- Gosport railway station
Gosport railway station was a terminus station designed byWilliam Tite and opened to passenger and freight trains in 1841 by theLondon and South Western Railway . It was closed in 1953 to passenger trains, and in 1969 to the remaining freight services. It is a Grade II*listed building . [IoEentry|409730|Entry on imagesofengland.org.uk]History
The terminus was built after considerable negotiation with the
Board of Ordnance , which argued that the site, just outside a main gate in the Gosport Lines ramparts, could compromise thePortsmouth Harbour defences. The buildings were consequently designed to be defensible, with surrounding railings and a roofparapet . [ [http://www3.hants.gov.uk/gosport-dc/gosport-dc-local-studies/local-history-online/gosport-railway-battle.htm "The Battle of Gosport Railway Station 1840-1841"] , Philip Eley, The Railway in Gosport, HantsWeb]From the start, the station was very busy, particularly with the carriage of coal and other freight, and initially was also used for passengers travelling to
Portsmouth , a short ferry ride across the harbour.The station saw the first of many royal visitors in 1843, when Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, greeted
Louis Philippe of France at Gosport. Queen Victoria visited the station six days later when she accompanied the king on his return to France. [http://www.gosport.info/History/Gosport_Railway_History/Gosport_Railway_History_Page_2/gosport_railway_history_page_2.html Gosport Railway History] www.gosport.info] Following Albert's purchase ofOsborne House on theIsle of Wight the following year, he negotiated the construction of an extension of the line through the town ramparts to a private station, the Royal Victoria Station, built inRoyal Clarence Yard for the use of Royal family and household, who would arrive here for theSolent crossing. For the next fifty years, Victoria and her party landed here for her summer holiday at Osborne. The private station was last used for passengers following Victoria's death in 1901, when her coffin, accompanied by her mourning family, was taken across the Solent for the last time. Following Victoria's death, her successor, Edward VII, found Osborne an inconvenientwhite elephant , and gave the house to the nation.The station was given great impetus during
World War I as Gosport's role as Victualler to the Navy increased. There was in influx of supplies to and from Royal Clarence Yard, and also large numbers of troop movements and the transportation of the wounded en route toHaslar Hospital .After the First Word War rail traffic decreased, but with the coming of the
World War II the station saw much military activity again, including supplies, hospital trains and trains carrying prisoners of war on their way to a local internment camp. On the night of10 March 1941 the station received a direct incendiary hit from an aerial attack, the main damage being to the roofing which caught alight and collapsed. After the war Gosport station's role again diminished, and on6 June 1953 scheduled passenger services from Gosport ceased. Freight traffic remained until30 January 1969 , but then the station closed to all traffic.Current status
In 2006, planning approval was given for the site to convert the platforms and buildings into a small number of residential properties and offices with the main gate in Spring Garden Lane opened up for vehicle access. This development is for the
Guinness Trust and has been designed by architect Matt Swanton of award winning architects Format Milton Architects (now Re-Format). [ [http://www.re-format.co.uk/ Gosport Railway Station Planning Submission] Re-Format architects]The station site was linked with the South Hampshire Rapid Transit scheme, which would have used the former railway route, however due to Government refusal to fund the scheme it was formally abandoned in
November 2006 . [ [http://www.hants.gov.uk/press/2006/pr3190.html Tram Scheme To Be Formally Abandoned] HantsWeb]References
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