The History of Shillingstone Station

Shillingstone Station was built and opened by The Somerset & Dorset Railway (S&DR) on 31^st August 1863. The S&DR came into existence on 1 September 1862 as a result of the amalgamation of the Dorset Central Railway (DCR) and the Somerset Central Railway (SCR). At the time of the amalgamation, the DCR line ran from Wimborne Minster to Blandford Forum and from Templecombe to Cole near Bruton leaving a gap between Blandford Forum and Templecombe. The newly formed S&DR filled this gap by the summer of 1863 with one of the new stations in the gap being at Shillingstone.

Whilst the station at Shillingstone was built by the S&DR, it was built to a DCR design and it has great significance today. It remained operational until 1966 when it fell victim to Dr Beeching’s controversial cutback of the railway network. It is the last surviving station built to a DCR design and so it is vital this remarkable building is preserved for both architectural and historical reasons.

Shillingstone Station played host to a future King, Prime Minister and poet in its 103 year history as a working railway station.

William Gladstone arrived at Shillingstone Station on 23 August 1882 departing from it three days later for Downing Street. He had been visiting Lord and Lady Wolverton at Iwerne Minster and Viscount Portman at Bryanston.

On 20 October 1899, the future King Edward VII, (whilst he was still the Prince of Wales), made one of his many visits to Lord Wolverton’s estate for the shooting. On that particular occasion, he was accompanied by Grand Duke Michael of Russia and the Earl of Dudley. It was as a result of the Prince of Wales’s visits that the station acquired its ornate canopy, unusual for such a small station but considered necessary to protect the royal guest from inclement weather.

King George V and Queen Mary

On Monday 5 December 1904, the future King George V, (whilst he was still the Prince of Wales), together with his wife, the future Queen Mary, made a visit to Lord Wolverton’s estate at Iwerne Minster for the shooting. They travelled from Waterloo Station to Templecombe where they changed to the S&DJR for the final stage of their railway journey to Shillingstone Station. They were accompanied by, among others, the Earl of Mar and Kellie Lord Stanley and General Arthur Paget. They returned to Buckingham Palace on 9 December 1904.

Rupert Brooke

With the outbreak of World War I, the poet Rupert Brooke joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and was stationed nearby at Blandford Camp. From there, he and his battalion marched to Shillingstone Station where they boarded a train to Avonmouth and then on to a troop ship bound for Gallipoli. As history records, he never returned.

Overlooked by the ancient hill-fort of Hambledon Hill, with the River Stour meandering by in the foreground, Shillingstone was probably the most picturesque station south of the Mendips on what was to become the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway (S&DJR) in 1876.

Looking Forward

Our plans and ambitions for the future include:

Extending the railway beyond our current boundary

Becoming operational, initially using diesel locomotives and ultimately bringing back steam to North Dorset

Improving, enhancing and developing the visitor experience

Education and training, the sharing of skills and knowledge between volunteers

Developing our role as a major community hub

Promoting social and mental wellbeing, mutual support and social interaction, helping to combat isolation and loneliness in rural North Dorset