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Leicester West Bridge railway station

Disused railway stations in LeicestershireEast Midlands railway station stubsFormer Midland Railway stationsPages with no open date in Infobox stationRailway stations in Great Britain closed in 1928
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1832Transport in LeicesterUse British English from March 2015
West Bridge stn
West Bridge stn

Leicester West Bridge is a former railway station in Leicester, Leicestershire. It was the terminus of the Leicester and Swannington Railway until 1928. Being one of the earliest public railways, and intended for the transport of coal, the idea of carrying passengers had not occurred to the line's promoters. Thus facilities for buying tickets were provided at local inns or from the keepers of various road crossings. Such was the case at West Bridge until 1893 when, belatedly, the Midland Railway built a new passenger station around 150 yards away, nearer to the houses on the (then new) Tudor Road. Passenger trains on the stub to Leicester West Bridge ended in September 1928, although coal and oil traffic continued until 29 April 1966 after which the track was removed and the station buildings demolished. The original 1832 station is thought to have been the third oldest station in the world; its site is now Richard III Road. Slightly to the west, the platform of the 1893 station is, as of 2017, extant. Further north the site of the engine shed and the sidings at Soar Lane New Wharf are now a public park, the Rally.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Leicester West Bridge railway station (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Leicester West Bridge railway station
Queen Elizabeth's Walk, Leicester West End

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Wikipedia: Leicester West Bridge railway stationContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 52.6349 ° E -1.1461 °
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Address

Queen Elizabeth's Walk

Queen Elizabeth's Walk
LE3 5JF Leicester, West End
England, United Kingdom
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West Bridge stn
West Bridge stn
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Bromkinsthorpe

The Domesday manor of Bromkinsthorpe was situated outside the West Gate of Leicester, on the alluvial west bank of the River Soar. Its location is now covered by the area around Braunstone Gate, Leicester, and for much of the medieval period was a liberty within the parish of St Mary de Castro, Leicester, and hence, part of the Borough of Leicester. Bromkinsthorpe was bisected by the Roman road later known as Fosse Way, which led from Lincoln via Leicester to Cirencester and Exeter. It is presumed this road formed an early north western frontier to the Roman province of Britannia following the original invasion. Whilst there was a Roman villa in what later became Bromkinsthorpe, the first mention of the manor was in the Domesday Book of 1086. At that time it was held by Hugh de Grandmesnil along with 64 other manors in Leicestershire. He held six carucates in Bromkinsthorpe outright, with another two that formed part of the Soke of Ratby in west Leicestershire. In the Domesday Book the manor was recorded as belonging to Leicester, although it is not clear what this statement signified. There was also a link with the manor of Smeeton in south Leicestershire as four sokemen from there were 'attached' to Hugh de Grandmesnil's land in Bromkinsthorpe. Later, Bromkinsthorpe became part of the Earls of Leicester holdings. Two manors were recorded at Bromkinsthorpe in the 13th century. One was Walsh or Danet's Hall. The second was Westcotes. Both of these manors and their tenants are clearly documented thenceforward. Inhabitants farmed the open field strips surrounding the two manors. Some records suggest these strips formed one of the great open fields of Leicester. Others indicate that Bromkinsthorpe itself had three great open fields. The abbey of St Mary de Pratis, Leicester held considerable land in Bromkinsthorpe. The inhabitants also had rights in Leicester Forest, for which they were compensated when it was deforested in 1628. The manors were largely enclosed by the end of the 17th century. During the 18th century, urban Leicester encroached the manors, with some large houses, complete with extensive grounds and orchards built. These were demolished in the 19th century when new high-density housing was built that obliterated the rural aspect of Bromkinsthorpe. The manors were thus subsumed into the rapidly expanding Borough of Leicester.