Holt Junction
Holt Junction station in 1905
General information
LocationHolt, Wiltshire
England
Coordinates51°21′13″N 2°11′10″W / 51.3536°N 2.1862°W / 51.3536; -2.1862
Grid referenceST871616
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyGreat Western Railway
Pre-groupingGreat Western Railway
Post-groupingGreat Western Railway
Key dates
1857Junction established.
1861Station opened.
1874Station rebuilt and connected to the village.
1877Goods shed opened.
1953Goods shed demolished.
1963Goods yard closed.
1966Station closed. Devizes line closed.
1967Signal box closed, main line singled.
1981Remainder of Devizes line lifted.
Devizes Branch
Wessex Main Line
to Trowbridge
 Holt Junction
Wessex Main Line
to Melksham
 Semington Halt
 Seend
 Bromham and Rowde Halt
 Devizes
 Pans Lane Halt
Reading to Taunton Line
to Westbury
 Patney and Chirton
Reading to Taunton Line
to Pewsey

Holt Junction was a railway station which served the village of Holt, Wiltshire, England between 1861 and 1966. It stood on the Wessex Main Line at its junction with the western end of the Devizes branch.

History

In 1848, the Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway Company opened their line southward from Thingley Junction, near Chippenham, at first only as far as Westbury. The line passed Holt village to the southeast but there were no local stations. In 1850, the line was sold to the Great Western Railway (GWR) who completed the Devizes branch line in 1857; this met the Chippenham-Westbury line to the east of the village. Although most sources give a slightly later date of 1861, recent research has found that a single interchange island platform was reported at the junction from 1857: this allowed passengers to transfer between main and branch line trains.[1]: 102 

In 1862 the GWR extended its Reading-Hungerford line westward via Pewsey to Devizes, creating a through route from the South West to London Paddington.[2] By 1866, seven passenger trains each weekday called at Holt; six in the London direction.[3]

The station was reconfigured and connected to the village by a footpath in 1874; in 1877 a road connection was made and a goods shed was built.[4][1]: 102  In 1895, the station gained a footbridge and a platform building.[1]: 104 

In 1897 the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company (later Nestlé) converted Staverton Mill, about one mile from the station, for condensed milk production. In 1909 a large covered loading bay for milk was built to the west of the station; this remained in use until the factory gained a direct rail connection in 1934.[5]

From 1905 the GWR used rail motors (self-propelled carriages) to provide local services on the Chippenham-Westbury line and the Devizes branch.[2]

Decline and closure

Usage of the Devizes line declined from 1900 after the opening of the shorter Stert-Westbury link, which effectively bypassed the longer single line through Devizes to Holt.

The Beeching Axe was the death knell for the junction. The Devizes Branch was recommended for closure, as were the stations between Chippenham and Trowbridge. The goods yard closed in October 1963; the goods shed having been largely demolished in 1953. The station and branch line closed in April 1966. The 48-lever signal box followed in February 1967, and the Thingley to Bradford Junction route was singled.[5][1]: 106 

While most of the Devizes branch was lifted shortly after closure, a spur from Holt station was retained as a long siding until 1981, when it too was lifted. This was used for the storage of empty wagons, and as a stabling point for the Royal Train. [1]: 108 

The site today

The old station master's house at Holt Junction, Wiltshire

The station master's house remains, but all remaining buildings on the old station site were demolished in 1970.[6] The site was used as a builders merchants' depot before becoming a light industrial estate. Some of the site is also used as a caravan storage facility.

The site retains road access to the remaining railway line, for engineering purposes. Freight services, particularly heavy aggregate trains from limestone quarries in the Mendips, continue to use the line through the closed station.

Between 1966 and 1985, passenger usage of the line was limited to the occasional diversion or summer excursion (such as the Weymouth Wizard). The reopening of Melksham station in 1985 saw the resumption of regular passenger services between Swindon and Westbury on the Thingley-Bradford Junction route. The line is also one of the routes used by the Night Riviera sleeper service from London to Penzance.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2003). Branch Lines of West Wiltshire : Malmesbury, Calne and Devizes. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN 9781904474128.
  2. 1 2 Crittall, Elizabeth, ed. (1959). "Victoria County History: Wiltshire: Vol 4 - Railways". British History Online. University of London. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  3. ↑ Henry Blacklock & Co., Bradshaw Works (July 1866). BRADSHAW S GENERAL RAILWAY AND STEAM NAVIGATION GUIDE, FOR GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. Henry Blacklock & Co. p. 15. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  4. ↑ Rod Priddle; David Hyde (1996). GWR to Devizes. Millstream Books. pp. 11–37. ISBN 978-0-948975-43-1.
  5. 1 2 Oakley, Mike (2004). Wiltshire Railway Stations. Wimborne: The Dovecote Press. pp. 68–70. ISBN 1-904349-33-1.
  6. ↑ "Holt Junction". Bradford on Avon Museum. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Broughton Gifford Halt
Line open, station closed		   Great Western Railway
Wessex Main Line		   Staverton Halt
Line open, station closed
Semington Halt
Line and station closed		   Great Western Railway
Devizes Branch Line		  
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