Hethersett was a railway station near

Hethersett Hethersett is a large village and Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in the county of Norfolk, England, about south-west of Norwich. It covers an area of and had a population of 5,441 in 2,321 households at ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

History

The Bill for the

Norwich & Brandon Railway The Norwich and Brandon Railway (N&BR) was the second railway in Norfolk, England, after the Yarmouth & Norwich Railway (Y&NR). Its act of Parliament, the , on 10 May 1844 authorised it to build a line between Norwich and the small town of Bra ...

(N&BR) received Royal Assent on 10 May 1844. Work started on the line in 1844 and the line and its stations were opened on 30 July 1845. Hethersett station opened with the line and was situated east of Spink's Lane station and west of Trowse station. The line ran from Ely to Trowse, in Norwich. The link into Norwich was delayed due to the need to build a bridge over the River Wensum that kept the river navigable. One month before the N&BR opened a Bill authorising the amalgamation of the

Yarmouth & Norwich Railway The Yarmouth and Norwich Railway (Y&NR) was the earliest railway in Norfolk, England. It was formed after it became apparent that it would be a number of years before the Eastern Counties Railway would extend their railway into Norfolk. Its a ...

with the N&BR came into effect and so Hethersett station became a Norfolk Railway asset. Spink's Lane was closed in November 1845, so the next station west of Hethersett was Wymondham. The NR closed Hethersett station in September 1847. Five years later and four years after the

Eastern Counties Railway The Eastern Counties Railway (ECR) was an English railway company incorporated in 1836 intended to link London with Ipswich via Colchester, and then extend to Norwich and Yarmouth. Construction began in 1837 on the first at the London end. Co ...

(ECR) took over the NR the new owners reopened Hethersett Station. A decade after Hethersett reopened, the railways in East Anglia were in financial trouble, and most were leased to the ECR, which wished to amalgamate formally but could not obtain government agreement for this until an Act of Parliament on 7 August 1862, when the

Great Eastern Railway The Great Eastern Railway (GER) was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia. The company was grouped into the London and North Eastern R ...

(GER) was formed by the amalgamation. Hethersett became a GER station on 1 July 1862 when the GER took over the ECR. The GER amalgamated with other railways to form the

London & North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after LMS) of the " Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It operated from 1 January 1923 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. At tha ...

(LNER) on 1 January 1923, so Hethersett became a LNER station. On 1 January 1948 Hethersett became a BR station. Hethersett Station was now served by Diesel trains from 1962. British Transport Commission (1954). BR closed Hethersett station on 31 January 1966.RVJ Butt Hethersett was located some distance from the village it took its name from. It was located on the

Main Line between

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

and

Thetford Thetford is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road (England), A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, coverin ...

. Despite its remote location, the station was served by between ten and twelve trains a day each way during the early 1960s. Following closure, the platforms were removed and the station building stood derelict for many years. It has now been restored and is an industrial premises.

References

External links

Hethersett station on navigable 1946 O. S. map
Disused railway stations in Norfolk Former Great Eastern Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1845 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1966 {{EastEngland-railstation-stub