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About the
Station
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Shillingstone
Station from the original 1889 plans. |
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Note the absence
of a canopy at this stage! |
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Shillingstone
Station was built by the Dorset
Central Railway and opened on Monday
31st August
1863. Closed on Sunday 6th
March 1966, it is now the last
surviving station built by that
railway company and it is therefore
of great importance, both
historically and architecturally,
that these remarkable buildings are
preserved.
It is a small
station, built to the north east of
the mile long village of
Shillingstone, formerly known as
Shilling Okeford. The main station
buildings, which include a parcels
office and porters’ hut, are
situated on the up platform whilst
the longer down platform had a small
but attractive wooden shelter. The
station was maintained with great
pride by the S&D staff who tended a
beautiful garden with greenhouse
which supplied summer decoration for
the site. With the ancient hill
fort, Hambledon Hill, looking down
upon the scene and the tranquil
River Stour meandering by in the
foreground, Shillingstone was
arguably the most picturesque
station on the entire S&D route.
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Shillingstone station
has played host to both
king and poet in its 103
year operational
history. Edward VII,
when he was still Prince
of Wales, used the
station on several
occasions when attending
parties at nearby Iwerne
Minster House. It was as
a result of his frequent
visits that
Shillingstone acquired
its ornate canopy, a
feature quite unusual
for such a small
station. With the
outbreak of the First
World War, poet Rupert
Brooke joined the army
and found himself
stationed at Blandford
Camp, some four miles to
the south. From here he
and his platoon marched
to Shillingstone to
board the train for
Avonmouth and the
waiting troop ship,
bound for Gallipoli.
Like so many others, he
never returned.
Our
aim now is
twofold. Firstly, to
restore and conserve the
station and its
environment to show how
it looked in the 1950s
and 60s. Secondly, we
want to create an
enhanced experience for
visitors by establishing
a railway and lifestyle
museum with working
steam locomotives and
rolling stock. This will
include a thousand
metres of track with
points, an operational
signal box and a
restoration shed for
locos and carriages. |
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HRH King Edward
VII. |
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Much of this work
has already begun and our progress
will readily be seen by visitors to
the Shillingstone site. However,
this work is dependent upon funding
so we make no apology for asking you
now to help with a donation. If you
go to our fundraising page, you’ll
find full details of how you can
give. Why not support us through
membership of the Trust? For a
modest annual subscription, we’ll
keep you up to date with our work
and you’ll be helping swell the
funds into the bargain.
Just click
here for
full details.
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