Cranbrook railway station (Kent)

Cranbrook
Station buildings in 1984
General information
Location	Hartley, Tunbridge Wells, Kent England
Grid reference	TQ753346
Platforms	1
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	Cranbrook and Paddock Wood Railway
Pre-grouping	South Eastern Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway Southern Region of British Railways
Key dates
4 September 1893	Station opened
12 June 1961	Station closed

v t e Cranbrook station
Legend
1954
to Goudhurst Milepost 44¾ to Hawkhurst
Legend
Running line Sidings

Cranbrook railway station is a disused English station which was on the closed Hawkhurst Branch in Kent, England.^[1]

The station was opened on 4 September 1893,^[2] when the line was extended from Goudhurst to Hawkhurst.^[3][4] The station was equipped with a single 300 ft (91 m) platform on the down side, together with a goods only loop.^[5] The stationmaster's house was situated on the platform, with a large goods yard and red brick goods shed to the rear. A warehouse used by a local corn merchant was at the Goudhurst end of the yard.

The station's name was a little deceptive in that the town of Cranbrook was two miles away. When the line was originally being constructed, local landowners had demanded high prices for the sale of their agricultural land and the South Eastern Railway had refused, amending the route of the line so that Cranbrook Station was actually located in Hartley. The villagers came to regret being excluded from the line, and an attempt was made to have a light railway constructed to Hartley. This was never realised.

The station was closed with the line on 12 June 1961.^[2] The station building was used for several years by Brian O'Donoghue and Keith Harding as "Cranbrook Station Pottery". This has now closed and it is reported that the station building is in poor condition, although the stationmaster's house is well preserved.

• Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0049-7. OCLC 19514063. CN 8983.
• Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
• Conolly, W. Philip (January 1976). British Railways Pre-Grouping Atlas and Gazetteer (5th ed.). Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0320-3. EX/0176.
• Vallance, H.A. (February 1955). "Through the Wealden Hills to Hawkhurst" (PDF). The Railway Magazine. Vol. 101, no. 646. Westminster: Tothill Press. ISSN 0033-8923. Retrieved 13 January 2010.

• Cranbrook railway station at Disused-Stations.org.uk
• Cranbrook station on navigable 1940 O. S. map
• Signal diagram, 1934

51°04′59″N 0°30′08″E / 51.0831°N 0.5022°E / 51.0831; 0.5022