Knockholt railway station

Knockholt
Knockholt Location of Knockholt in Greater London
Location	Chelsfield
Local authority	London Borough of Bromley
Managed by	Southeastern
Station code	KCK
DfT category	E
Number of platforms	2
Fare zone	6
National Rail annual entry and exit
2008–09	0.276 million[1]
2009–10	0.270 million[1]
2010–11	0.289 million[1]
2011–12	0.323 million[1]
2012–13	0.367 million[1]
Key dates
1 May 1876	Opened as Halstead
1 Oct 1900	renamed Knockholt
Other information
Lists of stations	DLR Underground National Rail Tramlink
External links	Departures Layout Facilities Buses
WGS84	51°20′45″N 0°07′51″E / 51.3459°N 0.1307°ECoordinates: 51°20′45″N 0°07′51″E / 51.3459°N 0.1307°E
London Transport portal UK Railways portal

Knockholt railway station is a railway station in the south eastern corner of the London Borough of Bromley, in Travelcard Zone 6 and on the South Eastern Main Line. It is located next to the Greater London boundary with Kent district of Sevenoaks. The boundary is the farm bridge at the southern end of the platforms.

Location

The station is 4.8 km (3.0 mi) north-northeast of the village of Knockholt but closer to several other settlements. The station serves several small communities in the Sevenoaks district in addition to Knockholt; Badgers Mount 1.3 km (0.81 mi) to the southeast, Well Hill 1.3 km (0.81 mi) northeast, and Halstead 2.2 km (1.4 mi) south. Within the Bromley borough Pratts Bottom is only 2 km (1.2 mi) west-southwest; and also Chelsfield (although having its own railway station, is in parts closer to Knockholt station) at about 2.7 km (1.7 mi) to the north and west. Many people often wonder why the station is not named after the village within it sits. To avoid confusion with Halstead in Essex, and due to Badgers Mount not entirely fulfilling the criteria for being a village, it was named after the next closest village, which is of course Knockholt.

Services

The typical off-peak service from the station is two trains per hour southbound to Sevenoaks and two trains per hour northbound to London Charing Cross, calling at all stations to Hither Green and then running fast to London Bridge.

History

When the South Eastern Railway (SER) opened their "cut off" line through Orpington, Sevenoaks to Tonbridge in 1868, there was no station between Chelsfield and Dunton Green. A Knockholt Vestry meeting in March 1871 resolved to request the SER to build a station for Knockholt but this request was initially refused. Eventually, the SER agreed to provide a station if a £3,000 contribution was provided by "local parties," (equivalent to £250,000 in 2015).^[2] This was raised and "Halstead for Knockholt" (the station being much closer to Halstead than Knockholt) was opened in 1876.^[3]

Between 1887 and 1915 a twice daily bus service operated from Knockholt village to the station.

In 1899 the SER joined with its arch rival to form the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR). Alfred Smithers, who had moved to Knockholt in 1881, became deputy chairman of the SECR. At the strong suggestion of Smithers, the station name was changed to "Knockholt" in 1900 to avoid the confusion which had arisen with Halstead Station in Essex (and coincidentally giving Smithers a local station named after his village).

Buses

Bus routes 402 and R3 serve the station.

References

1. "Station usage estimates". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
2. UK CPI inflation numbers based on data available from Gregory Clark (2016), "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)" MeasuringWorth.
3. A History Of Knockholt, pp.128-130, by David Waldron Smithers, ISBN 0-9513500-4-8.

External links

• Train times and station information for Knockholt railway station from National Rail