Holt Junction railway station

Holt Junction was a railway station which served the village of Holt, Wiltshire, England between 1861 and 1966. It stood on the Wessex Main Line at its junction with the western end of the Devizes branch.

Holt Junction
Location	Holt, Wiltshire England
Coordinates	51.3536°N 2.1862°W
Grid reference	ST871616
Platforms	2
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	Great Western Railway
Pre-grouping	Great Western Railway
Post-grouping	Great Western Railway
Key dates
1861	Opened
1966	Closed

Devizes Branch
Wessex Main Line to Trowbridge Holt Junction Wessex Main Line to Melksham Semington Halt Seend Bromham and Rowde Halt Devizes Pans Lane Halt Reading to Taunton Line to Westbury Patney and Chirton Reading to Taunton Line to Pewsey

History

The Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway Company opened their line southward from near Chippenham, at first only as far as Westbury, in 1848; the line passed Holt village to the southeast but there were no local stations. The company sold its line to the Great Western Railway (GWR) in 1850. In 1857 the GWR completed the Devizes branch line, which met the earlier line to the east of the village. By 1861 there was a single-platform station at the junction to allow passengers to transfer between main line and branch trains. Holt Junction station opened to passengers in 1874, although the only access from the village was by footpath; in 1877 a road connection was made and a goods shed was added.[1]

In 1862 the GWR extended its Reading-Hungerford line westward via Pewsey to Devizes, creating a route from London Paddington to the South West. However, usage of the Devizes line declined from 1900 after the opening of the shorter Stert-Westbury link.[2]

In 1897 the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company (later Nestlé) converted Staverton Mill, about one mile from the station, for condensed milk production. In 1909 a large covered loading bay was built to the west of the station; this remained in use until 1934, when the factory gained a direct rail connection.[3]

From 1905 the GWR used rail motors (self-propelled carriages) to provide local services on the Chippenham-Westbury line and the Devizes branch.[2]

Closure

The goods yard closed in 1963 and the rest of the station, along with the branch line, closed in 1966.[3]

References

1. Rod Priddle; David Hyde (1996). GWR to Devizes. Millstream Books. pp. 11–37. ISBN 978-0-948975-43-1.
2. Crittall, Elizabeth, ed. (1959). "Victoria County History: Wiltshire: Vol 4 - Railways". British History Online. University of London. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
3. Oakley, Mike (2004). Wiltshire Railway Stations. Wimborne: The Dovecote Press. pp. 68–70. ISBN 1-904349-33-1.

Preceding station	Historical railways			Following station
Broughton Gifford Halt Line open, station closed		Great Western Railway Wessex Main Line		Staverton Halt Line open, station closed
Semington Halt Line and station closed		Great Western Railway Devizes Branch Line