and refreshment room on the right

Ref: gwrsa1532 NRM The footbridge steps leading down to the down platform with the horse dock adjacent to the livestock market

Ref: gwrsa1513 NRM Looking towards platform one from platform two showing the gated access to the main station driveway

Ref: gwrsa1531 NRM View from the island platform of Platform One's waiting room, station master's office, and ticket collector's booth

Ref: gwrsa1515 NRM The down platform's storage rooms and cycle rack which were located at the Alcester Road end of the station

Ref: gwrsa620 Windows on Warwickshire The gated entrance to the station's down platform which was located immediately to the left of the Parcels Office

Ref: gwrsa621 Windows on Warwickshire Looking towards the two island platforms, and beyond, the Ministry of Food's Cold Store 1942 built depot

Ref: gwrsa628 Windows on Warwickshire The entrance to the Parcels Office from the down platform showing the triangular sign suspended above the doorway

Ref: gwrsa630 Windows on Warwickshire The Refreshment Room provided on Stratford on Avon's island platform as seen from the down platform

Ref: gwrsa631 Windows on Warwickshire Another view from the down platform of the station's island platform showing the general waiting room

Ref: gwrsa627 Windows on Warwickshire View of the staircases which ran from either side of to the passenger footbridge down on to the island platforms

Ref: gwrsa624 Windows on Warwickshire Another view from the down platform across to the island platforms showing the gentlemen's toilet facilities

Ref: gwrsa623 Windows on Warwickshire Another view from the down platform across to the island platforms showing the ladies waiting room on the right

Ref: gwrsa625 Windows on Warwickshire View of the island platform showing the modesty panel fitted across the entrance to the Gentlemen's toilet

Looking south towards Honeybourne

Ref: gwrsa494 CL Mowat Looking towards Alcester Road bridge from the down platform with Stratford upon Avon's livestock market on the left

Ref: gwrsa508 Real Photographs Looking towards Honeybourne along the down platform whilst on the right is the up platform's passenger facilities

Ref: gwrsa508a Real Photographs Close up showing the 1910 building, which replaced the original 1865 structure, and BR's corporate signage

Ref: gwrsa1517 J Moss View showing the water tank and refuge siding located on the other side of Alcester Road bridge

Signal Boxes and Signals

Ref: gwrsa1518 DH Cowan Stratford on Avon West Signal Box sited to the south of Alcester Road and adjacent to the up refuge siding

Ref: gwrsa1497 J Moss A rear view of Stratford on Avon East Signal Box, equipped with a 55 lever 5-bar tappet frame

Ref: gwrsa1498 J Moss Front view of Stratford on Avon East Signal Box which protected the station and the junction to the goods yard

Ref: gwrsa1501 Anon The signal gantry controlling the access to the station, the engine shed and the livestock market's goods siding

Ref: gwrsa3170 AT Locke The local signalman poses at the window of the then new Stratford on Avon East Signal Box seen in August 1933

Ref: gwrsa3164 AT Locke The Permanent Way gang are seen replacing track adjacent to Stratford on Avon West Signal Box in 1935

Ref: gwrsa3200 AT Locke Looking south from the new Stratford on Avon East Box towards the old East Box in the centre of this photograph

Stratford upon Avon's Goods Shed and Yard

Ref: gwrsa499 Mowat Collection Stratford upon Avon's original terminus station now being used as the GWR's goods yard and shed

Ref: gwrsa499a Mowat Collection Close up showing metal bodied covered van No 292 on the middle No 2 road of Stratford’s goods yard

Ref: gwrsa619 Mowat Collection The goods shed utilised by Flower's Brewery for the transhipping of their beers across the country

Ref: gwrsa619a Mowat Collection Close up showing the loading a covered van of different types of beer shipped by Flowers Brewery

Ref: gwrsa1541 VR Webster/KRM The Beer Shed seen from the adjacent dock with the public entrance to the goods office via the door on the left

Ref: gwrsa3898 RS Carpenter Interior view of the Beer Shed in Birmingham Road Goods Yard, photographed on 30th April 1966

Ref: gwrsa1540 Anon Looking to Birmingham Road with the original 1863 station on the right and the Brewery's beer shed on the left

Aerial views of Stratford upon Avon

Ref: gwrsa1577 TE Williams Ex Great Western Railway 0-6-0 2251 class No 2211 departing on the 8:43am to Leamington in June 1964

Ref: gwrsa1577a TE Williams Aerial close up showing the station from the North with the connection to the shed and cattle market on the left

Ref: gwrsa1537 Simmons Aerofilms Ltd Aerial view of Stratford upon Avon's gas works and sidings, Flower & Sons Brewery and the GWR's goods yard

Ref: gwrsa1537a Simmons Aerofilms Ltd Close up of the gas works with sidings occupied by mainly Private Owner wagons plus the goods sidings

Ref: gwrsa1537b Simmons Aerofilms Ltd Close up of the buildings and other facilities at Stratford upon Avon's gas works and the coal yard

Ref: gwrsa1538 Simmons Aerofilms Ltd Aerial view of Stratford on Avon goods yard and shed, Flowers & Sons Brewery, and the Gas works and sidings

Ref: gwrsa1538a Simmons Aerofilms Ltd Close up of the roads to the gas works, goods yard and brewery with a GWR 0-6-0 shunts the sidings

Ref: gwrsa1538b Simmons Aerofilms Ltd Close up showing goods shed, coal stacking area and a long covered shed adjacent to the goods yard's entrance

Ref: gwrsa1539 Simmons Aerofilms Ltd The throat of the sidings at the station's goods yard, Flower & Sons Brewery and the local gas works

Ref: gwrsa1539a Simmons Aerofilms Ltd Close up of Flower & Sons sidings, the barley house, the bottling plant, and the GWR's water tank in the yard

Schematic Drawings and Ordnance Survey Maps

Ref: gwrsa3169 RA Cooke A schematic diagram showing the various stations, signal boxes and junctions which existed in Stratford on Avon

Ref: gwrsa3171 RA Cooke An 1885 schematic plan of Stratford on Avon showing the trainshed which once covered the lines at the station

Ref: gwrsa3172 RA Cooke A 1920 schematic plan of Stratford on Avon showing the rebuilt station and the third engine shed built at Strtatford on Avon

Ref: gwrsa3041 National Library of Scotland An 1885 OS Map showing the original station built with a train shed spanning the tracks and platforms

Ref: gwrsa3043 National Library of Scotland A 1913 edition of the station showing the new island platform, goods yard and relocated engine shed

Ref: gwrsa3042 National Library of Scotland A 1939 edition of the station showing little has changed to the layout since the beginning of the 20th century

Ref: gwrhj4006 Great Western Railway GWR Land survey plan c1885 of the land acquired by the Stratford Railway to build the Birmingham Road Station

Miscellaneous

Ref: gwrsa1586 R Ferris A response from Paddington received during the construction of the new station in October 1907

Ref: misc_equip250 Great Western Railway Another extract from the ‘GWR Regulations for Train Signalling on Double and Single Lines’

Flower & Sons Brewery

Ref: gwrsa1535 Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Flower & Sons's loading deck for barralled beer moved by road transport seen from the road entrance to the brewery

Ref: gwrsa1536 Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Flower & Son Ltd's brewery shed, boilerhouse and chimney seen from the back of the station's goods yard

Ref: gwrsa1542 Shakespeare Birthplace Trust A Flower & Sons Ltd beer bottle label depicting the brewery and railway wagons standing in the goods yard

Ref: gwrsa1543 Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Lorries being loaded with bottled beer direct from the bottling plant's loading dock with the barley house behind

Ref: gwrsa1544 Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Flower & Son Ltd's lorries standing in line with empty cases ready to take their turn in collecting bottled beer

Ref: gwrsa1545 B England A 1960s aerial view of the goods yard with the brewery to the right and the gas works manager's house