The final stop of the old Midland line from Malvern was Ashchurch, a village 2 miles east of Tewkesbury. Ashchurch was once an important junction station, linking the Malvern-Ashchurch branch from the west, the Gloucester-Birmingham main line to the north and south and the 'Gloucester Loop' line, a route which ran east through Evesham and Redditch before rejoining the main Birmingham line at Barnt Green.
The Tewkesbury platform of the original Ashchurch station was built in 1864 and was demolished along with the rest of the site after the station closed permanently in 1971. A new station was opened in 1997, albeit under the name 'Ashchurch for Tewkesbury'. This station occupies some of the original location, although the Tewkesbury line is completely gone and all that remains of the Evesham loop is a quarter-mile long spur which connect the MoD's vehicle storage warehouses with the railway network. In any case, it is still possible to catch a direct train from Great Malvern to Ashchurch, albeit through Worcester.
These pictures show Ashchurch Station during the 1940s and 1950s. The station was a bizarre agglomeration of chords, crossings and sidings, with an odd wedge-shaped station serving the station's three lines. A similar style of building can still be seen today at Barnt Green, in north Worcestershire.
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| 41061 approaches Ashchurch from the north. Note the peculiar flat level crossing where the Tewkesbury line crossed the Birmingham main line to join the Evesham Loop. |
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| 42326 crossing the Birmingham Main Line. |
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| The view north-west along the Tewkesbury platform. The complex in the background is the Dowty Company's private sidings, which lay to the north of Ashchurch station. The company made aeronautical components and mining equipment. |
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| The steel passenger footbridge at Ashchurch. |
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| 'Ashchurch Station, 1957'. This shot clearly shows the three lines that once ran through Ashchurch, as well as the curious wedge-shaped buildings on the platforms. Used courtesy of Ben Brooksbank via Creative Commons. |
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| 'Ashchurch Station: view northward from the A438 bridge in December 1948'. Used courtesy of Ben Brooksbank via Creative Commons. |
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| 'Ashchurch: Midland 0-4-4T engine in Transition'. Used courtesy of Ben Brooksbank via Creative Commons. |
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| 'Ashchurch Station: a view from the 'Entrance' onto the Up platform, with the Tewkesbury Engine'. Used courtesy of Ben Brooksbank via Creative Commons. |
Oh memories: we came on holiday from Nottingham to hire a boat on the river at Bathursts and got on the little train to Tewkesbury from Ashchurch. Then we moved to Tewkesbury (cos we loved it) and me, mum and dad (Horton family) worked at Dowty for many years. I live here again now after years of moving around for our jobs.
ReplyDeleteHello Patsy, thanks for sharing that! I've been meaning to put these pictures up for ages - the Dowty site looks really impressive in the old pictures. I'm going to have to put the Ashchurch pictures up slowly, I think, and probably put up some kind of map because the whole station was so confused it's often difficult to know what it is you're looking at!
DeleteThe Footbridge at Ashchurch was a std Midland Railway steel structure with wooden footboards. Rgds Simon www.gwra.co.uk
ReplyDeleteThank you Simon, have updated!
DeleteThe Toddington Narrow Gauge Railway has some of the signage from Tewkesbury and Aschurch at their shed in Toddington. I believe that they used to occupy premises near the Ashchurch junction originally.
ReplyDeleteHello DRW, I have got a picture of the old Malvern Wells sign from Toddington. Will need to pay the place a proper visit some time!
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