The station was opened by the Midland Railway on 1 August 1862.[1] Being the nearest station to Haddon Hall, it was built in a grand style as the local station for the Duke of Rutland over whose land the line had passed. Designed by Edward Walters of Manchester, the buildings were of fine ashlar with intricate carvings which incorporated the duke's coat of arms.
Since the line was climbing steeply towards its summit at Peak Forest, the station was located uphill about half a mile from the town, which became a disadvantage when road transport developed.
The busiest time was during the Bakewell Show but the station was also popular with campers and tourists. The station was host to an LMScaravan from 1935 to 1939. A camping coach was also positioned here by the London Midland Region from 1954 to 1967.[5][6]
During the nationalisation of Britain's railways in 1948 the station was passed on to the London Midland Region of British Railways, and despite escaping the Beeching Axe the station was closed when passenger services ceased on 6 March 1967.[1] Trains continued to pass through the station until 1968 when the line was closed.
Albert C. Bilham 1891–1898 (afterwards stationmaster at Matlock Bath)
Thomas Pitt 1898–1901[10] (formerly stationmaster at Rowsley)
Frank Porter 1901–1907 (formerly stationmaster at Spondon)
Harry l’Anson 1907–1911 (formerly stationmaster at Grindleford, afterwards stationmaster at Matlock)
Harry S. Dawes 1911–1922 (formerly stationmaster at Whatstandwell)[11]
Ernest Clowes 1922[12]–1932 (formerly stationmaster at Hathern)
E. Miles from 1932
After closure
The station buildings still survive and are Grade II listed.[2] They are perched half a mile east of the centre of Bakewell, high upon the hillside due to the alignment that the railway was forced to take.
In time the station was replaced with Bakewell Industrial Estate; the station building is still in use as a warehouse along with the platforms (but the gap between platforms have been filled in to facilitate the Monsal Trail).
Ridged canopies existed over platform 1, and there was a goods shed and cattle dock, but all have since been removed.
^"Death of the Bakewell Station-master". Derbyshire Times and Chesterfield Herald. England. 10 January 1891. Retrieved 13 February 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^"Bakewell's late Stationmaster". Derbyshire Times and Chesterfield Herald. England. 1 February 1902. Retrieved 13 February 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^"New Stationmaster for Bakewell". Derbyshire Courier. England. 23 May 1911. Retrieved 13 February 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
McRae, Andrew (1997). British Railway Camping Coach Holidays: The 1930s & British Railways (London Midland Region). Vol. Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part One). Foxline. ISBN1-870119-48-7.
Further reading
Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC228266687.
Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC22311137.
Radford, B. (1988). Midland Through the Peak: A Pictorial History of the Midland Railway Main Line Routes Between Derby and Manchester. Unicorn Books. ISBN1852410019.
