Monument record 6124/1 - Midland Railway (Leicester - Kettering - Bedford - Hitchin)

Although the Leicester - Hitchin route had been mooted by the Midlands Railway Company in 1846 to develop local iron and coalfields, and to reduce the cost of transportation to London, the authorisation act was not passed until 1853. The line was opened to coal traffic in April 1857 and to passengers in the following May. The heavy congestion on the line caused by increasing ore and coal production in the East Midlands forced the Midlands to seek a second route to London from Bedford via Luton and St Albans, which opened in 1868. This then became the main route, and following Beeching's cuts, the Bedford - Hitchin section was closed in 1964 and the line dismantled. From the later 1870's the line south of Kettering was progressively quadrupled, Burton Latimer station being rebuilt as a result.

{1} Midland Railway Company. The railway line was established in 1857 and opened on 7th May of that year. It had two lines running north, one via Manton, Oakham and Melton Mobrary to Nottingham and the other via Leicester and Derby to Manchester and Liverpool. There were also branch lines to Thrapston, Huntingdon, Cambridge and Northampton.

{4} (TL 050489 - TL 188307) Dismantled railway (NAT).

{4-6} Although the Leicester - Hitchin route had been mooted by the Midlands Railway Company in 1846 to develop local iron and coalfields, and to reduce the cost of transportation to London, the authorisation act was not passed until 1853. The line was opened to coal traffic in April 1857 and to passengers in the following May. The heavy congestion on the line caused by increasing ore and coal production in the East Midlands forced the Midlands to seek a second route to London from Bedford via Luton and St Albans, which opened in 1868. This then became the main route, and following Beeching's cuts, the Bedford - Hitchin section was closed in 1964 and the line dismantled. From the later 1870's the line south of Kettering was progressively quadrupled, Burton Latimer station being rebuilt as a result.

<1> Ballinger, J, 1999, Northamptonshire Extensive Urban Survey: Desborough, (unchecked) (Report). SNN103121.

<2> Gough J.V., 2001, A Railway Station for Rothwell?, p.80-81 (unchecked) (Article). SNN102524.

<3> , 1880, First Edition OS 6 Inch Mapping Series?, (unchecked) (Map). SNN44148.

<4> Ordnance Survey Map (Scale/date), OS 1:50 000 1979 (Map). SNN112944.

<5> Leleux, R, 1976, A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: The East Midlands, p. 27-9, 65-6 (Book). SNN110373.

<6> Clinker, C R, 1978, Clinker's register of closed passenger stations and goods depots in England, Scotland and Wales 1830-1977 (Book). SNN113105.

Record last edited

May 27 2025 12:47PM