Ledbury railway station
Ledbury station in 2008 | |||||
| General information | |||||
| Location | Ledbury, Herefordshire, England | ||||
| Coordinates | 52°02′42″N 2°25′30″W / 52.045°N 2.425°W | ||||
| Grid reference | SO709386 | ||||
| Managed by | West Midlands Railway | ||||
| Platforms | 2 | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | LED | ||||
| Classification | DfT category E | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2020/21 | 67,320 | ||||
| 2021/22 | 0.163 million | ||||
| 2022/23 | 0.188 million | ||||
| 2023/24 | 0.185 million | ||||
| 2024/25 | 0.195 million | ||||
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Ledbury railway station serves the town of Ledbury, in Herefordshire, England. It is a stop on the Worcester to Hereford line; it has regular services to Birmingham New Street, with several direct trains each day to London Paddington.
History
The line was built by the West Midland Railway, which opened the station on 15 September 1861. A branch line from Ledbury to Gloucester, via Dymock and Newent, opened in July 1885. Ledbury Signal Box was opened, replacing one or perhaps two earlier signal boxes; it controlled a small engine shed on the north side of the station and a goods yard on the south.
The Newent branch was closed in 1959, and the goods yard and engine shed closed in 1965, leaving just the station itself. The modern station comprises two platforms with waiting shelters and car parking facilities; it is unusual in having a privately run ticket office located in a wooden chalet by the entrance.
The single-track Ledbury Tunnel, immediately to the east of the station, was notorious among steam locomotive crews for its bad atmosphere; this was the result of its unusually narrow bore combined with a steep gradient and a curve at the north end.
The station was featured in episode six of the second series of Great British Railway Journeys. Broadcast on 10 January 2011, Michael Portillo travelled from Ledbury to Shrewsbury.
Station masters
The station master's house is on the approach to the station forecourt and is Grade II listed.[1]
- Frederick Corran Barrett 1863 - 1864[2] (afterwards station master at Abergavenny)
- John Watkins 1864[3] - 1876 (formerly station master at Tredegar Junction)
- Charles Cox 1876 - 1878[4] (formerly station master at Marlborough, later station master at Banbury)
- Arthur William Perks 1879 - 1882[5]
- Richard Roberts 1884 - 1897[6] (later station master at Stroud)
- Thomas Bailey 1899[7] - ca. 1911
- George W. Lane 1924 - 1932[8] (formerly station master at Hartlebury)
- Percy William Tow 1932 - ca. 1938 (formerly station master at Henwick)
- Frederick William Peachey ca. 1939
- C.T. Richards ca. 1953
Layout
Following the singling of the double track between Hereford and Ledbury in 1984, the station area bears the only section of double track. Trains travelling in opposite directions can pass each other between Shelwick Junction, near Hereford, and the east portal of Colwall New Tunnel, beneath the Malvern Hills at the former Malvern Wells station and near to Great Malvern.
Services
Ledbury is served by two train operating companies; the general off-peak service pattern in trains per hour/day is:
- 1 tph to Birmingham New Street, via Worcester Foregate Street
- 1 tph to Hereford.[9]
- 4 tpd to London Paddington, via Worcester Shrub Hill, Oxford and Reading
- 4 tpd to Hereford.[10]
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hereford | West Midlands Railway Birmingham-Hereford |
Colwall | ||
| West Midlands Railway Dorridge-Hereford |
||||
| Great Western Railway Cotswold Line |
||||
| Historical railways | ||||
| Ashperton | Great Western Railway Worcester and Hereford Railway |
Colwall | ||
| Disused railways | ||||
| Ledbury Town Halt | Great Western Railway Ledbury and Gloucester Railway |
Terminus | ||
References
Citations
- ^ Historic England, "Station House (1082900)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 21 August 2021
- ^ "1835-1910 Clerks Vol.5". Great Western Railway: 113. 1835. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
- ^ "1835-1910 Clerks Vol.3". Great Western Railway: 147. 1835. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ "Great Western Railway". Oxford Journal. England. 1 June 1878. Retrieved 21 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "1835-1910 Clerks Vol.5". Great Western Railway: 320. 1835. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ "Notes". Stroud News and Gloucestershire Advertiser. England. 24 September 1897. Retrieved 15 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "1835-1910 Clerks Vol.6". Great Western Railway: 52. 1835. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ "Ledbury Stationmaster". Gloucester Journal. England. 22 October 1932. Retrieved 15 August 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Train Timetables". West Midlands Railway. 18 May 2025. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
- ^ "Train Times". Great Western Railway. 18 May 2025. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
Bibliography
- Parkhouse, Neil (2013). "3. The Ledbury Branch". West Gloucester & Wye Valley Lines. British Railway History In Colour. Vol. 1. Lydney: Lightmoor Press. pp. 66–68. ISBN 9781899889 76 1.
Further reading
- Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2004). Worcester to Hereford. West Sussex: Middleton Press. figs. 69-79. ISBN 9781904474388. OCLC 862604858.
External links
- Train times and station information for Ledbury railway station from National Rail
- Ledbury Station Heritage website - the independent ticket office website between 1993 and 2019
- Cotswold Line Promotion Group