Battersea railway station

"Battersea station" redirects here. For the London Underground station, see Battersea Power Station tube station. For other uses, see Battersea station (disambiguation).

Battersea
Site of Battersea railway station in 1962
LocationBattersea
OwnerWest London Extension Railway
Key dates
1863 (1863)Opened
1940 (1940)Closed
Other information
London transport portal
A 1912 Railway Clearing House map of lines around Battersea railway station

Battersea was a railway station on the West London Extension Railway located on Battersea High Street in Battersea, south-west London. Built at the request of the parishioners of Battersea,[1] it opened on 2 March 1863.[2] To prevent overloading the embankment, it was built of wood, with brick pillars under the platforms and structures, but was laid with broad gauge track, because the WLER carried GWR trains.[3] It closed on 14 September 1940[2] or 21 October 1940[4] after air raid damage during the Blitz of World War II.[5]

The station was south of Battersea Railway Bridge, at the end of the now pedestrianised area of Battersea High Street by the junction with Simpson Street. It was demolished after closure and no remains are visible today. The site, and an access route from Gwynne Road, continue to remain the property of Network Rail, allowing for potential reconstruction should the need arise in future.

It should not be confused with another station originally opened as "Battersea" on 1 October 1860 (along with Victoria station), but was renamed on 1 July 1862 to "Battersea Park", and located on the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway, adjacent to the pier on the south bank of the River Thames, next to Victoria Railway Bridge. It closed on 1 November 1870.[2]

  1. ^ Sherwood 1994, p. 67.
  2. ^ a b c Quick 2023, p. 72.
  3. ^ Sherwood 1994, p. 67–68.
  4. ^ Sherwood 1994, p. 92.
  5. ^ Faulkner 1991, p. 100.