Shoreham
This station seems to lack the elaboration of its counterparts along the line
from Swanley to Bat & Ball. The nine-mile single-track branch was built by an
independent concern known as the ‘’Sevenoaks Railway’’ and opened on 2nd June
1862, Shoreham coming into use on this date. At Eynsford and Sevenoaks Bat &
Ball, the main buildings had been built to incorporate accommodation for the
resident Station Master, but such a practice was not employed at Shoreham.
Instead, the ticket office and Station Master’s residence were built as wholly
independent entities. Starting with the former, this was positioned on the
‘’down’’ side, built in red brick and one-storey high, no more spectacular in
appearance than, and similar to, those structures erected by the SER at Halling
and Yalding about three decades later. Arguably, the most imposing features of
the building were the pair of chimneystacks. Presumably, passengers spent the
duration of their waiting time within the main building if the weather was poor,
for the structure lacked any form canopy. Indeed, there was not even an
additional waiting shelter provided on the ‘’down’’ side. However, this seems to
be a common trait among the original stations – Bat & Ball and Eynsford – along
the route. The Otford station opened twenty years later was provided with
substantial canopies on both sides, which indicates the changes in standards
over time. A timber waiting shelter was nevertheless in evidence on Shoreham’s
‘’up’’ side, this built to the exact same style as the example at nearby
Eynsford. More features which these two stations had in common were the
identical metal railings which lined the perimeters of the platforms, and the
matching gas lamps. Before moving on further, the Station Master’s house is
indeed worthy of a mention. This was positioned just east of the station,
alongside the entrance road, and seemed to incorporate the elegance which the
main building lacked. It was two-storeys high, built in red brick , had a
pitched roof, and had architecture on similar lines to the station buildings
which later appeared at West Malling and Wrotham. The window design here was
familiar: these demonstrated the typical ‘’arched’’ patterns used at Eynsford
and, later, on the high-level building at Maidstone East.
Goods provision here could be considered as nothing more than humble: a single
siding was in evidence on the ‘’down’’ side, to the north of the platforms. It
served a pitched-roof goods shed, this of which reflected standard LC&DR design.
However, access to the building was indirect, a reversal manoeuvre into the
siding first being required. The station building’s modesty was to the extent of
the goods shed rivalling it in size – in fact, the latter’s dimensions were
greater in every respect. The shed even boasted the canopy that the station
building never had, although this was attached on the structure’s road-side and
for the benefit of goods vehicles only, not passengers! Still under LC&DR
auspices, these buildings were joined by another structure, circa 1880: this was
the signal box. Erected by contractor ''Saxby & Farmer'', this was of all-timber
construction, complete with hipped slated roof, and could once be found at the
London end of the ''up'' platform. The same company
also built the cabins at the 1882-opened Otford station and the nearby Otford Junction, but the LC&DR employed its own design at Bat & Ball.
The 1923-formed Southern Railway procured a number of noticeable changes. The
first to occur was in July of that year, when the suffix ‘’(Kent)’’ was added to
the name boards in order to differentiate it from the station of the same name
in West Sussex. Electrification in 1935 saw the commencement of an improved
service on 6th January of that year and in preparation for this, the station
received a prefabricated concrete footbridge (a track foot crossing having been
in use before this). The ornate Victorian-styled gas lamps were also replaced at
this time with concrete posts. The original metal railings were, however,
retained, but still no form of shelter or canopy appeared on the ‘’down’’ side,
although both platforms were lengthened at their southern ends. Under British
Railways, the ‘’(Kent)’’ suffix was dropped from the station name and goods
traffic at the site ceased on 7th May 1962, but unlike the goods sheds at
Eynsford, Otford and Bat & Ball, Shoreham’s was spared demolition. This was
because it continued in its coal handling capacity for another six years,
despite being devoid of a rail connection. Thereafter it was used by a builders
merchant, a role it still plays today. Closure of goods facilities was followed
a month later by the total cessation of scheduled steam along the route, when
the third rail was extended from Maidstone East, through to Ashford on 18th
June.
During the 1970s, the SR concrete platform lampposts were replaced with metal
equivalents. It was in about 1986 that Shoreham’s main building acquired its
first section of canopy: Otford’s layout was being degraded at this time, which
included the removal of the extensive canopies and installation of glazed bus
shelters as replacements. A section of the dismantled ‘’up’’ canopy was subsequently reused at
Shoreham over the building’s car park entrance, three new wooden struts being
erected to support it. The canopy only stretched half the length of the
building, thus to the unsuspecting it would seem to be an original feature which
has been subsequently truncated. Next, on 21st February 1971, the Saxby & Farmer
signal box went out of use on the introduction of colour lights, the existing
panel at Swanley taking over its functions. The latter later went out of use in
1983 when the Victoria Panel took control of the area. More structural changes
occurred in 1991 with the demolition of Shoreham’s ‘’up’’ platform shelter and
the installation of a dreaded bus shelter in its place. An additional bus
shelter, or a differing design, appeared on the ‘’down’’ platform in 1998: the
transformation of the station was complete.
1969
A splendid London-bound view shows the station in all its Southern Region glory, before rationalisation. Taking
centre stage is the Saxby & Farmer signal box, with hipped slated roof and timber sides. We can also observe
the connections between the running lines and goods yard, which had ceased to handle general traffic in 1962.
SR Green Totems abound, but note that modern white signs, complete with black text, are creeping onto the
scene on the ''up'' platform. Today, the quaint timber waiting shelter is no more, but we can at least observe
a virtually identical example in use at Eynsford. © David Glasspool Collection
23rd May 2004
The Station Master's house appeared well looked after when viewed on 23rd May 2004. Note the arched windows,
a common LC&DR feature (particularly on this company's ''high-level'' station entrances). Like the main building,
this structure is built from red brick, but the bay window on the front elevation is a later addition. David Glasspool
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