This page is one of several pages which are based on articles in our book entitled Royal Leamington Spa, A History in 100 Buildings which was published in 2018 and is no longer in print.
The first suggestion for a railway connection to Leamington appeared in a report of a survey for a railway from Coventry in February 1839. The route was proposed as a branch to connect the towns of Leamington and Warwick to the London to Birmingham line which had been opened on 17th September 1838.
Milverton was a separate parish at this date but was chosen as the site for a station because people in the rather special, health-conscious, town of Leamington did not want the inevitable smoke and the noise from the locomotives. The station also provided services for the people of nearby Warwick although it was over a mile from the centre of both towns.
Work began on building the railway and the station in 1843. The line was built by the London and Birmingham Railway Co but this soon became part of the London North Western Railway (LNWR); the company subsequently became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS).
A pub called the Railroad Inn was opened at No 9 Sidney Terrace in Rugby Road for the workers for a couple of years from 1843 to 1844. It was known as the Coventry Arms by 1845 and is currently The Fat Pug.
The main building of the station was constructed in stone in a quite elaborate Italianate style but other parts were more crudely supported on timber pillars. The station site also provided for a goods yard and shed and a small engine shed. It was located at the north-east corner of Rugby Road and Old Milverton Lane. The station opened on 9th December 1844 and contemporary illustrations show that the opening was well attended.
Because the station was in Milverton and it was in proximity to Leamington and Warwick, it was given many names using various combinations of these place-names. The names included Leamington, Warwick (Milverton), Warwick, Leamington (Milverton), Leamington Milverton (Warwick), Milverton (for Warwick) and, finally, Leamington Spa (Milverton) for Warwick. The names changed as this branch railway was extended to Rugby, Leamington Spa (Avenue) Station was developed and the Great Western Railway line and the (General) station were built.
The line was extended through south Leamington and on to Rugby on 1st March 1851. There was a branch from this line to Weedon, Northamptonshire, on the West Coast Main Line. However, the station at Avenue Road, adjacent to the GWR station, was not built until 1854 and this was rebuilt within six years. There was a lengthy footbridge to give access to Avenue station from Old Warwick Road.
Painting: “Train on Time” by Leamington Artist, Kevin Alun Parrish
The original station at Milverton was replaced in 1883 by a plain brick structure beside the embankment leading to the bridge that crosses Warwick New Road. It was on the north side of the road with a ticket office at street level. The platform structures were built of timber to minimise the weight on the embankment. The engine shed and goods yard at Rugby Road continued in use.
After 1854 Milverton (under whatever name) became something of a Cinderella station. However, the station in Warwick New Road did survive until closure on 16th January 1965 following the Beeching Report. On 1st July 1939 an IRA bomb exploded in the cloakroom in Milverton Station but there were no injuries. The track was used for goods only until 1969. The line reopened in 1977 and continues in use for passengers from the former GWR (General) station as a route to Coventry, Birmingham International and New Street. It is also used for freight.
The station site in Rugby Road is a garage in 2017 and part of the goods yard and engine shed are occupied by housing in The Spinney and Goodfellow Street. The station site in Warwick New Road has been cleared but is unused.
Michael Jeffs, 2018
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS are presented at the end of this page — https://leamingtonhistory.co.uk/articles-from-royal-leamington-spa-a-history-in-100-buildings/