Three Counties railway station is a disused railway station near Arlesey in Bedfordshire, England. It served the southern environs of Arlesey. These included the Three Counties Lunatic Asylum, which was finally subsequently known as the Fairfield Hospital. The station was north of Hitchin on the "London-Peterborough" line. It opened in 1866, and closed to passengers in 1959.
Three Counties | |
|---|---|
 Station site in 2010. | |
| General information | |
| Location | Arlesey, District of Central Bedfordshire England |
| Grid reference | TL189355 |
| Platforms | 2 |
| Other information | |
| Status | Disused |
| History | |
| Original company | Great Northern Railway |
| Post-grouping | London and North Eastern Railway |
| Key dates | |
| 1 April 1866 | Station opens as Arlesey Siding |
| 1 July 1886 | Station renamed Three Counties |
| 5 January 1959 | Station closes |
History
edit
The station was opened by the Great Northern Railway (GNR) on 1 April 1866, originally being named Arlesey Siding.[1] On 1 July 1886, the station was renamed Three Counties,[1][2] taking its new name from the nearby Three Counties Asylum, which itself was so named because it was a joint project of three counties - Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire.[3][4]
The GNR became part of the London and North Eastern Railway during the Grouping of 1923. The station then passed on to the Eastern Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948.
The station was closed to passengers, together with the adjacent Arlesey station, on 5 January 1959[1][2] and goods on 28 November 1960.[5] This was due to declining receipts. Arlesey, however, later re-opened.
Notes
edit- ^ a b c Butt 1995, p. 18
- ^ a b Butt 1995, p. 229
- ^ "Three Counties Asylum". Rossbret UK Institutions. Rossbret. 6 August 2007. Archived from the original on 5 May 2009. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
- ^ "A Brief History of the Three Counties Asylum". Three Counties Asylum. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
- ^ source: Bedfordshire Libraries
References
edit- Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
- Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.
External links
edit| Preceding station | Historical railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hitchin Line and station open |
Great Northern Railway East Coast Main Line |
Arlesey Line and station open | ||