STATIONS ON THE EPSOM DOWNS BRANCH
BANSTEAD
Banstead, the second station on the branch, is sited on top of a long cutting (formed by the building of the railway) which at this point is some 30 feet deep.Opened in 1865 together with the branch, the station changed its name to Banstead & Burgh Heath in 1898, in a way indicating that the station is in fact over a mile away from Banstead village. The Southern Railway, however, reverted this back to the original name Banstead in 1928.
The 1871 survey map shows the cutting on which Banstead station is situated. The land in the vicinity is still devoid of any housing, compared to a contemporary aerial view (courtesy of streetmap.co.uk) of this area.
This picture seems to be the oldest existing public photograph of Banstead station, produced as "Post Office Series" postcard #358 and probably showing the station c.1900 (the postcard in my collection is unused and therefore not dated). The station buildings from 1865 remained in their original condition right up until 1935, when the constant rise in traffic called for some alterations.
(click for a larger image)
This view of the station, taken around 1930, shows the improved road surface and added lettering on the roof of the station builkding to guide pilots into Croydon airport. The house on the left was the station master's residence, whilst a small bookstall is squeezed in between the two larger buildings.
(Banstead Public Library)
Even today, the road-level frontage of Banstead station remains almost unchanged. In the view below (taken in April 1995), Banstead Road, which crosses the railway line in the cutting below in the form of a sharp s-curve, has clearly been upgraded, but the buildings have survived virtually intact, even though the station has lost its two chimneys.
The station building in 1936, shortly after the considerable (interior) enlargement and modernization, which however left the road-level frontage of the building almost unchanged.
(H. F. Wheller)
The original layout of the station building had the entrance leading directly to the booking office, with covered stairways on both sides of the building leading down to the platforms. These had been lengthened in the 1930s and provided with canopies in the 1950s.
A 1938 view of Banstead with a 3SUB on a Victoria to Epsom Downs service. The goods yard can be seen in the foreground, Banstead signal box is partly hidden by the train. The station building is situated to the right of this picture.
(Lens of Sutton)Banstead goods yard closed at the end of 1964, and the the introduction of track circuit block and colour light signalling in 1969 made Banstead signalbox redundant. The most dramatic change however came about on October 3rd 1982, when the entire branch was reduced to single track as a result of the destruction of Epsom Downs signal box by fire in November 1981.
The comparison of the 1961 (Lens of Sutton) and 1995 photographs show the amount of change at Banstead which happened as a result of the singling of the line. The station building, however, has remained virtually the same for decades in terms of outward appearance, apart from losing one of its two covered stairways. The interior, however, has seen a steady reduction of room space serving railway use, with large parts of the building now boarded up.
For more information on the local history of Banstead see the website of the Banstead History Research Group
Page last revised: November 21st 2005
