History
The main station building was built in 1845 with the canopies added in 1884/1885. The station was built following the passing of a bill in Parliament in 1836 for a railway from London to Cambridge on a revised route passing through Newport. The Northern and Eastern Railway Company was incorporated in 1836 to build from London to Cambridge, but by 1843 they had only reached Bishop's Stortford and they were taken over by the Eastern Counties Railway Company. A contemporary newspaper, the Chelmsford Chronicle, recorded the applause and welcome the villagers gave to the first train passing through on 29 July 1845; "The music of the military band mingled at Stansted and Newport with the cheers of the mustered throngs, while the line of flags upon the carriages which danced as they rapidly cut the air, gave to the progress of the train not merely the character of gaiety, but an air of grandeur."
The station design is similar to others on the same line- particularly Great Chesterford and March with only slight variants in construction and detailing. The waiting rooms still retain two distinctive painted Victorian Arts & Crafts cast iron fire surrounds designed by Thomas Jeckyll (1827–1881) and produced by Barnard, Bishop and Barnard in Norwich for the Great Eastern Railway. Thomas Jeckyll was a trained architect and started working at the foundry in 1859 and is best known for his metal work design in particular fireplace and fireplace grates.
In March 1970 the old shed over a siding at Newport station was demolished. The demolition went underway without consultation with the local community. A week later it had completely disappeared.
Read more about this topic: Newport (Essex) Railway Station
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