Tag Archives: Southern Railway

The Crumbles Branch, Eastbourne

Leave a reply

The featured image for this article shows a typical branch train heading towards Eastbourne. It comprises a number of mineral wagons running empty after delivering coal to the Eastbourne Gas Works, © Public Domain. [38]

The Crumbles Branch (also known as the Ballast Line or Crumbles Railway) was a 3.5-mile standard-gauge industrial branch line constructed in 1862 that ran east from Eastbourne’s railway area out onto the remote shingle beach known as The Crumbles. [5][6][7][8]

The Crumbles Branch ran from Eastbourne Railway Station Northeast roughly parallel to the coast. It is shown in yellow as it was part of the wider network near Eastbourne. A short branch can be seen near Roselands which served the Destructor Works. The Gas Works with its associated sidings, is directly North of the ‘LA’ of Roselands. The Turquoise line runs through, what were until the 1960s, rifle ranges to the Northeast of Eastbourne. It appears on the Ordnance Survey undertaken at the end of the 19th century but not on later surveys, so should not be confused with an electric tramway which was a tourist attraction in the mid-20th century. It may be associated with the Hall & Co. Narrow-Gauge (2ft) Tramway. [24][31]
This image is a scan of the relevant page of a BR SR Route Mileage folder which gives some details of the Crumbles line at Eastbourne. The branch features at the centre of the image. This image was shared on the Disused Railways of Sussex Facebook Group by John Atkinson on 28th January 2021. [36]

The shingle bank/beach was 3⁄4-mile-wide (1.2 km) – shingle collected here was used as ballast for railway lines across the LB&SCR and the wider UK network. [2: plate 27]

This photograph was taken by Andrew Diack at the beginning of July 2025. Looking north-northeast from the Waterfront car park at Sovereign Harbour, the photo shows a fenced-off fragment of land in the form of a bank that is approximately 3⁄4-mile-wide (1.2 km) and is known as the Crumbles, © Andrew Diack and licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons licence (CC BY-SA 2.0). [6]

Andrew Diack tells us that, “This distinctive area of coastal deposition lying adjacent to the sea underlies modern Sovereign Park and Princes Park and continues towards Sea Houses, near Eastbourne Pier. The irregular surface of ridges and hollows once contained pools of water in places, and a “Cromble Pond” of irregular form is shown on early maps, including John Speed’s map of Sussex of 1611 and Robert Marden’s map of Sussex of 1693, while the Ordnance Survey map of 1813 also shows “Crumble Pond”. In 1845, the Crumbles were partitioned between Lord Burlington, later the 7th Duke of Devonshire, and the Gilbert family; both families had a long association with the town as major landowners, benefactors and developers. The Gilberts and the Cavendish family, who as the Dukes of Devonshire were, in fact, connected by marriage through the Compton family, who were also landowners in Eastbourne and whose estate was managed from their residence at Compton Place, previously Bourne Place. The partition of the Crumbles was said to have been beneficial toward the development of the Seaside suburb to the east of Eastbourne. The railway came to Eastbourne in 1849, and with the expansion of railways so grew the demand for railway ballast and the need for gravel quarries to supply the stone. In 1857-62 the London Brighton & South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) negotiated the purchase of not less than 48,000 cubic yards of shingle from the Duke of Devonshire at 1 penny per cubic yard, to be extracted from the Crumbles.” [6]

Andrew Diack writes: “Due to the buoyant demand for ballast, this was a period of expansion for the gravel pits that produced the product, but it was equally a time when the natural landscape of vegetated shingle ridges suffered greatly by being transformed into a scarred landscape where industrial machines created holes and gashes in the surface of the land. Over a period of a hundred years shingle was removed at the rate of around 250,000 tons per year for railway ballast and building material, and that resulted in the height of the land being reduced by 4 metres within 100 metres of the shore.” [6]

Additional branches were added to the line, including a siding built in 1870 for the Eastbourne Gas Company, which straddled the railway. The gasworks received coal via the rail connection and in return, produced coke, which was taken away. [2: plate 32][3]

“In 1926, a line was laid for the Eastbourne Corporation Electric Works, which transported coal and supplied fuel to the bus garage, as well as taking scrap metal from the refuse destructor works.” [2: plate 29][3][5]

In fact, “as Eastbourne expanded, the branch evolved into an industrial corridor. It served the town’s gasworks (delivering large volumes of coal), brickworks, timber yards, and destructor works.” [6]

Ballast trains ran until 1932, when the LB&SCR’s successor, the Southern Railway, switched to using granite.

Andrew Diack continues: “Although the gravel had a variety of uses, when railways changed to the use of granite chippings in 1930, the business went into terminal decline. (Broken granite chips interlock better than rounded pieces of flint, and they also provide good shock absorption and easier maintenance.) Shingle extraction gradually diminished, and by 1932, the railway was no longer used to transport shingle, though it continued to serve [some] other industrial sidings in addition to the gasworks.” [6]

“The branch ceased steam working in April 1960, after which diesel shunting locomotives took over [2: plate 28] until the line was closed in … 1967.” [2: plate 29][3][5]

Andrew Diack says that “The Crumbles railway continued to serve the gasworks until …  1967, but with gas production ceasing in June 1967, the track fell into disuse, and in the late 1980s it was removed at the time of the Eastbourne re-signalling project.” [6]

A short series of photographs follow below, all taken circa. 1962 by Dick Gilbert.

The line to the Crumbles remained in place until the early 1960s when these pictures were taken.
There is no trace of anything shown in these pictures in the 21st century (Dick Gilbert, around 1962), (CC BY 2.0). [4]
The line across the Crumbles (Dick Gilbert, around 1962), (CC BY 2.0). [4]
The location of this wooden building is what is now the eastern side of the roundabout where the A259 coast road meets Lottbridge Drove (A2290). It is no longer there, but was probably a house for the crossing gates controller as the line crossed the A259 here – the houses on the left are on that road and some are still recognisable. The trackbed out to the Crumbles is on the right (Dick Gilbert, around 1962), (CC BY 2.0). [4]
The redundant rails and sleepers removed from the branch line (Dick Gilbert, around 1962), (CC BY 2.0). [4]
Disused/redundant skip wagons (Dick Gilbert, around 1962), (CC BY 2.0). [4]

The remote shingle beach area of The Crumbles where the line terminated has since been redeveloped and is now home to Sovereign Harbour and retail developments. 

An exploration of this line can be found here on YouTube. [7]

Following the Line

A separate line ran alongside the main line out beyond the location of the Engine House. …

The Crumbles Branch ran beside and to the East of the main line a short stub line turned away to the East from the branch to serve a small yard. The branch continued under the bridge which provided a link between Upper Avenue and Cavendish Place. The 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1898, published in 1899. [8]
The same area as it appears on the modern ESRI satellite imagery provided by the National Library of Scotland. The bridge noted on the map extract above can be seen in the top-right of this image. The road is now named Upper Avenue. [9]
The short stub siding mentioned above is shown here on another extract from the same OS sheet. It passes under the link road and most probably already in place before that road was conceived. The site served by the sliding is marked ‘Smithy’ on a later Ordnance Survey map. [8]
The view South from Upper Avenue bridge towards Eastbourne Station. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Looking North from Upper Avenue bridge towards Whitley Road bridge. [Google Streetview, August 2026]
The next length of the line which covers the length between Upper Avenue bridge and that carrying Whitley Road. The 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1898, published in 1899. [10]
While Upper Avenue appears to be much the same width as on the map extracts, Whitley Road bridge has been significantly widened. [Google Maps, August 2026]
Looking South from Whitley Road bridge towards Upper Avenue bridge. [Google Streetview, August 2026]
Looking North from Whitley Road bridge. [Google Streetview, August 2026]
The line to the North of Whitley Road bridge. Another short branch from the Crumbles Branch serves as a private siding for a Timber Yard. The Crumbles Branch can be seen separating from the main line close to the Pumping Station. Another short siding can also be seen leaving the branch closed to the top of this map extract. This 25″ OS map extract of 1898, published 1899, spans two OS sheets. [10][11]
This extract from the 25″ OS map extract of 1898, published 1899 shows the sliding which appeared at the very top of the last map extract. It is not clear what the site was used for at the turn of 20th century. [11]

This small extract from the 6″ Ordnance Survey of 1938, published in 1947, shows a new building on the site, no rail connection, and the site is designated a Glass Works. Careful examination of the map extract shows that, although the sidings within the site and the building they served are now gone, the point on the Crumbles Branch remains. [12]

The Crumbles Branch diverged from the main line. 25″ OS map extract of 1898, published 1899. [11]
The line continued to turn northeastwards. [11]
Now heading Northeast, just at the top-right of this map extract a branch led away to the East. It served the Eastbourne Destructor Works and was in place for a period in the early- to mid-20th century. [11]
The Crumbles Branch begins to turn North, the branch to the Destructor Works does not appear on this next 25″map extract from 1898/99, nor does it appear on later 25″ surveys provided by the NLS. [11]
The 6″ Ordnance Survey of 1938, published in 1947 shows both the short siding/branch and the Destructor Works themselves which were sited to the Southeast of St. Philips Avenue. [12]

The branch serving the Destructor Works. [24]

A short aside is worthwhile here, to provide some information about the Destructor Works. …

The Eastbourne Destructor Works was a late 19th-century municipal waste incinerator and early energy-from-waste facility, producing electricity which was used locally in Eastbourne. Plants like this were built as towns grew and traditional waste disposal became difficult, the site burned household refuse in high-temperature furnaces to reduce volume, produce clinker, and generate steam for electricity. Coal was often required alongside the rubbish to keep the furnaces hot enough. [7][13][14]

By the 1950s and 1960s, shifting environmental standards, modern waste management approaches, led to the closure and demolition of the complex and the lifting of its rail link. [7][14]

The wider industrial footprint stretched across the area of modern-day St Philips Avenue and Bridges Close. The refuse handling section stood roughly where the current recycling site is on St Philips Avenue, while the core furnace operations and rail sidings were nearby towards Bridges Close. Only the recycling centre remains as a hint to the past use of the industrial site. The rest of the land has been redeveloped into housing estates and roads.

Simon Meader shared two photographs (photographer not known) which were taken before the nationalisation of the railways, both focus on the location of the level-crossing on St. Philip’s Avenue.

The level-crossing on St. Philip’s Avenue in the inter-war years of the 20th century. This image was shared on the Disused Railways of Sussex Facebook Group by Simon Meader in comments in 2024, © Public Domain. [15]

The level-crossing on St. Philip’s Avenue after bomb damage to the adjacent property in WW2. This image was shared on the Disused Railways of Sussex Facebook Group by Simon Meader in comments in 2024, © Public Domain. [15]

Looking West-northwest along the line of the old rail link, a short cul-de-sac called ‘The Sidings’ is seen here from St. Philip’s Avenue in August 2024. The waste amenity site is behind the camera to the right. [Google Maps, August 2024]

The Sidings runs West-southwest from St. Philip’s Avenue along the line of the old rail link.

The Sidings is bottom-left in this image, the civic amenity site is centre-right. [Google Maps, August 2026]
Looking along the rail link into the site of the Destructor Works from Roseland Avenue level-crossing. This image was shared by  Matthew Cox on the History of Sussex Facebook Group on 14th November 2025, © Public Domain. [17]
Approximately the same view from Roseland Avenue in the 21st century. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Turning through 180° from the view above, this image looks back along the line of the old railway towards St. Philip’s Avenue. The pedestrian gate is on the approximate line of the railway. [Google Streetview, August 2024]

More about the Destructor Works can be seen on Matthew Cox’s video below:

A video providing details of Eastbourne’s Destructor Works and associated rail link. [14]
The Crumbles Branch continues on towards Eastbourne Gas Works. The watercourse that it bridges twice on this extract is Horsey Sewer [11]
At a reduced scale this extract shows the line continuing Northeast. [11]
Now turning East the branch approached the gas works which straddled the line. [11]
The Crumbles Branch approaching the Gas Works, seen from the West in 1932, © Historic England (EPW039402). [22]
Eastbourne Gas Works as shown by the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1898, published in 1899. [11]

The same area in the 21st century, the locations of the two gasometers can still be seen alongside a later additional gasometer. [19]

The lines serving the Gas Works. [24]

Eastbourne Gas Works were rail-served by the Crumbles Branch. The three gasometers can be seen in this aerial view of the Works, © Historic England (EPW039401). [16]
A closer view of the gasworks, seen from the West in 1932, © Historic England (EPW039397). [20]
An even closer view of the gasworks, seen from the West in 1932, showing the Crumbles Branch running through the Works, © Historic England (EPW039397). [20]
The sidings on the West side of the Works, seen from the West in 1932, © Historic England (EPW039397). [20]
The sidings on the East side of the Works with a number of Southern Railway coal wagons in evidence, seen from the West in 1932, © Historic England (EPW039397). [20]
The Gas Works, seen from the South in 1932, © Historic England (EPW039398). [21]

The National Archive record for the Works states: “The Eastbourne Gas Company was formed by Deed of Settlement in 1857. The original area of supply was the town and parish of Eastbourne and the parish of Willingdon. The company was dissolved and reincorporated by Act of Parliament in 1868. A new works was built in Willingdon and the original one closed.”

Over the next eighty or so years The area served by the plant grew. At each stage of development an Act of Parliament either extended the area of supply or permitted the company to purchase other gas companies and their areas of supply until nationalisation took place in 1949 when the undertaking became part of the Sussex Divison of South Eastern Gas Board.

The Crumbles Branch left the Gas Works heading Southeast, (one of the Gasometers is on the left of this image), seen from the South in 1932, © Historic England (EPW039398). [21]
A passing loop was provided on the line, to the East of the Gas Works, after bridging a drainage channel the line crossed…. to the Southwest of Crumbles Bridge. [11]
Crumbles Bridge can be seen at the top-centre of this next map extract. The line continues in a generally East-northeast direction, crossing another drainage channel. [11]

The early gravel extraction/ballast workings were to be found at this location and this was for a time the end of the branch as shown on the 6″ Ordnance Survey below: …

In 1875/76 this 6″ Ordnance Survey, published in 1879 shows the gravel pits which were the end of the line at that time. Crumbles Bridge can be seen just to the North of centre-left of the extract. [25]

The level crossing and Crumbles Bridge. [25]

Crumbles Bridge was built between 1823 and 1827 to serve the local turnpike road network connecting Eastbourne and Hailsham. It crossed a low-lying drainage channel.  The bridge was reconstructed in 1969 as the local road infrastructure changed. The surrounding shingle and marsh landscape has since been heavily redeveloped into residential areas and the Sovereign Harbour marina.

The same area as shown on the map extract immediately above. The location of the level crossing is just to the Southwest of the roundabout. The drainage channel continues to follow its original course with the more modern bridge sitting at the same location as the old Crumbles Bridge. [37]

Looking Southwest along the line of the Crumbles Branch from the location of the old level-crossing on Seaside. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
Looking Northeast along the line of the Crumbles Branch from the location of the old level-crossing on Seaside. The line ran towards the poplar trees on the horizon. [Google Streetview, August 2024]
The same location as on the extract from the 1875/76 6″ Ordnance Survey as it appears on railmaponline.com. [24] The turquoise line which appears here may represent a part of a 2ft-gauge network of tramways owned by Hall & Co. Hall & Co. tramways were transient, moving with the area being worked for shingle. [31]

Hall & Co. 2ft-gauge tramway as it was in 1959, this extract is taken from the 1:25,000 Ordnance Survey. [32]

The Crumbles Branch line was extended beyond that shown on the 1875/76 6″ Ordnance Survey above, to access further gravel reserves to the Northeast.

The line curve towards the Northeast and passed the end of a tramway which ran through the rifle ranges. [26]

The military association with the Crumbles began in the early 19th century with the construction of defensive Martello Towers to ward off Napoleonic invasion. By the late 1800s and early 1900s, this desolate, wide-open shingle plain was deemed the perfect location for a military live-firing range.

The main range featured firing points stretching up to 600 yards. Marksmen and local cadet groups (such as the Eastbourne College Cadet Corps) would lie on the dirt to fire live ammunition from .303 Lee-Enfield rifles at large targets. The targets were managed by soldiers or cadets stationed “in the butts”—a protected, sunken trench directly beneath the targets. Their dangerous job was to pull the massive frames up and down via ropes, patch up the bullet holes, and signal the scores back to the firing line.

A red warning flag was flown whenever firing was live, and any stray bullets flew harmlessly out over the English Channel. The ranges remained active through both World Wars for troop training and continued operating well into the 1960s. The range finally closed in the late 1960s, and the area was later completely reshaped to build the Sovereign Harbour marina complex.

The electric tramway of the mid-20th century is covered in a separate article which can be found here. [30]

The line continued out across the shingle bank. [26][27]
The line continued further Northeast. [27]

The end of the line in 1898/99. [27]

Railmaponline.com shows a somewhat greater extent of the various lines which served the shingle quarries/workings at this location. These extensions supported the workings until their closure in the 1930s. [24]

This is the extent of the line as it appears on the 25″Ordnance Survey of 1908, published in 1909. [28]
This is the extent of the line as it appears on the 25″Ordnance Survey of 1925. [29]
E2 Tank No. 100 at the Ballast Pit in the 1920s. This image was shared by Robert Ian on the Disused Railways of Sussex Facebook Group on 15th January 2025. [35]

We have noted in the narrative above the 2ft-gauge Hall & Co. Tramway which was horse and cable-worked. [31][32][34] There were other transient tramways laid on the Crumbles, these were associated with the local brickworks. Just inland of the open shingle beach (approaching St. Anthony’s Hill and the Langney boundary), the 1898 OS maps catch the footprint of Eastbourne’s late-Victorian building boom. Local clay pits and brickfields (such as those that eventually became the South Eastern Brick and Terra Cotta Works) utilized small, lightweight clay tramways to transfer raw materials from excavation pits to the kilns. [33]

References

  1. Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith; Brighton to Eastbourne; Middleton Press, 1985.
  2. Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith; Eastbourne to Hastings; Middleton Press, 1986.
  3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Coastway_line, accessed on 29th August 2026.
  4. https://www.flickr.com/photos/harryclaggers/43482880200/in/photostream, accessed on 29th August 2026.
  5. https://uktransport.fandom.com/wiki/East_Coastway_Line, accessed on 29th August 2026.
  6. https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/8115913, accessed on 29th August 2026.
  7. https://youtu.be/HSSFptGzpPc?is=TGSPLGusqjEehdRd, accessed on 29th August 2026.
  8. https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=17.6&lat=50.77259&lon=0.28579&layers=168&b=ESRIWorld&o=100, accessed on 29th August 2026.
  9. https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=17.6&lat=50.77259&lon=0.28579&layers=168&b=ESRIWorld&o=0, accessed on 29th August 2026.
  10. https://maps.nls.uk/view/103675453, accessed on 29th August 2026.
  11. https://maps.nls.uk/view/103675420, accessed on 28th August 2026.
  12. https://maps.nls.uk/view/101436231, accessed on 30th August 2026.
  13. https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/20/a3187820.shtml, accessed on 30th August 2026.
  14. https://youtu.be/9X0YFtsGYzM?is=yWKt8iiJQbE-rt-x, accessed on 30th August 2026.
  15. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18ZS5t6UBz, accessed on 30th August 2026.
  16. https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/en/image/epw039401, accessed on 30th August 2026.
  17. https://m.facebook.com/groups/sussexhistory/permalink/25602800352636948, accessed on 30th August 2026.
  18. https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/submission-event/eastbourne-industry-and-commerce.html, accessed on 30th August 2026.
  19. https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=17.0&lat=50.78783&lon=0.30057&layers=168&b=ESRIWorld&o=0, accessed on 30th August 2026.
  20. https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/en/image/EPW039397, accessed on 31st August 2026.
  21. https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/en/image/EPW039398, accessed on 31st August 2026.
  22. https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/en/image/EPW039402, accessed on 31st August 2026.
  23. https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/e9fbbd39-8529-47dc-b58f-045c4d7fd34d, accessed on 31st August 2026.
  24. https://railmaponline.com, accessed on 31st August 2026.
  25. https://maps.nls.uk/view/102347779, accessed on 31st August 2026.
  26. https://maps.nls.uk/view/103675429, accessed on 31st August 2026.
  27. https://maps.nls.uk/view/103675393, accessed on 31st August 2026.
  28. https://maps.nls.uk/view/103675390, accessed on 31st August 2026.
  29. https://maps.nls.uk/view/103675387, accessed on 31st August 2026.
  31. The Hall & Co. Narrow-Gauge Tramway was, unlike the main LB&SCR railway branch that took deep shingle out for mainline railway ballast, a localized system dedicated to commercial shingle and gravel extraction. Track was moved dynamically over the years across the Crumbles to reach active digging pits. It was cable-worked and horse-drawn in its earliest iterations. It fed local concrete product works and smaller commercial loading docks rather than servicing the LB&SCR’s need for ballast. See also the OS Map @ reference [32]
  32. https://maps.nls.uk/view/95750294#zoom=4.6&lat=2718&lon=3174&layers=BT, accessed on 31st August 2026.
  33. https://plandocs.tandridge.gov.uk/my-requests/document-viewer?DocNo=25469297, accessed on 31st August 2026.
  34. https://deangoods.co.uk/eastsxng.html, accessed on 31st August 2026.
  35. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GfNXWhYgx, accessed on 31st August 2026.
  36. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GSkYoS75y, accessed on 31st August 2026.
  37. https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16.6&lat=50.78750&lon=0.30722&layers=168&b=ESRIWorld&o=0, accessed on 1st September 2026.
  38. This image is taken from a report written by C. Butler & C Russell; Desk-based Assessment for the Sovereign Harbour Cycle Network Phases 2 and 3, (Ringwood Road to St Anthony’s Hill Roundabout) Eastbourne, East Sussex (updated from the original Desk-based Assessment for Phase 2A); Chris Butler MIfA, Archaeological Services Ltd., 2012; via: https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-969-1/dissemination/pdf/chrisbut1-398965_1.pdf, accessed on 1st September 2026.

Appendices

Appendix 1

Chris Butler and Dr Caroline Russell

Desk-based Assessment for the Sovereign Harbour Cycle Network Phases 2 and 3, (Ringwood Road to St Anthony’s Hill Roundabout) Eastbourne, East Sussex (updated from the original Desk-based Assessment for Phase 2A)

Chris Butler MIfA, Archaeological Services Ltd – Project No. CBAS0176 – October 2012

4.9.11 …The 1st Edition OS map of 1874 (Fig. 16) shows significant changes to have taken place to the landscape surrounding the Phase 2 cycleway route. Although the Horsey Sewer is shown within a field system that broadly reflects that seen on the early maps, a tramway now runs along its length. It crosses the sewer at three places, to run past the Eastbourne Gas Works and on to the Crumbles, with a single track branching off into the gasworks. To the immediate southeast is Horsey Farm, and then further southeast are ‘Rose Lands’ and a brickfields. [p15]

4.9.12 … The tramway served the beach gravel extraction on the Crumbles, and can be seen on the broader OS map to extend onto the beach before dividing into three separate branches; the gravel pits on the beach are recorded as MES7969-MES7971. In 1857-1862, the London Brighton and South East Railway negotiated with the Duke of Devonshire to purchase not less than 48,000 cubic yards of shingle from the Crumbles, at 1 penny per cubic yard. [48] They constructed a railway close to Eastbourne railway station, which ran through open countryside and along the Horsey Sewer, to turn south to cross the turnpike road (Seaside) near the junction with Lottbridge Drove. The railway was 6.4m wide and ran for 5.6km. It was known as the Ballast Line or the Crumbles Railway, and served the gasworks from 1870 onwards. In 1874, the Crumbles were also used for firing practice (firing ranges MES7961 and MES7962).

4.9.13 The Eastbourne Gas Company was formed in 1852, [49] and was incorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1868, [50] whilst the brickworks was in existence by 1866, and was operated by James Peerless, who leased the land from the Devonshire Estate in 1860. [51]

It continued to operate there until 1899. A smaller brickworks was located at Rose Lands, and was operated from 1860 to the 1880’s by the Eastbourne Brick Co. Ltd. [52]

4.9.14 In contrast, little change had taken place by 1875-1880 along the Phase 3 cycleway route (see Fig. 16 for the 1st Edition OS map). A footpath led through the short droveway, having come through the fields to the northwest. Further northeast along the Phase 3 route, two causeways, each in a different field, gave entry to the same field to the southeast. A drainage channel had been excavated beside the Crumble Sewer, to define a small rectangular plot, possibly a holding pen, directly outside the site boundary. At the north end of this new plot, a footbridge now provided access across the sewer and into the field to the northeast. From here, an adjacent causeway, rather than the previous central causeway, led southeast into the narrow field north of St. Anthony’s Hill. The only building nearby was ‘The Lodge’, a public house on the coast road, south of the hill.

4.9.15 The gasworks had expanded eastwards by the 2nd Edition OS map of 1899 (Fig. 17); ESRO holds a plan of the land intended to be acquired for this expansion, which was drawn in 1879 by H.E. Jones, the Engineer for Eastbourne Gas. [53] The main brickworks had migrated northeast, with allotment gardens having been established along the northern edge of the earlier workings. Rose Lands was a nursery by this time, with a refuse destructor works and air compressing station located on its north side. [p16]

4.9.16 The tramway now had additional sidings serving the gasworks. It continued onto the Crumbles, where it ran to the east, while a branch turned southwest before returning westwards to Seaside on an existing earthwork (MES7968) shown on the 1st Edition OS map. Housing development had expanded northeast along the southeast side of Seaside. The tramway also later served the refuse destructor works and air compressing station, the brickworks and a timber yard.

4.9.17 The Phase 3 cycleway route remained unaltered between 1875-1880 and 1899 (see Fig. 17 for the 2nd Edition OS map). The footbridge had gone. The possible animal pen on St Anthony’s Hill now looks to have been defined by a fence line rather than by ditches, and a second larger such enclosure had been erected in the same former field, on the south side of the hill.

4.9.18 The Martello Towers (MES512 and MES513 / MES7994) on this stretch of coastline all disappeared in the late 19th or early 20th century. Tower 71 was demolished after having been used as target practice for the testing of the new rifled Armstrong Guns in 1860. [54]

Tower 72 had been washed away by the sea sometime prior to 1872, [55] as had West Langney Fort. Tower 70 had likewise been undermined by the sea and was abandoned in 1872 along with Tower 69. Tower 67 was demolished in 1922, whilst Tower 68 was knocked down in c.1925 to make way for residential development (however, see para. 4.9.28).

4.9.19 The 3rd Edition OS map of 1909 (Fig. 18) shows little change to the immediate area around the Phase 2 site, although there had been further housing development along Seaside. A long narrow plot of land was now fenced off along one side of a field, to form a passageway presumably for the movement of livestock between two fields, including the narrow field to the east in which the cycleway runs through. The Martello Tower on St. Anthony’s Hill (MES513 / MES7994) is marked on the map, along with its moat and footbridge; its absence from the 1st or 2nd Edition OS map is somewhat odd, although military installations were often omitted from OS maps for security purposes.

4.9.20 During the First World War, a temporary tented camp was set up at Horsey Bank, in the area of the junction of Churchdale Road and Astaire Avenue. [56] The allotment gardens shown on the 2nd and 3rd Edition OS maps (Figs. 17 and 18) were put to good use during these years, although it is recorded that the Eastbourne Gas Company refused a request to plough up land for allotments, but a compulsion order overturned this. [57] [p17]

4.9.21 From December 1911, Eastbourne Aviation Company Ltd had their manufacturing aerodrome (MES7491) at a site directly to the north of Lottbridge Drove. [58]

From about this time, this site also became the school aerodrome for the Eastbourne Aviation School and the Fowler Flying School. A map of the airfield [59] (Fig. 20) shows the middle stretch of the Phase 3 cycleway route to have been located within Fowler’s original 50 acre airfield.

4.9.22 In August 1914, the hangars and buildings of the aerodrome were taken over by the Royal Navy Air Service. [60] The aerodrome at St. Anthony’s was a RNAS flying school from April 1915 to April 1918, when it became a training depot station for the RAF until 1919. In November 1918, the RAF airfield comprised 242 acres, having predominantly expanded northwest across the Levels (Fig. 20). Almost the full route of the Phase 3 cycleway now stood within the airfield, except for the last stretch through the two fields at the northeast end. With the exception of one area, the buildings, which included a large hangar (MES7990) and the engine sheds, were built around the Martello Tower (MES513 / MES7994) and therefore outside the site boundary. The 15 Bessoneaux hangars were erected in three rows, with two rows having stood opposite each other to the northwest of what is now Birch Road, and the third row having stood along the south side of what is now Leeds Avenue, directly south of St. Anthony’s Hill. During the Phase 2A watching brief an identity disc was found. It is engraved R.N.A.S. / TURNER / ERNEST / EDWARD / A M / F364/ CCE. Ernest Edward Turner is recorded as having been born in 1894 in Bangalore, India, and entered the RNAS in 1914; [61] it is presumed that he served at St Anthony’s.

4.9.23 The aerodrome was licensed for civilian use again in April 1920 [62] and finally closed in 1925. The only remaining structure of the aerodrome is a guardroom (MES7991) from the RNAS phase of use, which is now a bungalow on Leeds Avenue. The large hangar (MES7990) stood extant nearby until the storm in 1987; its foundations are still visible today.

4.9.24 A site on the Crumbles, in the region of the present day Sovereign Centre, was used by the Eastbourne Aviation Company as a seaplane factory, and also for the refuelling and servicing of patrolling seaplanes. [63] The hangars on the Crumbles were converted to an aircraft factory, and during the war the Eastbourne Aviation Company built a total of 252 aircraft. [p18]

4.9.25 By the 4th Edition OS map of 1928 (Fig. 19), the tramway has developed to include a branch line to the refuse destructor works and air compressing station, and additional sidings at the gasworks. The return route of the tramway to Seaside from the Crumbles had been dismantled by this time. Some ‘tanks’ are shown adjacent to the Horsey Sewer, north of the gasworks and alongside a footbridge. Major housing development had taken place to the southeast of the Phase 2 cycleway route, along the northwest side of Seaside. Eastbourne Corporation had a licence to place a footbridge over the Horsey Sewer in 1926, [64] and had an agreement for works in the Horsey Sewer in 1937. [65]

4.9.26 The decline of the tramway began in 1920 when the ballast used on the railways changed to granite chippings and there was no further requirement for the shingle. 

Shingle continued to be taken to the Duke of Devonshire’s depots at Eastbourne Station to be used for building purposes until 1931. [66] The shingle beds at the Crumbles were leased to Hall and Co. [67] who then began to use lorries to move the shingle, stopping rail movements completely in 1932. The tramway continued to serve the gasworks and other industrial sidings, taking thousands of tons of coal to the gasworks (Fig. 21). [68]

4.9.27 The land around the Phase 3 cycleway route looked little different in 1925-1930 from what it had done in 1910 (see Fig. 20 and the 4th Edition OS map of Fig. 19 for a comparison), revealing how easily the land had reverted to pasture after its use as an airfield. A number of buildings from the aerodrome still stood, including the engine sheds as well as the guardroom (MES7991) and large hangar (MES7990). A sluice is shown across the Crumble Sewer, south of the former hangar. A crossing across the sewer was now sited where the footbridge once was; it is the location of a bridge today, although it was not identified as such on this OS map. The crossing led into a small enclosure, once part of a larger enclosure, which linked up with the field to the east.

4.9.28 Residential housing had been built on the east side of St. Anthony’s Hill, and below it along Seaside. Both the inner and outer circular roads of The Circus and Rotunda Road had been laid out around the hill, although neither was specifically named as such at this time. The Circus was built around the in-filled moat of Tower 68, [69] whilst Rotunda Road may have traced the boundary of land first purchased by the government in 1795. The single building at the centre of the housing development, within The Circus, may incorporate the base of the Martello Tower (MES513 / MES7994) in its cellar. [70] Allotment gardens had been planted directly south of St. Anthony’s Hill and beside the Phase 3 cycleway route on Lottbridge Drove. [p19]

4.9.29 During the Second World War the coastline was put into a state of defence with anti-tank cubes, walls and ditches (e.g. MES7997), minefields (e.g. MES8007) andscaffolding located on the beach, and other defences such as pillboxes positioned to the rear (e.g. MES7999, MES8017 and MES8018). [71] Unexploded bombs fell in allotments near Lottbridge Drove on 14th September 1940, while the gasworks was attacked on the 19th October, setting alight the Number Three gasholder. [72] On 12th March 1941, eight bombs were dropped to the south of the Phase 2 site around Churchdale and Southbourne Roads, and on the following night bombs were dropped to the north of the gasworks. On the 26th August 1942, a German FW190 fighter-bomber was shot down and crashed into a ditch beside Lottbridge Drove. Further bombs were dropped on open ground near the gasworks as well as on the Crumbles on 6th June 1943. On considering its location in the Levels, further out of town, no bombs are known to have fallen in the area of the Phase 3 cycleway route. [73]

4.9.30 A 1947 aerial photograph (Fig. 22) shows residential development to have extended almost as far north as the Horsey Sewer. By the early 1960’s (modern OS maps are not reproduced), the housing developments had reached the southern edge of the sewer, and the tramway is still shown. In the locality of the Phase 3 cycleway route, further residential development had occurred on and around St. Anthony’s Hill, and hadexpanded out onto the Crumbles along Wallis Road and around the adjacent crescent.

Between 1947 and 1961, the Horsey Sewer was straightened to the north of the gasworks, cutting off the former droveway onto Lottbridge Drove. Three new causeways had been constructed along the course of the Phase 3 cycleway.

4.9.31 The tramway had gone by the time of the 1975 OS map, as it had finally closed in 1966. [74] The 1975 map also shows the commercial developments at the southeast end of Lottbridge Drove. One or two buildings appear to have stood at the northeast end of the Phase 3 cycleway route, facing onto the road north of the roundabout, which had been built by then; these buildings were demolished by 1992. The commercial developments had extended beyond the Horsey Sewer, along both sides of Lottbridge Drove by the 1981 OS map. This map also shows new housing developments along the north side of the Horsey Sewer. [p20]

Relevant References

48. Botha, A. 2006. The Crumbles Story. Eastbourne: ALB Books

49. Wright, J.C. 1902. Bygone Eastbourne. Spottiswood and Co. Ltd.

50. ESRO amsh/AMS5616/2/70

51. Beswick, M. 2001. Brickmaking in Sussex. Middleton Press.

52. Ibid.

53. ESRO QDP/448

54. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=1669.0;prev_next=next#new

55. http://www.martello-towers.co.uk/south-coast/towers

56. Elliston, R.A. 1999. Eastbourne’s Great War 1914-1918. Seaford: S.B. Publications.

57. Ibid.

58. CCI Gazetteer of Flying Sites

59. McMahon, L. And Partridge, M. 2000. A History of the Eastbourne Aviation Company 1911-1924. Eastbourne Local History Society.

60. CCI Gazetteer of Flying Sites

61. National Archives ADM 188/1175

62. Ibid.

63. McMahon, L. And Partridge, M. 2000. A History of the Eastbourne Aviation Company 1911-1924. Eastbourne Local History Society.

64. ESRO SRA7/15/33

65. ESRO SRA4/6/16

66. Botha, A. 2006. The Crumbles Story. Eastbourne: ALB Books.

67. http://www.cambrianmodels.co.uk/eastsxng.html (Gazetteer of Narrow Gauge Railways in East Sussex)

68. Botha, A. 2006. The Crumbles Story. Eastbourne: ALB Books.

69. Butler, C. 2007. East Sussex Under Attack. Stroud: Tempus Publishing.

70. Ibid.

71. Butler, C. 2007. East Sussex Under Attack. Stroud: Tempus Publishing.

72. Humphrey, G. 1998. Eastbourne at War. Seaford: S.B. Publications.

73. Ibid.

74. Botha, A. 2006. The Crumbles Story. Eastbourne: ALB Books.

Relevant Images (p50 – 56)

Gatwick Railway Station and Airport Through the Years

2 Replies

Gatwick Airport (London) lies close to the town of Crawley, on the Victoria-Brighton main line. The station sits immediately to the East of what is now the South Terminal of the airport. This article was promoted by two aerial images of the site of the Airport and its railway station in the September 1997 issue of Steam World. [6]

The featured image for this article shows a Southern Railway U-1 Class locomotive No. 1906. U and U1 2-6-0s were the everyday locos you would have seen stopping at Gatwick Racecourse on local services prior to the electrification of the London-Brighton line, © Public Domain. [16]

Before the Airport there was Gatwick Racecourse, (c) Historic England, EPW028582, 1929. [1]
Gatwick Railway Station and Racecourse in 1896 as shown on the 25″ Ordnance Survey. [7]
Gatwick Railway Station and Racecourse as it appears on the 25″ Ordnance Survey of 1912, published in 1913. [8]

The present station, originally known as Gatwick, was built for the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR). It was closed in 1876 and reopened in 1891 by the LBSCR to serve the Gatwick Racecourse. At that time it was operating only on race days. [14]

Gatwick Racecourse Railway Station, circa. 1910, (c) Public Domain. [17]

The station, however, became obsolete due to the opening of nearby Tinsley Green/Gatwick Airport Station in September 1935. It was closed after the completion of the Beehive airport terminal, which was directly connected to the Gatwick station. [14]

Wikipedia marks significant events for Gatwick Airport and it Railway Station [13] from 1920 to 1945:

Late 1920s: Land adjacent to the racecourse (at Hunts Green Farm, along Tinsley Green Lane) was used as an aerodrome. The Hunts Green farmhouse on the land used for the aerodrome was converted into a clubhouse and terminal.

November 1928: Dominion Aircraft Limited based its Avro 504 G-AACX at Gatwick from November 1928.

October 1929: the Southern Railway “announced plans to electrify the Brighton Main Line on the 660 volts DC third rail system, in addition to the stretch westwards from that town to Worthing, and to Reigate. In the Daily Mirror on Monday 19th January 1931, the cost of the works was stated to be £2,770,660, exclusive of new or converted rolling stock, and covered 52-track miles. Work commenced in that year and the first scheduled electric passenger services started to run as far south as Three Bridges from 17th July 1932. On 5th of the previous month, three-aspect colour light signalling had come into use between Coulsdon North, on the Quarry Line, and Balcombe Tunnel Junction (31¾-miles from London Bridge), and in stages was completed through to Brighton, the last section between the latter and Preston Park coming into use on 16th October 1932. From Coulsdon North to Norwood Junction, and between Coulsdon South and Earlswood, semaphores were retained, and the accelerated electric timetable came into use on the full length of the Brighton Main Line on 1st January 1933. This was the first main line in the country to be electrified and at the time comprised the longest continuous stretch of colour light signalling in the world.” [19]

The story of the electrification can be found here. [20]

1st August 1930: Ronald Waters, manager of Home Counties Aircraft Service (based at Penshurst Airfield in Kent), who had come into possession of Gatwick Aerodrome, got a licence for it. He founded the Surrey Aero Club there.

2nd–3rd August 1930: Flying began with pleasure flights for the local population in Avro 504s of Waters’ Surrey Aero Club.

1932: The Redwing Aircraft Company bought the aerodrome, and operated a flying school; it was also used for pilots flying in for races.

1933: The Air Ministry approved commercial flights from Gatwick.

September 1933: A. M. (Morris) Jackaman, who owned several light aircraft, bought the aerodrome for £13,500. He had bold ideas for its future, such as expanding it to make it suitable to use as a relief aerodrome for London (Croydon) Airport and providing a regular service to Paris using de Havilland DH.84 Dragon aircraft. He overcame resistance from the Air Ministry, which was concerned about the cost of draining the clayey land and diverting the River Mole.

The down “City Limited”, 5 pm. from London Bridge to Brighton, comprising ten coaches and two Pullmans, passing Hassocks in May, 1934, (c) Public Domain. [20]
The all-Pullman electric express, renamed the “Brighton Belle” in 1934, approaching Balcombe. This train, composed of two five-coach sets, completed the return journey between Victoria and Brighton three times on weekdays and twice on Sundays, (c) Public Domain. [20]

1934: Jackaman oversaw Gatwick’s transition to a public aerodrome, licensed for non-private flights, and planned a proper terminal building linked to a new railway station on the adjacent Brighton Main Line. He formed a new airport company, Airports Limited. Hillman’s Airways became Gatwick’s first commercial airline operator, beginning scheduled services from the airport to Belfast and Paris.

January 1935: Hillman’s Airways moved to Gatwick from Stapleford Aerodrome.

1935: A new airline, Allied British Airways, was formed with the merger of Hillman’s Airways, United Airways and Spartan Air Lines. The new carrier, which later shortened its name to British Airways, became Gatwick’s principal operator. Dorking and Horley Rural District Council was concerned about possible compensation claims from local residents and the threat of facing liability for flying accidents, and it “could see no benefit” to allowing further development of the aerodrome.

6th July 1935: The aerodrome closed temporarily for renovations, which included building the “Beehive”, the world’s first circular terminal building.

30th September 1935: Tinsley Green station opened 0.85 mi (1.37 km) south of the present Gatwick station. It was served by two trains per hour on the Victoria-Brighton line.

October 1935: The contracted opening date, was not met, partly because of drainage problems.

17th May 1936: The first scheduled flight departed from the Beehive terminal at 1:30 pm, bound for Paris Le Bourget. Jersey Airways operated this flight with a DH.86 under contract to British Airways Ltd., whose livery the aircraft wore. The airfare was £4 5s (including a first-class rail ticket from London Victoria Station), and there were up to three flights a day. Later the same day, British Airways Ltd. introduced another new scheduled service from Gatwick to Malmö, which was routed via Amsterdam, Hamburg and Copenhagen. Total travelling time between Gatwick and Malmö was six-and-a-half hours.

25th May 1936: British Airways Ltd. and Southern Railway jointly launched scheduled air services between Gatwick and the Isle of Wight.

1st June 1936: Tinsley Green station was renamed “Gatwick Airport”.

6th June 1936: The airport was officially reopened by the Secretary of State for Air, Lord Swinton. It featured four grass landing strips which were linked to the terminal area by two concrete taxiways, one each for arriving and departing aircraft respectively. The Beehive, the new terminal, was officially opened the same day. The Beehive was designed by Frank Hoar and incorporated several novel features, including a subway to the railway station at Tinsley Green which allowed passengers to travel from Victoria Station to the aircraft without stepping outside (with a transfer time from train to plane of as little as 20 minutes). Air Travel Ltd (a company specialising in aircraft and engine overhauls which had relocated to Gatwick from Penshurst) moved into the new airport’s No. 1 hangar.

July 1936: British Airways Ltd. inaugurated regular night mail flights linking Gatwick with Cologne and Hanover.

September and November 1936: Two fatal accidents happened, raising questions about the airport’s safety. The area was foggy, and its clay soil drained poorly; this caused the new subway to flood after rain.

17th February 1937: Gatwick was declared unserviceable due to waterlogging following repeated, heavy rainfalls. Because of this tendency to flood, and because longer landing strips were needed, the pre-war British Airways moved to Croydon Airport. Gatwick returned to private flying, and was used as a Royal Air Force (RAF) flying school.

October 1937: The No. 19 Elementary and Reserve Flying Training School RAF (E&RFTS) began instructing future RAF pilots at Gatwick on de Havilland Tiger Moth and Hawker Hart biplanes. [13]

A rotunda was built to serve as the Airport Terminal. The Station shown here was on a site to the South of the old Gatwick Racecourse Railway Station, The Station was linked to the Beehive Rotunda by and underground walkway, (c) Historic England, EPW053263, 1937. [2]
The layout of Gatwick Airport in the late 1930s and early 1940s. The location of Gatwick Racecourse Railway Station is to the left of this image close to the racecourse. The Beehive Rotunda Airport building is towards the right of this image, (c) Public Domain. [18]

1938: Airwork General Trading Co. moved into the hangar British Airways Ltd. had occupied at Gatwick. This enabled Heston-based Airwork to expand its aircraft manufacturing capacity on behalf of the Civilian Repair Organisation (CRO), which had awarded it a contract to modify Whitley bombers for the RAF. Southern Aircraft (Gatwick) Ltd. was another company working under contract to the CRO at Gatwick at the time. It had been licensed to assemble Stinson Reliants and Beechcraft Expeditors for the Royal Navy and also repaired damaged Beaufighters. [13]

25th June 1938: The first Daily Express Air Display was held at Gatwick. Aircraft participating in the flypast included a Short Empire flying boat, a Lufthansa Focke-Wulf Condor, a Sabena Savoia-Marchetti SM.83, several RAF types and aerobatic aircraft. [13]

1st September 1939: No. 19 E&RFTS ended its activities at Gatwick. [13]

3rd September 1939: Following the declaration of war on Germany, all civilian flying at Gatwick and elsewhere in the UK stopped. As a consequence, civil aircraft maintenance and manufacturing activities at the airport stopped as well. This resulted in the airport being requisitioned by the Air Ministry, and becoming a base for RAF night-fighters and an Army co-operation squadron during World War II (primarily for repairs and maintenance and as an alternative to RAF Kenley in the event that Kenley was rendered inoperable by enemy action). [13]

December 1939: The operations manager of British Airways Ltd., which had begun the process of merging with Imperial Airways to form British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), inspected Gatwick to assess its suitability as a base for the combined operations of the merged airline. [13]

1940: BOAC maintenance personnel began overhauling Armstrong Whitworth Ensigns and other aircraft types at Gatwick. Horse racing at Gatwick ended and never restarted. [13]

1940 and 1941: RAF units relocated to Gatwick from France. The airport became closely associated with the RAF Army Cooperation Command. As a result, several Army Cooperation Command aircraft were stationed at Gatwick. These included Westland Lysanders, Curtiss Tomahawks and North American Mustangs. [13]

Late 1942: Gatwick began receiving RAF and USAAF bombers that were damaged or running short of fuel. The most common types were Avro Lancasters, Handley Page Halifaxes, Short Stirlings and Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses. [13]

January 1945: Gatwick was taken over by the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force Disarmament Unit. As a result, it received a large number of transport and communications aircraft. [13]

Gatwick Airport and its Railway Station, 1945 to 1975

1950: Despite local opposition, the Cabinet chose Gatwick as an alternative to Heathrow (then known as London Airport). BEA launched a seasonal scheduled service to Alderney in the Channel Islands, which operated for three consecutive summer seasons until 1952. At the time, there were three operational runways. These were aligned South-West–North-East, East–West and South-East–North-West. The first was 4,200 ft (1,300 m) long, 150 ft (46 m) wide and covered in steel mesh; the second was 3,600 ft (1,100 m) long, 150 ft (46 m) wide and covered in steel mesh as well; the third was of the same length and width as the second but was grass-covered. [13]

May 1950: Gatwick’s first charter flight left the airport’s original grass runway for Calvi on Corsica (with a refuelling stop in Nice). Jersey-based UK independent airline Air Transport Charter operated this flight under contract to UK package tour pioneer Vladimir Raitz’s Horizon Holidays with a 32-seat Douglas DC-3 carrying 11 passengers. [13]

1950s: The railway stations had a reversal of fortunes in the 1950s as a result of that government decision to expand and develop the Beehive airport terminal into London’s second airport. Gatwick Racecourse station was rebuilt to serve Gatwick Airport, and was integrated into its terminal. On 27th May 1958, the rebuilt station, which took the name Gatwick Airport, was opened in conjunction with a regular train service; and services serving the former Tinsley Green station were discontinued. [14]

This later image show increasing hangar space and a significant number of aeroplanes, little has changed at the station, (c) Historic England, EAW050735, 1953. [3]
The Airport and Station seen in 1953 from the West. Air travel has still not become what it is in the 21st century. There are no airliners in sight! Careful inspection will see limousines outside the terminal building. Old fighter aircraft litter the apron to the South of the terminal building. The station has a covered footbridge and four platform faces. Its connection to the Airport is no more than a white swing-gate at the end of the station building access path. There appears to be a small gathering of people around a vehicle close to the gate. One wonders at what time of day the photograph was taken as both station and airport seem devoid of passengers, (c) Historic England, EAW050736, 1953. [4]

Between 1953 and 1958 much changed!

Embed from Getty Images
Gatwick Airport saw major reconstruction in 1957 and 58. This image looks from the West towards the railway station in the distance. The image is embedded direct from the Getty image website. [5]

The next aerial image shows Gatwick Airport and Station in 1958.

Gatwick Airport after completion of the rebuild, seen from the North. The station now has six platform faces and a covered footbridge connects to the terminal building. The image was a double-spread in Steam World magazine in September 1997 (hence the distorted nature of the image. The dual carriageway is the A23. [6]

1958: The 1958 refurbishment of the railway station included a parcels’ office beneath the main concourse, lifts and a corridor on the south side of the overbridge, separated from the passenger corridor by a glazed partition. To accommodate trains of up to 12-carriage lengths, the three old Racecourse island platforms were raised by 1 ft (0.30 m) and extended to the north by about 100 ft (30 m), except for the very long westernmost platform, which was reduced from the south. The ticket office on the main concourse of the station was able to handle 670 separate issues of Edmondson tickets from its Bellmatic equipment. [14]

Gatwick Airport and Railway Station seen from the East in 1961, (C) Unknown. [9]

1962: Two additional piers were added to the terminal. [13]

1964: Gatwick’s original, relatively short late-1950s paved runway was extended by 1,200 ft (370 m) to 8,200 ft (2,500 m) due to new noise rules governing the operation of jet aircraft at airports near (or surrounded by) densely populated urban areas. [13]

1965: By now, each of the three piers was nearly 1,000 ft (300 m) long, and the terminal complex had a floor area of 100,000 sq ft (9,300 m2). [13]

Gatwick Airport and Railway Station in 1970, (c) Unknown. [10]

1970: A second 875-foot (267 m) extension of Gatwick’s runway was completed, bringing it to 9,075 ft (2,766 m) and allowing non-stop jet flights to the US east coast with a full payload and full range and payload operations by British United Airways and Caledonian Airways BAC One-Eleven 500s. [13]

1973: The third extension of Gatwick’s runway was completed, bringing it to 10,165 ft (3,098 m) and allowing for non-stop narrow-body operations to the US west coast and commercially viable, long-range wide-body operations. [13]

Gatwick Airport and Railway Station in 1975, (c) Unknown. [11]
Gatwick Airport in 1975, (c) Unknown. [12]

1975 onwards

Late 1970s: Government initiatives supporting Gatwick’s development resulted in steady growth in passenger traffic. Among these were policies seeking to transfer all scheduled services between London and the Iberian Peninsula from Heathrow to Gatwick, banning whole-plane charters at Heathrow and requiring all airlines planning scheduled services to London for the first time to use Gatwick instead of Heathrow. This policy was known as the London [Air] Traffic Distribution Rules. The government also approved a high-frequency helicopter shuttle service linking Gatwick with Heathrow. [13]

Late 1970s and early 1980s: Fully extendible jet bridges were added when the piers were rebuilt and extended. [13]

1980s: In the 1980s, the railway station was refurbished again. It had six platforms immediately beneath the airport’s South Terminal. [14]

1983: As passenger numbers grew, a circular satellite pier was added to the terminal building connected to the main terminal by the UK’s first automated people mover system. (This replaced the original North pier dating from 1962, and the people mover connecting the main terminal with the satellite pier was subsequently replaced with a walkway and travelators). A second terminal was planned, and construction began on the North Terminal on the land earmarked for a second runway in the draft plan of May 1970. This was the largest construction project south of London in the 1980s, costing £200 million. [13]

1984: Gatwick’s new air-traffic control tower opened, the tallest in the UK at the time.[123] The Gatwick Express was launched by British Rail, the world’s first non-stop airport-to-city-centre rail service (between the airport and Victoria Station). [13]

1988: On 18th March 1988: The North Terminal was opened by Queen Elizabeth II (including an automated rapid transit system link to the South Terminal). [13]

1991: A second aircraft pier was added to the North Terminal. [13]

1994: The North Terminal international departure lounge and the first phase of the South Terminal international departure lounge opened, at a cost of £30 million. [13]

1998: The main runway was extended for a fourth time, reaching 10,879 ft (3,316 m), to enable longer-range operations with wide-body aircraft. [13]

2000 to 2001: Gatwick’s two terminals were further expanded to add seating, retail space and catering outlets, at a cost of £60 million; this included an extension to the North Terminal departure lounge, completed in 2001. [13]

2005: An extension and refurbishment to the South Terminal’s baggage reclaim hall (doubling it in size) was completed. [13]

May 2005: Pier 6 opened at a cost of £110 million, adding 11 pier-served aircraft stands. The pier is linked to the North Terminal’s main building by the largest air passenger bridge in the world, spanning a taxiway and providing passengers with views of the airport and taxiing aircraft. [13]

May 2008: An extension of the South Terminal’s departure lounge was completed, and a second-floor security search area opened. This terminal is now primarily used by low-cost airlines; many former users moved to the North Terminal.

2010s: On 13th October 2010, a £53 million redevelopment programme for the railway station was announced to provide another platform capable of accommodating 12-car trains, refurbishment of the concourse, and track and signal upgrades. Escalators and lifts were provided for platforms 5 and 6, replacing a staircase to achieve improved circulation. The redevelopment provided improved capacity and flexibility on the Brighton Main Line. The project was jointly financed by Network Rail, who contributed £44.9 million, and Gatwick Airport who provided £7.9 million. Construction was structured so as not to negatively affect the 2012 Summer Paralympics, which was hosted in London. [14]

May 2013: Demolition began of Pier 1, Gatwick Airport’s second-oldest pier (the original 1962 South pier of what is now the South Terminal) for its replacement with a £180 million, two-storey structure with five pier-served aircraft stands and an automated baggage-storage facility, operational by summer 2016. [13]

2014: By 3rd February 2014, completion of the work on the Railway Station was marked by a ceremony officiated by Minister of State for Transport Baroness Kramer, who formally opened the new platform. Constructed by VolkerFitzpatrick, platform 7 is served by a 975-metre (3,199 ft) loop from the down fast line and used by services which formerly used at platform 5. VolkerFitzpatrick were responsible for track and signalling modifications. This has allowed platforms 5 and 6 to be dedicated to Gatwick Express services, thereby eliminating previous conflicts with slower services when they crossed to platforms 1 and 2. The project was finished on schedule and budget, despite extreme weather conditions during the winter of 2013/2014. [14]

In 2014, Baroness Kramer announced that the government had committed £50 million towards further improvements of the railway station. A scheme for further improvements, estimated to cost around £120 million, was announced by Network Rail. [14]

2016: On 1st February 2016, Caroline Ansell, the MP for Eastbourne, officially opened the redeveloped pier 5 of Gatwick’s North Terminal. The redevelopment of pier 5 cost £80 million and forms part of the airport’s £2 billion improvement programme under GIP ownership. Its main feature is an additional second level that separates departing and arriving passenger flows vertically to increase capacity by an additional 30 flights or approximately 2,400 passengers per day. This increase in capacity is achieved by accommodating up to seven large and 12 smaller aircraft (or a combination of both) at the pier’s redesigned aircraft stands to enhance operational flexibility for airlines and passengers and make passenger journeys smoother. [13]

2018: In April 2018, Network Rail submitted a planning application for modernising the railway station; doubling the size of the concourse, widening two platforms, and improving connections to the airport terminal. It was done in partnership with Gatwick Airport authorities, the Coast to Capital local enterprise partnership and the Department for Transport. The expansion is an element of a five-year programme, costed at £1.11 billion, announced by Gatwick Airport in early 2018. [14]

Amongst others, the main projects covered by this £1.11 billion include: a westward extension of the North Terminal’s pier 6, involving the relocation of the A380 stand to pier 5 and related widening and reconfiguration of a taxiway to enable A380 operators to access the new stand at pier 5; a dedicated domestic arrival and baggage reclaim facility in the South Terminal; and connecting the new Boeing hangar with the airfield.

2020s: Construction on the new railway station concourse began in November 2020. The refurbished station opened on 21st November 2023. [14]

The ticket office is staffed for ticket sales and enquiries, supplemented by ticket machines capable of handling online bookings usually available on a round-the-clock basis. Automated teller machines, payphones and e-mail access points are installed on the main concourse. There are coin-operated trolleys for luggage and a left luggage facility. On-site food and drink outlets are present. Toilets are available and baby changing facilities and additional toilets can be found in the adjacent South Terminal. There is no car parking facility. Transport for London’s (TfL) Oyster cards and contactless cards are accepted for travel at the station. [14]

Gatwick South Terminal and Railway Station in the 21st century. [Google Maps, September 2026]

References

  1. https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/en/image/EPW028582, accessed on 8th September 2026.
  2. https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/en/image/EPW053263, accessed on 8th September 2026.
  3. https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/en/image/EAW050735, accessed on 8th September 2026.
  4. https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/en/image/EAW050736, accessed on 8th September 2026.
  5. https://www.gettyimages.ae/detail/news-photo/an-aerial-view-of-a-new-gatwick-airport-terminal-under-news-photo/2177625739, accessed on 8th September 2026.
  6. Growing Gatwick; in Steam World, Issue 123, September 1997, p32-35.
  7. https://maps.nls.uk/view/103317073, accessed on 8th September 2026.
  8. https://maps.nls.uk/view/103317070, accessed on 8th September 2026.
  9. https://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r231/thawes/RAF%20Lyneham/Gatwick1961.jpg, accessed on 8th September 2026.
  10. https://lh4.ggpht.com/_9g9gbl9dTkg/SbKweMEBPhI/AAAAAAAAEO8/Hf5xfy6MvIU/Gatwick%201970.jpg, accessed on 8th September 2026.
  11. https://lh4.ggpht.com/_9g9gbl9dTkg/SRzQ94gQkNI/AAAAAAAAAjY/iZG9r9SwA1U/s800/lgw1-1975.jpg, accessed on 8th September 2026.
  12. https://lh4.ggpht.com/_9g9gbl9dTkg/SRzQ71yot7I/AAAAAAAAAjM/q5HUf9D0ueI/s720/z-LGW-JU%7E1.JPG, accessed on 8th September 2026.
  13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Gatwick_Airport, accessed on 8th September 2026.
  14. https://www.railway-technology.com/projects/gatwickairportstatio, accessed on September 2026.
  15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gatwick_Airport_railway_station#History, accessed on 8th September 2026.
  16. https://picryl.com/amp/media/southern-railway-sr-u-1-952-eb1f71, accessed on 9th September 2026.
  17. https://eggythebread.weebly.com/other-local-areas.html, accessed on 9th September 2026.
  18. https://www.british-caledonian.com/Gatwick_Airport_-_The_History_P2.html, accessed on 9th September 2026.
  19. https://kentrail.uk/gatwick_airport.htm, accessed on 9th September 2026.
  20. https://www.railwaymagazine.co.uk/25838/from-the-archive-the-brighton-electrification, accessed on 9th September 2026.