Ashbourne Line - Origins

Origins

Although the country between Buxton and Ashbourne was sparsely populated, and the terrain immensely difficult, there were a number of motivations for its construction. Ashbourne was one of the few large settlements in the area without a railway connection until the North Staffordshire Railway built its branch from the Churnet Valley line in 1852. Meanwhile a lucrative trade in limestone was building up and the LNWR's only route southwards was through the Manchester area. Finally, and not least, the Midland Railway was threatening to take over the Derbyshire business through its attempts to reach Manchester from Derby via Buxton.

The LNWR sought to consolidate its position by building a line southwards across the Midland's path. Both railways had arrived at Buxton almost simultaneously in 1863, with termini adjacent to each other (and Buxton lost its chance to be served by a mainline railway).

The LNWR had leased the Cromford and High Peak in 1861 and in 1874 it gained permission to link Buxton with the C&HPR, which it had leased in 1862, at Hindlow Junction just south of Harpur Hill. At the other end, it would build High Peak Junction near Cromford. After some delay, a further bill was sought in 1887 which, in addition, allowed the complete takeover of the High Peak line. Services began to Parsley Hay in 1894.

Meanwhile the North Staffordshire Railway had extended into Ashbourne from its Churnet Valley Line in 1852.

The section from Parsley Hay to Ashbourne was opened in 1899 at a new station built jointly by the NSR and the LNWR. The Station Hotel (now called The Beresford Arms) dates from this time.