Knockholt railway station

Knockholt railway station is on the South Eastern Main Line, located in the London Borough of Bromley, south-east London. It is 16 miles 44 chains (26.6 km) down the line from London Charing Cross and is situated between Chelsfield and Dunton Green stations. It is in Travelcard Zone 6 and is located next to the Greater London boundary with the Kent district of Sevenoaks. The boundary is the farm bridge at the southern end of the platforms.

Knockholt
Knockholt
Location of Knockholt in Greater London
LocationChelsfield
Local authorityLondon Borough of Bromley
Managed bySoutheastern
Station codeKCK
DfT categoryE
Number of platforms2
Fare zone6
National Rail annual entry and exit
2015–16 0.287 million[1]
2016–17 0.273 million[1]
2017–18 0.239 million[1]
2018–19 0.255 million[1]
2019–20 0.251 million[1]
Railway companies
Original companySouth Eastern Railway
Pre-groupingSouth Eastern and Chatham Railway
Post-groupingSouthern Railway
Key dates
1 May 1876Opened as Halstead for Knockholt
1 October 1900renamed Knockholt
Other information
External links
WGS8451.3459°N 0.1307°E / 51.3459; 0.1307
 London transport portal

Location

The station is 4.8 km (3.0 mi) north-northeast of the village of Knockholt but closer to several other settlements. The station serves several small communities in the Sevenoaks district in addition to Knockholt; Badgers Mount 1.3 km (0.81 mi) to the southeast, Well Hill 1.3 km (0.81 mi) northeast, and Halstead 2.2 km (1.4 mi) south. Within the Bromley borough Pratts Bottom is only 2 km (1.2 mi) west-southwest; and also Chelsfield (although having its own railway station, is in parts closer to Knockholt station) at about 2.7 km (1.7 mi) to the north and west. To avoid confusion with Halstead in Essex it was named after the next closest village.

Services

All services at Knockholt are operated by Southeastern using Class 376, 465 and 466 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[2]

During the peak hours, northbound services run to London Cannon Street instead of Charing Cross.

Connections onto fast services to London, Tunbridge Wells and Hastings can be made by changing at Orpington (or Chelsfield during the peak hours).

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Southeastern

History

When the South Eastern Railway (SER) opened their "cut off" line through Orpington, Sevenoaks to Tonbridge in 1868, there was no station between Chelsfield and Dunton Green. A Knockholt Vestry meeting in March 1871 resolved to request the SER to build a station for Knockholt but this request was initially refused. Eventually, the SER agreed to provide a station if a £3,000 contribution was provided by "local parties," (equivalent to £280,000 in 2019).[3] This was raised and "Halstead for Knockholt" (the station being much closer to Halstead than Knockholt) was opened in 1876.[4]

Between 1887 and 1915 a twice daily bus service operated from Knockholt village to the station.

In 1899 the SER joined with its arch rival to form the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR). Alfred Smithers, who had moved to Knockholt in 1881, became deputy chairman of the SECR. At the strong suggestion of Smithers, the station name was changed to "Knockholt" in 1900 to avoid the confusion which had arisen with Halstead Station in Essex (and coincidentally giving Smithers a local station named after his village).

Buses

The station is served by the route 3 bus, operated by Go Coach which runs Monday-Friday between Orpington and Sevenoaks Town Centres.

References
  1. "Station usage estimates". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
  2. Table 204 National Rail timetable, May 2020
  3. UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  4. A History Of Knockholt, pp.128-130, by David Waldron Smithers, ISBN 0-9513500-4-8.
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