For a little over half a century Whitwell Station acted as the main transport hub for Whitwell and the sparsely populated South Wight area.
Many Isle of Wight stations – for example Godshill and Calbourne – were some distance from the villages they served. However, Whitwell Station – located on Nettlecombe Lane opposite the former Yarborough Arms public house – was situated right at the heart of the rural village.
The station was also advertised as the nearest stop for Niton, Blackgang and Chale.
At the time of its completion, Whitwell was estimated to have a population of 635, Niton 731 and Chale 607. The population of the whole South Wight area was said to have been approximately 4,000.
The Ventnor West line – on which Whitwell Station was situated – opened on 19th July 1897. Originally, the line terminated in St Lawrence but in 1900 it was extended to Ventnor itself (although its terminus Ventnor Town Station was still some distance from the town centre).
The Daily News covered the opening of the line with the following description:
“The interesting ceremony of opening a new railway in the Isle of Wight took place yesterday. At present its total length is five miles and a half, starting at a junction on the Newport and Sandown system called Merston, and proceeding by an upward gradient of one in seventy through the town [sic] of Godshill and the picturesque village of Whitwell (at each of which places there is a station), to St Lawrence, a village nestling in the Undercliff, westward of Ventnor.
Article continues below this advertisement “At the summit of the line, near Whitwell Station, the train enters a tunnel 620 yards long, which pierces the down, the train emerging at a point which commands a grand view of the Undercliff and Ventnor.”
Whitwell Station was originally the best equipped on the Newport, Godshill and St Lawrence railway. It was the only station to have a passing loop and 2 platforms. It also had a small goods yard and loading dock on the down side.
At one time, there was a plan to build a hotel at the station at a cost of £1,200 (£131,000 in today’s values) but ultimately nothing came of the idea.
2 tragic deaths are associated with Whitwell Station. On 14th November 1904, villager Mrs Ann Plumbley collapsed in the waiting room after purchasing a return ticket to St Lawrence. Despite a fellow passenger loosening her clothing and the Stationmaster administering brandy, she was pronounced dead at the scene. This was the second of 2 sudden deaths in the village in 2 days.
In October 1907, a verdict of suicide was recorded on the death of former convict Robert Ward, whose decapitated body had been found 150 yards from the station. He had been killed by the 20:15 train from Merstone to Ventnor.
According to his widow, he was a very violent-tempered man, who had often threatened suicide. He had been released from a 5-year sentence at Parkhurst Prison for having attempted to murder her. However, since they had been living together in Whitwell, he had treated her kindly, and she could see no reason for his action.
Problems accessing Ventnor are nothing new. In October 1909, the 20:00 train from Newport to Ventnor ran into a large landslide at the Whitwell end of the St Lawrence tunnel. The ‘alarming occurrence’ caused a good deal of concern among the passengers but at a time when scant regard was given to health and safety – the engine kept the rails and forced its way through the obstruction.
However, passengers from St Lawrence and Ventnor were conveyed by cabs to Whitwell and a special relief train for the return journey.
The station was at first busy and well-used. In November 1898, it was recommended that Nettlecombe Lane, on which the station stood, be widened to accommodate the considerable coal-cart traffic. However, over time, with the increasing use of motor transport, the number of passengers and volume of goods grew ever smaller. The facilities provided by the station were cut.
The passing loop on the down platform was closed in 1926 and eventually removed in 1928, along with the original signal box, as cost-saving measures. The station was downgraded to partially unstaffed in March 1928 before being further downgraded to an unstaffed halt and goods depot in July 1941. From this point, it was known as ‘Whitwell Halt’ rather than ‘Whitwell Station’.
Whitwell Halt finally closed for good on 15th September 1952.
Today, the station buildings have become holiday lets. The Station Master’s office, ticket hall and waiting room have been transformed into Primrose Cottage and the Ladies Waiting Room and Parcel Office to Bluebell Cottage.
Whitwell Station closed 72 years ago. Can anyone (or anyone you know) recall travelling on the Ventnor West line..? Let us know in the comments!
I clearly remember travelling as a 3 year old on the day the line closed. We were staying with my grandparents in Bonchurch and my Father was going to work in Newport by train. So that I could say I had travelled on this line I accompanied him from Ventnor West to St Lawrence where my Mother collected me while my Father carried on to Newport.
My father took me from Whitwell to Ventnor West on one of the last trains, though I had travelled from Ventnor West to St Lawrence a couple of times. My father used it every day to get to his job at Saunders Roe in East Cowes and return. Some journey as it meant a change at Merstone, Newport and the floating bridge ( which was reliable in those days) but it was still quicker than going by bus. My dad tried the bus service after the line closed but found it so inconvenient that he got himself a car.