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Tavistock North was a railway station on the now closed railway line from Okehampton to Bude. It opened in 1890 to serve the town of Tavistock in Devon and closed in 1968, a victim of the Beeching Axe.

History
The history of the station begins in 1883 with the passing of the Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway Act (c.ccxxx) which authorised the formation of a company of the same name. The purpose of this company was to construct a line, approximately 22.5 miles long from Lydford to Devonport via Tavistock and Bere Alston. A station had already been opened at Lydford in 1874 by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) as part of and it was this latter company which was the moving spirit behind the Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway (PD&SWJR)

Edited from 'The Building of the Plymouth, Devonport & South Western Junction Railway' by Stephen Fryer; published by Stephen Fryer 1997. The first railway line opened in England in 1825. This began a boom in the construction of stations and further lines. They provided many benefits for so much of the population, but essentially cheap fast travel to places previously inaccessible.

Tavistock (North) Railway Station was opened in 1890, as part of the Plymouth Devonport & South Western Junction Railway (PDSWJR). It was designed by Galbraith and Church who were the engineers for the line contractors, Relf and Pethick.

The inception through to the construction of the line and Tavistock (North) Railway Station took nine long years, 1881-1890. During this time the formation of railway companies and the routes they wished to form had to receive an act of parliament.

In 1881 the Great Western Railway (GWR) already owned a line serving Tavistock from Plymouth. They were opposed to the competition a new line would bring. Over the next few years it became increasingly clear that another line was needed. In 1882 a committee instructed Galbraith and Church to survey a line giving easy gradients and curves. In 1883 the PDSWJR had support from the London & South Western Railway (LSWR) company as well as the Army and Navy, which enabled a parliamentary bill to be passed, granting the construction of a new line. It took a further six years to raise the funds to build the line.

Work finally began in 1887 at a cost of £793,000 (about £110 million today). Work commenced quickly although with a number of problems. The line was double track and the route presented enormous difficulties to the contractors, as there were numerous hills to be cut or tunnelled through, deep ravines to be spanned and rivers to be crossed. During the construction of Tavistock Station it was estimated there were 2,000 navvies (Irish workmen), 7 locomotives and 150 horses at work on the construction of the line. Over 2.5 million tons of rock were excavated. As a work of engineering skill the line was unsurpassed in its day. There were 76 bridges, 3 tunnels, 6 viaducts and numerous cuttings and embankments along its length. Many people died in the building of the line, demonstrating further the risks and enormity of the construction. Due to the huge number of men working on the railway line Tavistock and the other towns flourished. The extra income helped bring prosperity, although sometimes high spirits weren't to everyone's taste! After an evening spent in the local public houses the navvies often gathered around Sir Francis Drake's statue and on occasion fell asleep at the base. The local residents felt this was disrespectful and so a wrought iron fence was constructed around the statue, which is still in place today.

Tavistock Viaduct spans several streets in the town below. There are five spans of 50 feet and three spans of 32 feet. Tavistock (North) Station was the largest on the line (with the exception of Devonport) covering about five acres. The Station building also differs in design from the previous ones on the line. It was built from Dartmoor granite, with dark mortar and blue brick facings, from Gunnislake. The roof slate came from Mill Hill Quarry and the ragstone from Princetown. Newspaper reports from the time spoke of elegant interior decoration… "and fitted over the mantelpieces in the waiting room are pier glasses in enamelled wrought iron frames, in imitation of carved wood."

The up platform also had a large waiting room, access was afforded by an elegant iron footbridge, built by Arroll Brothers of Glasgow (the company that built the Forth Bridge in Scotland). Both platforms were 350 feet long and were covered by canopies supported on cast iron columns (which had been cast in the Tavistock Foundry). This was the only station to have a canopy over both platforms. The station yard was equipped with a large goods shed and sidings.

The Station opened to much acclaim and fanfare on 2 June 1890.

Station
Tavistock Station closed its doors for the last time in 1968. The Station Master and his wife remained and lived in the Station Master's house, renaming it Beechings Folly. A portion of the land was purchased by the local council and offices now stand in the old station grounds, along with a small residential development. The viaduct has been turned into a nature reserve and cycle route. It's a beautiful walk to Callington and gives panoramic views over Tavistock town.

In 1999 the Station was sold to a family and during the sale English Heritage listed the building as Grade II – listing it as a site of special interest, warranting every effort to preserve it.

In 2007 the next chapter in the Station's eventful history began when it was purchased by Jenny and Codge Rogers.

Tavistock North station is just as it was in 1968 - only now it's for sale as a home, says Harriot Lane Fox

The last train left Tavistock North in 1968 and time has stood still there ever since. Latterly, the canopied platform has served as a makeshift skate park for owner Simon Mole's children and a place for him to mend his boat. The family has hosted barbecues and cocktail parties there. They use it for storage and, on wet Devon days, string a washing line between the ornate iron pillars. Otherwise, the station is untouched, except by the ravages of nearly 40 years' disuse. Tavistock North Off the rails: Tavistock North today (top), current owner Colin Rodgers and surviving memorabilia

The Grade II-listed, granite building dates from 1890, when 2,000 navvies, fresh from tunnelling under the Mersey, headed south to lay a new line from Lydford to Plymouth. For the first time, the London & South Western Railway could run express trains all the way from Waterloo to Devon's capital city, around the north side of Dartmoor - a railway-free zone today. The journey took five hours.

In those genteel times, ladies had their own waiting room. The one here is splendidly vaulted, as are the booking hall, parcels and porter's offices, and the refreshment room (very Brief Encounter). There is also an agent's office; his job was to drum up freight business for the LSWR.

"The stationmaster and his wife stayed on in their house after the last train had passed through and eventually bought the whole site from British Rail in 1978," says Simon. "They changed nothing because they always hoped the trains would come back."

It was a forlorn hope. The track was taken up as soon as the line closed - it is now a footpath - and a little row of houses was built on the "up" platform. However, there may soon be a link reinstated from the edge of town to the Tamar Valley branch line five miles away because Tavistock is poised for a tourist boom. It is the gateway to the historic mining area of west Devon and Cornwall, designated a Unesco World Heritage site in July.

Though in town, the station and stationmaster's house stand in enviable seclusion on the railway embankment with an 18 ft drop to the houses in front and breathtaking views to the eastern edge of Dartmoor.

The Moles unearthed the forgotten gem when they moved from Herefordshire to be closer to the sea; Simon sails at Plymouth, 15 miles away. The stationmaster's widow was still there and invited them in. Much as she would love it to become a family home, she said, she wanted to end her days there. Three weeks later she died. A nephew in America inherited it but didn't want the place, so the Moles were able to buy it, after all.

For the past seven years they have been living in the three-bedroom stationmaster's house while wrestling with the conservation officer over what to do with the station. It is structurally sound but needs new windows and replastering. The lead on the roof is also at the end of its natural life and both buildings are due for reslating. "It would make a great restaurant or exhibition centre," says Simon. "We've even had a GP practice take a look."

They have planning permission and listed building consent to divide the station into three houses, two with three bedrooms and a two-bedder. Each would have part of what is now a car park in front and its own section of platform, with the stipulation that dividing fences be no more than six feet tall so as not to block the view along the Victorian canopy.

This would make an attractive gated enclave with the stationmaster's house renovated too, a development to sell on or a base for a downshifter looking to make some extra income through holiday lets. Knocked together, the two buildings could be a fantastic family home.

The Moles are in the mood to downsize rather than take the project on. They have planning permission to build a new house at the far end of the garden, on the handle of the hatchet-shaped site.

"If that is unacceptable, we are willing to negotiate the inclusion of the garden in the sale," Simon says. "But this is such a unique place that we cannot find anywhere else we would prefer to live."

* July 19, 1889 - Tavistock Station completed. * April 1890 - Major Mandarin from the Board of Trade examined the line and passed it. * May 1890 - Line opens for freight traffic. * June 2, 1890 - Official opening of the Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway. * 1923 - PDSWJR incorporated in the Southern Railway. * 1 Jan 1948 - British Rail created. * post 1948 - The suffix North was added to the name of the station, to distinguish between the ex GWR and SR stations. * 1963 - Southern Region (SR) lines transferred to control of Western Region. * 6 May 1968 - The last trains left Tavistock Railway Station. * May 1999 - English Heritage listed the Station. * May 2007 - Tavistock Station sold to private purchasers. * May 2008 - Tavistock Station renovated and remodelled into three houses available for holiday rental.

our yard crane was the original crane from Tavistock North station. Again, we salvaged it from a farmer's field and had to replace the drive shaft. It was used to lift anything heavy on and off trains. It is now in working order and can be hand-cranked by visitors."

he platform looked very attractive, with a large canopy (originally from Tavistock North) providing shelter from the rain.

This is the North station (LSWR) which is now a private house called "Beechings Folly".

Of Tavistock South, the GWR station, hardly a trace remains. The site is now the cattle market and Tavistock fire station. The old South Devon Railway low bridge on the Plymouth side of the station still catches the roofs of tall vehicles, however! - Thanks to Andrew Wilson for this info.

Trackbed
May 2002. Okehampton to Tavistock, Devon. Devon County Council's North Dartmoor route is now open from Okehampton station to Lydford, with a short diversion around Bridestowe station. Even this diversion will be removed, if negotations with local landowners are successful. A signed walking and cycling route continues from Lydford to Tavistock, although a local newspaper report suggests that this is 'off-railway' until just north of the town, where the trail rejoins the trackbed before crossing Wallabrook Viaduct, and then passing behind Kelly College on an embankment. It continues on the old formation right up to Tavistock North station, which is now a private residence. A detour skirts around this property, after which the route continues as the 'Town Trail' over Tavistock Viaduct, passing through a deep rock cutting and ending a mile further on at Crease Lane. (This is just before the missing bridge over the A390 on the south side of the town.) The newspaper did not state who was behind the project, but it is a safe bet that the partners include Sustrans, Devon CC and West Devon DC. The total distance is 20 miles, with just over half of that on the old railway. There are predictions that this route will become as popular as Cornwall's Camel Trail from Padstow to Bodmin and Wenford. If anything, it has the scenery and railway engineering to surpass that route. (Chris Cook, Jeff Vinter and Ralph Rawlinson)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2005/07/28/railway_line_feature.shtml