The Wensleydale Railway Association (Trust) has received initial support from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for the Leeming Bar Station House Restoration project to restore it to its 1930s splendour.
The project will see the restoration and refurbishment of the Grade II Listed Victorian period Station House at Leeming Bar in Yorkshire.
The restoration work is planned to take place during 2018, and will include authentic interior spaces for use by community groups, schools and visitors.
This will involve a recreated Board Room, Waiting Room, Ticket Office and Tea Room designed in the style of the Station Master’s Parlour.
Integral to the project will be delivery of a heritage education and engagement programme, designed to re-engage local people with the railway and its story.
WRA(T) chairman Ken Monkman said: “We’re delighted that we’ve received this support thanks to National Lottery players. The station at Leeming Bar was a transport hub serving its community for over 100 years. It was almost lost but now it will be restored to former glory at the heart of a busy heritage line. It’s great to know that we are now a step closer to preserving it for another century.”
Further ahead
Development funding of £22,000 has also been awarded to help the Trust progress its plans to apply for a full grant which, if successful, will total £368,000. The building is currently listed as ‘at risk’ and requires a full restoration of the fabric and interior.
The station house dates from 1848 to a design by the railway architect G.T. Andrews in which he marked its importance as the headquarters of the line by the inclusion of a grand portico facing the old Great North Road. The station closed to passengers in 1954 and was later sold by British Railways.
Over the years it became run-down and uncared for until purchase by the Wensleydale Railway as its headquarters on the re-opening of the line as a heritage railway. This investment by HLF aims to secure the station for the future, and building on its earlier investment in reject the Scruton heritage education programme signals confidence in the direction of travel of the Wensleydale Railway.
For further information visit www.wensleydalerail.com.
Pictured: The steam engine Joem at Leeming Bar Station. (Photo credit: Andy Galpin).
