Ingatestone railway station

Ingatestone railway station is a stop on the Great Eastern Main Line in the East of England, serving the village of Ingatestone, Essex. It is 23 miles 50 chains (38.0 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between Shenfield to the west and Chelmsford to the east. Its three-letter station code is INT. The station is currently managed by Greater Anglia, which also operates all trains serving it, as part of the East Anglia franchise.

Ingatestone
National Rail
The Grade II listed station building in 2013
General information
LocationIngatestone, Brentwood
England
Grid referenceTQ649991
Managed byGreater Anglia
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeINT
ClassificationDfT category D
Passengers
2019/20Decrease 0.875 million
2020/21Decrease 0.242 million
2021/22Increase 0.624 million
2022/23Increase 0.683 million
2023/24Increase 0.728 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

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The first station at Ingatestone was opened by the Eastern Counties Railway (ECR) in July 1843, sited just below Stock Lane, and operated for less than a month. The station consisted of wooden platforms on each side of the railway, connecting to the road carried above by wooden steps up the embankment.

However, the agreement for the construction of the railway across the Petre Estate, obtained in 1836, and section 7 of the enabling local Act of Parliament, the Eastern Counties Railway Act 1838 (An Act to amend and enlarge the powers and provisions of the Act relating to the Eastern Counties Railway, 1 & 2 Vict. c.lxxxi) in 1838 both required that the Petre Estate consent to the construction of any station on the estate.

The railway obtained consent for the construction of a station adjacent to Old Hall Lane (now Station Lane), adjacent to the level crossing, subsequently the site of the existing station. Despite this, in August 1842, the railway requested permission to relocate the station to the cutting adjacent to the Stock Lane bridge, a change that Lord Petre refused to agree. Despite this, a station was constructed on the alternative site and opened on 22 July 1843 for services between Shoreditch in London and Colchester.

VII. Provided always, and be it further enacted, That no Road, Wharf, Yard, Engine, Station, Loading or Unloading Place, Warehouse, Toll House, Building, Machine or Machinery, nor other Erection, shall at any Time or Times hereafter be made or erected by the said Company on any Part of the Estate of the said Lord Peter, nor within One Mile of the Mansion House of Thorndon Hall or of the Mansion House of Ingatestone Hall, except with the Consent of the said Lord Petre or other Owner or Owners thereof, and except at or near Brentwood adjoining the public Road leading from Brentwood to Ingrave on the North-west Side of the Line of the said Railway, where a Station may be made.

Following the legal case of Lord Petre v Eastern Counties Railway Company in August 1843, an injunction was issued by the High Court prohibiting use of the Stock Lane station. As a result, a permanent station on the present site was opened in 1844 and certainly given the present main station building, in Tudor style with diaper brickwork, in 1846. The up-side buildings (largely not in railway use for some years, but restored as a station café, with grant aid from the Railway Heritage Trust, in 2017) were provided by the Great Eastern Railway (GER) in 1885 to a domestic revival design by W. N. Ashbee.[1][2][3]

Ingatestone station, and the area around it, form one of the first conservation areas to be designated in Essex. The station is a Grade II listed building.

Services

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A train bound for London Liverpool Street in 2023

Services are operated by Greater Anglia. The typical off-peak Monday-Saturday service is two trains per hour west to London Liverpool Street, one per hour east to Clacton-on-Sea and one per hour east to Braintree. On Sundays, there is one train per hour west to London Liverpool Street and one east to Ipswich.[4]

Preceding station   National Rail Following station
Greater Anglia
Historical railways
Anglia Railways

References

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  1. ^ Paar, Harry; Gray, Adrian (1991). The Life and Times of the Great Eastern Railway 1839-1922. Welwyn Garden City: Castlemead. ISBN 0-948555-26-2.
  2. ^ Quick, M.E. (2005). Railway Passenger Stations in England and Wales: a chronology. Richmond, Surrey: Railway & Canal Historical Society.
  3. ^ Kay, Peter (2006). Essex Railway Heritage. Wivenhoe: Peter Kay. ISBN 978-1-899890-40-8.
  4. ^ "Timetables". Greater Anglia. 2 June 2024. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
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51°40′01.03″N 0°23′02.33″E / 51.6669528°N 0.3839806°E / 51.6669528; 0.3839806