Judy Middleton 2003 revised 2017
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| copyright © G. Osborne With thanks to Mr G. Osborne for granting permission for the reproduction of the above photograph from his private collection. Portslade & West Hove Railway Station in the 1950s |
In 1838 it was reported that heavy rain had prevented
navvies from working on the construction of the railway at Portslade and
instead they had sought refuge in the local taverns where they had spent the
day ‘in drunkenness and rioting to the great annoyance of the peaceable
inhabitants of Portslade’.
The original station serving
Copperas Gap (as Portslade-by-Sea was once known) was located on the west side
of the level crossing. It was opened in May 1840 when the new line between
Brighton and Shoreham was inaugurated. It appears there was such a lack of
passenger traffic that the station closed in 1847 and did not re-open for
another ten years.
The 1861 census recorded 38-year
old George Heather living with his family at the station. The census states he
was a railway clerk while other sources identify him as station-master.
The station had its own cesspool
in the garden on the south side. Apparently, it remained in operation until
1911 when a surprised Sanitary Inspector discovered its existence. He ordered
it to be filled in at once and the drains connected to Portland Road sewer.
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| copyright © G. Osborne With thanks to Mr G. Osborne for granting permission for the reproduction of the above photograph from his private collection. Portslade's Goods Yard in the 1950s |
There was a goods yard on the
west side of the level crossing, which was a busy place for many years. At one
time it was used as a holding pen for cattle arriving by rail at Portslade
destined for the slaughter-house in North Street. Sensitive children living
nearby were upset by the constant bellowing of the frightened animals throughout
the night. The goods yard closed in 1968.
Untimely Deaths
The year 1864 was an unfortunate
year for the station because there were two fatalities. On 4 July Captain Bernt
Nikolai Olsen of the brigantine Rederinden, which had just delivered her
cargo of timber to Shoreham Harbour, climbed out of his carriage on the
wrong side. He had just reached the opposite platform when an express train
from Brighton struck him. He was put on board the 8.40 train coming from
Littlehampton to be taken to hospital but died before reaching the terminus.
The newspapers of the day did not spare its readers from the gory details. Thus
we learn that the captain’s forehead was smashed with part of his brain
protruding while his left arm and right leg were literally cut to pieces. He
was buried in St Nicolas’s Churchyard, Portslade and his headstone bore a
lengthy inscription in Norweigian.
In September 1864 the train from
Brighton overshot the platform with the result that the passengers were unable
to alight. The engine driver blew his whistle as the train backtracked but John
Barry Lelliott attempted to get out and was crushed. The jury at the inquest
found that the engine driver had been negligent. Lelliott was a brick-maker by
trade and he was also the parish clerk of Portslade.
In the churchyard of Christ Church, Worthing there is a gravestone inscription, which also includes a poignant Biblical warning:- John Stapley, who was killed by a Train while crossing the Railway at the Portslade Station 3rd January 1865, in the 62nd year of his age. 'Watch therefore for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come'
In the churchyard of Christ Church, Worthing there is a gravestone inscription, which also includes a poignant Biblical warning:- John Stapley, who was killed by a Train while crossing the Railway at the Portslade Station 3rd January 1865, in the 62nd year of his age. 'Watch therefore for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come'
In the churchyard of St
Leonard’s, Aldrington, there is a tombstone with the following inscription. Sacred
to the memory of Charles Nicholas, son of Nicholas and Sarah Stredwick who was
accidentally killed at Portslade Station November 28th 1879 in the
16th year of his age.
In 1992 a man was killed on 6 December
when he jumped onto the line just before the 7.47 a.m. fast train from Victoria
to Portsmouth arrived. Power was switched off for 90 minutes.
On 17 February 2013 Woody Scott, aged 32,
suddenly realised he was on the wrong platform for the train he wanted to catch
to Worthing and despite the barriers being down, he decided to cross the
railway line to reach the opposite platform. Witnesses saw him calmly walking
across with his carrier bags of shopping. He was just beginning to haul himself
up onto the platform when the train began to move forward. Unfortunately, Scott
was in the driver’s blind spot and the driver was only alerted to the situation
when people on the platform screamed for him to stop. Scott was trapped between
the platform’s edge and the side of the train. He was taken to Royal Sussex
County Hospital where he died four days later; the nurses said he had made a
heroic effort to hang onto life. (Argus 18/2/13 22/2/13
28/2/13).
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| copyright © G. Osborne With thanks to Mr G. Osborne for granting permission for the reproduction of the above photograph from his private collection. Portslade Station in the early 1900s |
A new and more spacious railway
station at Portslade was built in 1881. It shares its architectural style with
other stations belonging to the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway and it
is a handsome building in an Italianate style. Today, it looks in fine fettle
after some renovation work and re-painting.
Charles Tillstone
Charles Tillstone was station-master at Portslade for a
period of eighteen years. He retired in 1898 and was presented with a small
‘token of affection and regard’. It was remarked that during his time in charge
there had not been a single accident to passengers. He was given a cheque for
£20 and an illuminated list in album form of the names of people who had
subscribed to his gift; it was said to comprise some fifty of the principal
inhabitants.
The presentation took place at
the house of Samuel Isger in Carlton Terrace because Mr Isger had been the man
chiefly responsible in organising the subscription list.
Charles Tillstone did not leave
the locality and became sub-postmaster of Portslade.
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| copyright © J.Middleton The photograph of this solid-looking charabanc dates from around 1927. In the background note the serrated edge of the wooden canopy over the entrance to the station, which no longer exists. |
The Shepherd family had a remarkable record of service to
the railways. F.W. Shepherd spent 49 years on the railway before he retired on
17 August 1938 as station-master of Portslade. His father had been an inspector
on the railways for 40 years while his brother served as a treasurer at
Waterloo Bridge. It was stated the family had a record of 140 years of railway
service.
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| copyright © G. Osborne With thanks to Mr G. Osborne for granting permission for the reproduction of the above photograph from his private collection. The Brighton train leaving Portslade Station in the 1930s |
In 1927 Hove Council asked the Southern Railway Company if
the name of the station could be changed from Portslade Station to West Hove
and Portslade Station; after all technically the building was on Hove
territory. Sir Herbert Walker replied that the public might be confused to have
stations named ‘Hove’ and ‘West Hove’. But in principal he had no objection to
the name change.
Maud’s |
| copyright © D. Sharp Today the name is just 'Portslade' the 'West Hove' was dropped from the station name many years ago |
In the 1950s and 1960s there used to be an old railway
carriage parked on the forecourt called Maud’s. It was here a woman ran
a little workman’s café that opened at 5 a.m. and provided a welcome hot cup of
tea. But there was no running water and all the water for the tea urn had to be
fetched.
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| copyright © J.Middleton This beautiful horse chestnut tree pictured in May 2003 once adorned the station forecourt. Unhappily, it was felled in 2012 probably due to disease. The fruit and vegetable stall was located near to where Maud’s used to be. |
Level Crossing Gates
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| copyright © G. Osborne With thanks to Mr G. Osborne for granting permission for the reproduction of the above photograph from his private collection. Portslade's old style level crossing and signal box in the 1950s |
The old-style level crossing
gates lasted until the 1960s; they were white-painted wooden cross-bar gates
with a central red disc. In 1967 these were replaced with new drop-style
barriers. The signalman activated a button, flashing lights switched on and
around seven seconds later the barriers came down.
In November 1967 a bus driver and
a dustcart driver were fined for driving through the warning lights, which they
asserted they did not see until it was too late to stop.
In December 1967 a Ministry of
Transport divisional road engineer and British Rail official came to inspect
the site. As a result of their deliberations, it was decided to install muted
warning bells and new, stronger, flashing lights. The lights on the south would
also be moved closer to the barrier.
On 14 June 2000 the level
crossing gates were raised just after 11.45 a.m. and only three cars drove
across when the barriers came down unexpectedly trapping a skip lorry belonging
to Cleaning Service Group of Burgess Hill. The barrier sliced into the gap
between the cab and the main part of the lorry and the driver was unable to
move forwards or backwards. Fortunately no trains were due. Police set up
diversions and buses were re-routed. Naturally the barrier was badly damaged
and needed replacing. An investigation
was launched.
In 1985 a new public address
system was installed costing thousands of pounds. But it lasted less than a
month before it was scrapped because there were so many complaints about the
noise. Announcements began to be broadcast at 6 a.m. and were audible to every
household in Hallyburton Road.
The signal box was located on the
north west side of the level crossing and it was closed on 14 May 1988. It
dated back to the later part of the 19th century. Just in case there
was any doubt as to its antiquity, someone wrote on the brick base in large
numbers ‘1878 to 1988’.
Trevor Eastland was the last man
to pull the levers in Portslade signal box, which closed at the same time as
ones at Shoreham Station and at Eastern Avenue, Shoreham.
In future the level crossing
would be controlled via a computer panel at Lancing. The three boxes mostly
contained original machinery and were stripped for spare parts.
On 26 May 1988 Commex launched a
new service whereby passengers embarking at Portslade could travel directly to
London.
Station- masters
1858 – George Heather
(still there in 1867)
1870 – George Stoner
1874 – Robert Lay (still
there 1878)
1880-1898 – Edward Charles
Tillstone
1909 – C.S. Siley
1938 – F.W. Shepherd
retires
1990s – Adam Phayer
(This information was collected
from Directories and Press articles and it is not complete).
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| copyright © J.Middleton Portslade Railway Station was photographed on 29 December 2014. |
Sources
Argus
J.Middleton Encyclopaedia of Hove and Portslade
Hove Council Minutes
Thanks are due to Mr G. Osborne for allowing me to reproduce four of his wonderful photographs.
Thanks are due to Mr G. Osborne for allowing me to reproduce four of his wonderful photographs.
Copyright © J.Middleton 2015
page layout by D.Sharp