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To mark 200 years since the Stockton and Darlington Railway – the world’s first modern railway – opened on 27 September 1825, Historic England have announced seven new listings relating to railway heritage sites across the country. Four stations have been given Grade II-listed status: Sheringham and Weybourne Stations in Norfolk, Havenstreet Railway Station on the Isle of Wight, and Woody Bay Station in Devon. Additionally, Swanage Engine Shed and Turntable, Northbrook Road overbridge, and the Cleveland Bay (which is believed to be the first purpose-built railway pub in the world) have also been listed.
Shown in both images, Sheringham was a small village station that was important in connecting the agricultural regions, fishing villages, and tourist destinations of North Norfolk with the industrial heartland of the Midlands. Built in 1887 for the Eastern and Midlands Railway on its line from Melton Constable to Cromer, its engineering and architecture were the responsibility of William Marriott (1857-1943), the Company Engineer for the Eastern and Midlands Railway, who was also responsible for the construction of Weybourne Station in 1900. Although Sheringham closed in 1967, it has survived substantially intact: with the exception of a separate office for Great Eastern Railway staff in 1906, its original external form has not had any significant modern additions or alterations – a true time machine, taking visitors back to the heyday of steam travel.
Text: Kathryn Krakowka / Images: Historic England Archive
