Brendon Hill | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Derelict wheelhouse at the summit of Brendon Hill incline | |
| General information | |
| Location | Brendon Hill, Somerset England |
| Coordinates | 51°06′00″N 3°23′51″W / 51.1000°N 3.3975°W |
| Grid reference | ST022343 |
| Platforms | 1[1][2] |
| Other information | |
| Status | Disused |
| History | |
| Original company | West Somerset Mineral Railway |
| Key dates | |
| March 1861 | Opened for goods[3] |
| 7 November 1898 | Closed |
| 1907 | Reopened |
| 1910 | Closed[4][5][6] |
West Somerset Mineral Railway | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Brendon Hill (occasionally referred to as "Raleigh's Cross") was an intermediate station on the West Somerset Mineral Railway (WSMR), which was built primarily to carry iron ore from mines to Watchet harbour in Somerset, England. The line was unconnected to any other, though it passed under what is now the West Somerset Railway south of the village of Watchet. The station was located at the top of the line's most striking feature - a three quarters of a mile, rope-hauled incline at a gradient of 1 in 4 (25%).
The line's seven stations were designed by Rice Hopkins.[7] Brendon Hill was one of the five which showed a clear family resemblance. It was built in anticipation of offering the usual goods and passenger facilities, but no regular passenger service ever ran south of Comberow. The railway, the incline and especially the mines required labour, so a significant community grew up within sight of the station.[8]
Despite its location, which remains remote to this day, Brendon Hill's situation at the head of the incline, together with the happy accidents of having an early railway photographer in the vicinity and exceptional historians interested in the railway have left a rich legacy of photographs of the station in context.[9][10][11][12]
- ^ Sellick 1981, p. 33.
- ^ Jones 2011, pp. 247-250 & 314-5.
- ^ Sellick 1981, p. 5.
- ^ Oakley 2002.
- ^ Sellick 1981.
- ^ Quick 2009, pp. 399 & 459.
- ^ Jones 2011, pp. 100-104 & 377.
- ^ Sellick 1970, p. 109.
- ^ Sellick 1970, pp. 33 & 65.
- ^ Sellick 1981, pp. 24–25, 32–34, 47-49 & 58-61.
- ^ Jones 2011, pp. 1247–250, 259, 268–277, 311-323 & 355-7.
- ^ "Brendon Hill Station and surrounds". West Somerset Mineral Railway Project. Archived from the original on 7 February 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2017.