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PHOTO
GALLERY GROUP 126
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The
Horton Light Railway. The
story of the Horton Light Railway starts with the earlier Ewell
& Long Grove Light Railway, which was used in the building of
Long Grove Hospital, the first of four mental hospitals to appear
on the former Horton Estate between Ewell and Epsom in Surrey. However,
this line was used only between 1905 and 1907 while Long Grove was
being built, and its track was lifted as soon as the job was complete.
When it came
to building the next three hospitals, London County Council decided
to construct a new railway and, in 1909, purchased the land used
by the old E&LGLR. The new Horton Light Railway was built between
1911 and 1913, with the first trains running in May 1913. The railway
was used for construction right up until 1924, for the building
of the final hospital – West Park – was not completed
until 1924, thanks to the intervention of World War 1. The railway
branched of the LSWR's Epsom to Raynes Park line just just south
of Ewell West station, and operated until 1950, bringing in coal
and other supplies to the various hospitals. It was closed in January
1950 due to the rise of road transport, which made it uneconomic.The
railway is shown on this
scan from an old Ordnance Survey 1" map, which inter
alia also shows the site of Epsom's first station.
By 1973, the hospitals had been closed and, in that year, Epsom
& Ewell Borough Council (with support and grant aid from Surrey
County Council and the Countryside Commission) purchased 400 acres
of former hospital farmland from the hospital authorities to establish
Horton Country Park. The
park is now well served by trails, most of which follow the various
branches of the old HLR.
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Above:
This plaque on a large overbridge at grid reference TQ
202633 commemorates the Horton Light Railway, although the local
council has described it incorrectly as an underbridge; it was actually
an overbridge, because it went over the railway. 3rd December
2016. (Jeff Vinter) |
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Above:
This is the above bridge seen from the road, which has now
been replaced by a new road just out of view to the right of camera;
it is an extraordinarily large structure for such a minor railway.
This disused section of road is now used as part of the car park of
the nearby Horton Golf Club, hence the parking lines in the foreground.
3rd December 2016. (Jeff Vinter) |
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Above:
This is a typical view of the walking conditions in Horton
Country Park. Shallow embankments and low cuttings are the order of
the day – plus some steep gradients, especially near West Park
Hospital, which must have made the HLR's little tank engines work
very hard. This photograph was taken at TQ 199634, just west of the
club house. 3rd December 2016. (Jeff Vinter) |
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Above:
This is the junction of the lines to Long Grove Hospital
(left) and West Park Hospital (right) at TQ 195635 in Butcher's Wood.
The blue waymarking sign seen on the right is typical of those used
throughout the country park. 3rd December 2016. (Jeff Vinter) |
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Left:
Plenty of old fencing survives along the route,
as seen here near Castle Hill (TQ 195635), although most
of it will be found on the outermost side of the West Park
line, which runs parallel to the estate boundary. One might
have expected this to be removed for the war effort, but
presumably the authorities did not want patients wandering
off the site. 3rd December 2016. (Jeff Vinter) |
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Right:
Very few of the hospital buildings survive, most
of the exceptions being at West Park Hospital. Curiously,
the new housing which occupies the site utilises the old hospital
road layout; presumably it was cheaper to do this than build
new roads and install new services. This is West Park Hospital's
imposing water tower at TQ 185614. 3rd December 2016. (Jeff
Vinter) |

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Above:
Viewed from below, the water tower is certainly impressive,
although the neatly repaired crack below the middle right window reveals
that there have been some structural problems. On the left hand side
of the building, there is an even more dramatic crack which runs vertically
down the tower from top to bottom, and explains the four large red
braces seen wrapped around the left hand corner. These extend across
the whole depth of the building and have their returns on the far
side. 3rd December 2016. (Jeff Vinter) |
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Left:
Despite being in shadow, the red ties across the
side of the tower can be seen fairly clearly in this photograph,
as can the vertical crack which they are holding together.
This building, with its decorative brick and stone construction
and nods to classicism, was very much a product of its time.
The Webmaster's grammar school (Chichester High School for
Boys, attended 1964-71) was opened in 1927, and its buildings
had a near identical style. 3rd December 2016. (Jeff Vinter) |
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Above:
With the exception of the water tower and a pumping station
elsewhere on the estate, all of the larger hospital buildings have
been demolished, although some of those constructed on a scale which
could be adapted to domestic use have been retained. This is Mayford
Court, once part of West Park Hospital, looking as if it is now in
use as flats. The ornamental garden is an attractive feature but,
as for architectural style, change the garden for asphalt and this
could be a quadrangle in a grammar school! 3rd December 2016. (Jeff
Vinter) |
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