Birmingham Curzon Street railway station (1838–1966)

The station, originally known as 'Birmingham' station was opened on 24 June 1838, with the first train from London to Birmingham arriving on 17 September. It was the terminus for both the London and Birmingham Railway and the Grand Junction Railway and the companies had adjacent, parallel platforms but there were no through trains.

1838 drawing of the rear of the station's platforms while in operation.

The Grand Junction Railway arrived at Curzon Street in 1839. Although the line had opened in 1837, one year before the London and Birmingham Railway, it originally ran to a temporary terminus at Vauxhall. A viaduct had to be constructed to allow the line to reach Curzon Street.[1] The smaller Lawley Street station, terminus of the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway (a forerunner of the Midland Railway) was later opened a short distance to the east.

Behind the main entrance building, the L&B station had a wrought iron framed trainshed which had two spans, and covered an area 217 feet (66 metres) long and 113 feet (34 metres) wide. It had two platforms, one for departures and one for arrivals.[2] The Grand Junction Railway had parallel departure and arrivals platforms and a separate entrance building and booking office (now demolished) further along Curzon Street, designed by Joseph Franklin.[3][4]

A 1910 Railway Clearing House map showing railways in the vicinity of Curzon Street (upper centre)

Its use as a major passenger station was short lived. It was inconveniently located on the eastern edge of Birmingham city centre, and the station's facilities soon became overwhelmed by the growing traffic. Following the merging of the L&B and Grand Junction railways into the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) in 1846, work started on the new and more conveniently located 'Grand Central' station, which would become known as Birmingham New Street half a mile to the west.[5] shared with the Midland Railway, New Street was completed in 1854. Most passenger services were diverted to the new station the same year.

The name of the station had been changed from 'Birmingham' to 'Birmingham Curzon Street' in November 1852. Part of the overall site (at the corner of New Canal Street and Banbury Street) was modified in 1874 and used from that Easter as an 'excursion station' (to relieve New Street at peak times such as holidays or fair days), used notably by public holiday excursion services to Sutton Coldfield, until Easter 1893 [6] (the 1838 platforms were not so used). The main site continued in use as a goods station until 1966.[7] The platforms, along with the original trainsheds were demolished the same year.[2] The site was then used as a Parcelforce depot until May 2006.[8]

The surviving entrance building, in 2006

The surviving Grade I listed entrance building was designed by Philip Hardwick as the company’s offices and boardroom.[9] Built in 1838, it is among the world's oldest surviving pieces of monumental railway architecture. Costing £28,000 to build,[10] the architecture is Roman inspired, following Hardwick's trip to Italy in 1818–19. It has tall pillars running up the front of the building, made out of a series of huge blocks of stone. The design mirrored the Euston Arch at the London end of the L&BR. In the original design the building was to be flanked by two arches leading into the station: excavations have revealed that these were never built. The interior was modified in 1839 to accommodate an 'hotel' (the Victoria), although this was probably more in the nature of a refreshment room or public house, and later the booking hall, with a large iron balustraded stone staircase and offices. It is three storeys tall but relatively small. The building was acquired by Birmingham City Council in 1979. A detailed paper from Historic England can be found at the Warwickshire Railways website..[11]

In 1841 an hotel extension - known originally as the Queen's Hotel - was added to the northern (Curzon Street) side of the building, but was eclipsed (and renamed the Railway Hotel) when a new Queen's Hotel was opened next to New Street station. The Railway Hotel closed in June 1900 [12] for conversion to railway offices [13] and was demolished ca. 1980 by Birmingham City Council.[14] On 27 January 1847, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers was established with George Stephenson as its first president in the Queen's Hotel; a plaque commemorating the centenary of the event was placed inside the station building when the hotel was demolished.

Ansells Brewery had a purpose built public house built opposite the station in 1897. This was called The Woodman and it is still open in 2020.[15]

Hardwick's station building was acquired by Birmingham City Council in 1979.[14] and was used by a University of Birmingham student theatre group, the 'Three Bugs Fringe Theatre'. The building was also proposed as a home for the Royal College of Organists, but the proposal foundered in 2005 for lack of funds.[16] A Parcelforce depot to the rear of the station was demolished in May 2006.

A commemorative plaque was installed next to the station entrance in 1988 which reads: "THIS PLAQUE COMMEMORATES THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARRIVAL OF THE FIRST LONDON TO BIRMINGHAM TRAIN AT THIS STATION ON MONDAY 17TH SEPTEMBER 1838".

The building is unused except for the occasional art exhibition. Birmingham City Council had hoped to refurbish the building and find an alternative tenant. It was expected to be the centrepiece of the City Park and Masshouse development scheme, which is located around the site, most of the surrounding buildings having been demolished.

These plans have been overshadowed by the High Speed 2 proposal. The new station might have incorporated the surviving entrance building [17][n 1] but the latest plan leaves the building outside the HS2 station's footprint.[18]

• 
  An 1839 drawing of Curzon Street, showing the planned flanking arches, which were never built.
• 
  Print from a 19th-century guide book showing the 1840 hotel extension to the north of the terminus building.
• 
  Joseph Franklin's Curzon Street Station screen for GJR, now largely demolished.
• 
  1943 drawing by E. B. Musman
• 
  Rear of station building, across former freight depot (now car park), with Masshouse block M behind.
• 
  The plaque to the right of the entrance commemorating the first train from London to Birmingham.

Notes

References

• Cragg, Roger (1997). Civil Engineering Heritage: Wales and West Central England (2nd ed.). London: Thomas Telford. pp. 193–4. ISBN 0-7277-2576-9.
• Foster, Richard (1990). Birmingham New Street – the story of a great station, including Curzon Street, 1: Background and beginnings: the years up to 1860. Didcot: Wild Swan Publications. ISBN 0-906867-78-9.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Curzon Street railway station.

• Curzon Street on warwickshirerailways.com
• Birmingham.gov.uk
• Lookingatbuildings entry
• Photo and description
• Rail Around Birmingham: Curzon Street railway station
• Organists scrap plans for new HQ – BBC Music Magazine
• Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1343086)". National Heritage List for England.
• Heritage at Risk Register: Curzon+Street