Photograph showing platforms either side of road bridge
Welton Station opened in 1838 on the pioneering London & Birmingham Railway, serving the rural communities of Welton and Watford at a time when steam travel was transforming village life.
Note: Robert Stephenson’s 1838 London & Birmingham Railway was Northamptonshire’s first railway and one of the great early achievements of Britain’s railway age. The 112-mile route connected London (Euston Station) to Birmingham (Curzon Street Station) and it was the first line to link the capital with a major industrial centre, demonstrating that long‑distance rail travel was not only possible but transformative, cutting multi day coach journeys down to just a few hours. It was built by roughly 20,000 workers using hand tools and gunpowder, and later formed the core of the West Coast Main Line.
Building the line was a testament to Victorian engineering. It demanded overcoming challenges never before attempted on such a scale: driving cuttings through hills, constructing viaducts across valleys (many of which are in use today), and building the line beside canals and coaching roads.
Under the direction of Robert Stephenson (son of George Stephenson of The Rocket fame), the route became a showcase of new engineering techniques. It included building the celebrated Kilsby Tunnel, which demanded unprecedented tunnelling methods and vast pumping operations. At the time of opening, this railway tunnel was the longest in the world at 2,420 yards – approximately 1.4 miles.
It seems odd that Northampton itself was by-passed by the line. But early locomotives could only cope with easy gradients. Stephenson maintained a gradient of less than 1 in 300 by following the course of the Grand Junction Canal. As a result, Roade, Blisworth, Weedon and Welton were the first places in the county to receive railway stations. Whilst the other three stations were rebuilt later in the 19th century, Welton remained untouched.
The station stood physically much closer to Watford, although it carried Welton’s name. This was to prevent confusion with Watford in Hertfordshire. Until 1991 villagers remember a sign to the station on the green at the bottom of Churchill Road.
Signpost to Welton Station in Watford date unknown but probably circa 1950
There is some evidence that the station was originally named Crick, only being re-named Welton in 1881. Certainly there are press cuttings to support this, such as this one from 1874.
‘Kilsby and Crick’ station did not open until 1884 so the reference above is not to that station. However, whilst probable, we can’t verify this for certain.
Welton was noted for its platforms that were staggered awkwardly to fit the narrow strip of land, one on each side of the road bridge—rather than facing each other. This was necessary due to the canal and the A5 hemming the station in.
Local memory: “My uncle, Jack Facer, worked on the railway and lived in the cottage next to the Station Master’s House at Welton Station in the 1960s. His mother-in-law, Mrs Beasley, kept The Stag opposite.”
Railway ownership
1846: Became part of the London & North Western Railway
1923: Absorbed into the London, Midland & Scottish Railway
1948: Passed to British Railways (London Midland Region) after nationalisation
Closure
1958: Closed to passengers
1964: Closed to freight
Providing Welton employment
We can probably safely assume that some of the villagers in Welton were employed at the station. Census information gives us a clue to to type of jobs that were provided by the railway:
1891 – William Hancock of Welton Fields Farm – plate layer on the railway
1901 – William Houghton – former railway porter
1911 – Thomas Reuberson – retired railway plate layer
1939 – Frederick Green of the Red Lion – railway clerk
Local memory: “My dad lived in one of the cottages there and his dad worked in the signal box.”
The station site now sits beside Watford Gap Services on the M1. The only surviving structure is a former goods shed beside the tracks, the white building in the distance on the top photograph.