Buildings and Structures
The station was opened on 26 September 1938, the same day that the original Bishopstone station at Tide Mills was first closed. The Art Deco design is said to be inspired by that of Arnos Grove tube station, which was designed by Charles Holden, and was intended to be the centrepiece of a proposed residential development that never took place due to the outbreak of the Second World War.
The main building of the station is a perfectly symmetrical structure, with an octagonal central booking hall and two extended wings. One of these wings formerly contained the ticket office and parcels office, whilst the other contained a waiting room and toilets. As built, the station had two side platforms in a cutting, accessed by stairs from a footbridge linking to the main station building.
In 1940, a pair of pillboxes were constructed on the roof of the main station building, flanking its octagonal tower. Despite the times, considerable effort was made to blend these into the original structure, and they are thus well camouflaged.
The last member of staff to work at the station was withdrawn in 1988. Today the old booking office and parcel office is occupied by a small newsagents, and the remaining station facilities are disused; but the main access to the trains is still via the octagonal booking hall. The line was singled in 1975 and all trains now use the former up platform.
Bishopstone Station is a grade II listed building. Because of its unstaffed and unsupervised status, and the fact that it is largely boarded up and disused, it is on English Heritage's at risk register.
Read more about this topic: Bishopstone Railway Station
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