The Midhurst Railways were three branch lines which were built to serve the market town of Midhurst in the English county of West Sussex. The three lines were the Petersfield Railway, from Petersfield; the Mid-Sussex Railway extended by the Mid-Sussex and Midhurst Junction Railway, from Hardham Junction (Pulborough); and from Chichester. The Petersfield Railway opened in 1864, the promoting company having been absorbed by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) in 1863. The Mid-Sussex lines reached Midhurst in 1866, after being absorbed by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) in 1862. The two lines did not connect, and there were two separate stations close by one another. The Chichester line took much longer to complete, and was opened in 1881, and a new LBSCR station was opened, replacing the first station. In 1925 the former LSWR line was connected to that station.
The lines were never busy and the area remained rural; the Chichester line was closed to passenger trains in 1935. A culvert on that line was washed out in 1951 causing a goods train to fall into the cavity. The line was severed and never reopened past that point. Passenger services were withdrawn on the Petersfield – Midhurst – Pulborough axis in 1955, and goods traffic ended in 1966.
The Chichester to Lavant line continued with a very sporadic goods service, and that ended in 1968. Gravel extraction at Lavant revived the southern part of the line in 1971, and that continued until 1991. The lines now have no railway activity.
History Early proposals
In the 1850s it was felt urgently necessary to connect Portsmouth with London, and a considerable number of schemes were put forward. One would have aligned such a route from Godalming through Midhurst and Chichester, and from there along the coast, but in fact other, more roundabout routes were preferred. Although never built, the line had an enduring significance as it marked the boundary between the agreed territory of the LBSCR and the LSWR: the two companies agreed not to encroach on the other's area of influence.Peter A Harding, The Petersfield to Midhurst Branch Line, self-published by Peter Harding, Woking, 2013, ISBN 978 0 9552403 8 6, pages 3 and 4H P White, A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: volume II: Southern England, Phoenix House, London, 1961, page 118
The tract of land south-west of Horsham was largely agricultural, with no large settlements. The population of Petworth in 1851 was 2,439 and Midhurst had 1,481 inhabitants. Although never on a main line Midhurst attracted the attention of railway builders, and three railway routes approached the town.Gray, page 83J T Howard Turner, The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway, volume 2: Establishment and Growth, B T Batsford Ltd, London, 1978, 0 7134 1198 8, page 85
They connected into the growing railway network of southern England. The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway had its West Coast line running from Brighton to Chichester, actually opened by the Brighton and Chichester Railway, in 1846.Paul Clark, The Chichester and Midhurst Railway, Turntable Publications, 1979, ISBN 0 902844 53 9, page 9 This was extended to Portsmouth in 1847.Turner, volume 1, pages 237 and 238 To the north-west ran the Portsmouth Direct line, operated by the London and South Western Railway. To the north lay Horsham station, terminus of a branch from Three Bridges on the London to Brighton main line of the LBSCR.Turner, volume 2, page 11
The Petersfield Railway
The Mid-Sussex and Midhurst Junction Railway had considered extending from Midhurst to Petersfield, on the Portsmouth line, controlled by the London and South Western Railway, but were deterred from doing so by the territorial exclusivity agreement between the LBSCR and the LSWR, Midhurst being considered to be the boundary. The connection was seen to be desirable, so a company was projected to make the line: it was to be called the Petersfield Railway, and its estimated cost was £90,000.R A Williams, The London and South Western Railway: volume 2: Growth and Consolidation, David and Charles, Newton Abbot, 1973, ISBN 0 7153 5940 1, pages 92 and 93
A bill was presented to Parliament for the Petersfield Railway; it would run from a junction with the Mid-Sussex and Midhurst Railway at Midhurst to a junction with the Portsmouth line immediately north of Petersfield station. During the consideration of the bill in Parliament, there was a significant difference of views between, the Petersfield Railway and the MS&MR, and the Mid-Sussex company managed to have a clause inserted into the bill to specifically preclude a junction with its line. On that basis the Petersfield Railway got its authorising act of Parliament, the (23 & 24 Vict. c. clxxiii) on 23 July 1860. It was independent of the LSWR, and the line was to be miles in length.Donald J Grant, Directory of the Railway Companies of Great Britain, Matador, Kibworth Beauchamp, 2017, ISBN 978 1785893 537, page 448
A shareholders' meeting at the time of authorisation was told that an extension of the line to Southampton, connecting and running over the Bishops Waltham branch, would be possible. This was taken as an attractive idea, although the extension at miles would be more than double the length of the authorised line; it would cost £260,000. The idea went to Parliament in 1861 but was rejected there, on the basis of opposition from the LSWR. An appeal to reconsider was later made to the LSWR board, but they declined to consider supporting the line.Harding, pages 6 and 7
In September 1861 negotiations took place with the LSWR over absorption, and it was agreed that the Petersfield Railway would be sold to the LSWR for £110,000 in cash. This arrangement was made effective on 1 January 1863, and was authorised by the South Western Railway Act 1863 (26 & 27 Vict. c. xc) of 22 June 1863.Harding, pages 8 and 9Williams, volume 2, pages 94 and 95
Construction proceeded and Col. Yolland of the Board of Trade inspected the line on 27 May 1864. However he was dissatisfied with some signal locations, and he required a full double junction at Petersfield. This was attended to, and he gave his consent for opening on 18 August 1864. The line opened to the public on 1 September 1864. It was the first railway at Midhurst.
The Mid-Sussex Railway from Horsham
The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway constructed a branch line from Three Bridges to Horsham, opening it on 14 February 1848.White, page 104 The tract of land south-west of Horsham was largely agricultural, with no large settlements. The population of Petworth in 1851 was 2,439 and Midhurst had 1,481 inhabitants.
Despite the unpromising potential railway business, the LBSCR encouraged the formation of a nominally independent company to build a line from Horsham to Petworth. The Mid-Sussex Railway was promoted, and obtained its authorising act of Parliament, the Mid Sussex Railway Act 1857 (20 & 21 Vict. c. cxxxiii) on 10 August 1857.Grant, pages 380 and 381 The line ran through Billingshurst and Pulborough. From there on to Petworth, the line was designed to remain on the south of the River Rother to minimise river crossings, with the result that the Petworth station was about miles from the settlement itself, at a place known as Coultershaw Mill, a distance of miles from Horsham.White, page 105Turner, volume 2, page 90 The LBSCR's Horsham station had been built as a terminus, and it was unsuitable for a continuation to Petworth, so a new and larger passenger station was built nearby by the LBSCR.Turner, volume 2, page 88 Already at this stage, the idea of extending the line to Littlehampton was taking shape; this would run from a junction south of Pulborough, and the section from Horsham to that point was already referred to as the main line, and from there to Petworth as "the Coultershaw branch".Gray, page 23
A ceremonial opening of the line took place on 10 August 1859, and full public operation started on 13 August 1859. The train service consisted of five passenger trains each way daily from Three Bridges.Gray, page 28
The Mid-Sussex Railway was leased by the LBSCR and operated by it, and the company was taken over by the LBSCR by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (Additional Powers) Act 1864 (27 & 28 Vict. c. cccxiv) of 29 July 1864.
Mid-Sussex Junction Railway to Littlehampton The Mid-Sussex Railway had been conceived as a line to Petworth and possibly Midhurst and Petersfield, although in fact the latter were connected by other companies. In the early stages of the construction of the Mid-Sussex Railway, it was decided to press on to Arundel and Littlehampton, and the LBSCR obtained authorisation to do so under the title of the Mid-Sussex Junction Railway. The powers to do this included doubling the original Mid-Sussex Railway between Horsham and a junction at Hardham, south of Pulborough. This line opened from Hardham Junction to Littlehampton on 3 August 1863.Turner, volume 2, page 105
The Mid-Sussex and Midhurst Railway
Long before the Mid-Sussex Railway was completed, an extension from Petworth to Midhurst was decided upon, and another nominally independent company was formed to construct it. This was the Mid-Sussex and Midhurst Railway, which was authorised to construct a line from Petworth to Midhurst by the (22 & 23 Vict. c. cxxv) of 13 August 1859. Authorised share capital was £70,000 for a line of miles.Gray, pages 44 and 45 There had been plans to extend the line on to Petersfield, on the Portsmouth Direct line of the London and South Western Railway, but there was a territorial exclusivity agreement in place between the and the LSWR. The feared that the extension would breach the agreement and discouraged the inclusion of the Petersfield extension in the plans. That route was built by the Petersfield Railway company.White, page 107
The Mid-Sussex and Midhurst Junction company had difficulty in raising share capital from the outset, and in the (23 & 24 Vict. c. clxxii) the was authorised to take £30,000 in shares.Turner, volume 2, pages 91 to 93
The company was authorised to lease its line to the by the (25 & 26 Vict. c. ccx) of 7 August 1862, long before the line opened on 15 October 1866 and was acquired by the by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (Capital and Powers) Act 1866 (29 & 30 Vict. c. cclxxxi) of 30 July 1866 but this did not take effect until June 1874. At Midhurst the act of Parliament authorising the Petersfield Railway, the Petersfield Railway Act 1860 (23 & 24 Vict. c. clxxiii) had prohibited it from extending to join the Mid-Sussex and Midhurst Junction railway, so that there were now two stations in the town, about a quarter mile apart.
Connecting the Midhurst stations The LSWR (former Petersfield Railway) and the LBSCR (former Mid-Sussex and Midhurst Junction Railway) had two separate stations in Midhurst, not far apart. Colonel Yolland had commented adversely on the arrangement during his inspection of the Petersfield line on 18 August 1864. A goods-only connecting line, 11 chains in length, was made and opened on 17 December 1866.
The Chichester and Midhurst Railway
At the end of the 1850s a number of attempts were made to gain support for a Midhurst connection from Chichester, but these were unsuccessful. However in 1863 three separate, competing bills for a Chichester and Midhurst Railway were promoted, and went to Parliament for authorisation in the 1864 session.Clark, pages 15 to 17, and 19