Station House

An unusual coloured postcard, postmarked 1909, showing the junction of Aberford Road with Station Lane. A large block of stone from Armitage’s quarry is being carried to the station goods yard. Based on information given to the Rothwell Advertiser in 1970 by Lillie Abbey its believed the photograph was taken in about 1905 and the woman standing in the road is her mother, Edith Hitchin, who worked at Bentley’s brewery. Edith’s husband was a colliery labourer and they lived at Oakdene Yard. Edith’s father was plumber William Henry Hoyle. The boy on the pavement is believed to be William Webster who also lived in Oakdene Yard. He was born in 1892 and when the photograph was taken he was a butcher’s delivery boy but later followed his father into a local pit.
The station house, for use by the station master and his family, was built by the Midland Railway in 1865 at a cost of £258 10s 8d. Prior to 1865 they had lived on the top floor of the station building.
The gate and path up to the house from the cobbled station yard. Just visible on the right is a large gate which was drawn across the entrance on Sundays when the station was closed.
An atmospheric view of the house taken by station master Tom Swaby shortly before he emigrated to Australia in 1971. When they left the Swabys gave their cat, Sooty, to the Hudson family who lived on Pottery Lane but it appears he was homesick and often went missing only to be found back at the station house so it was decided he should live with the new owners.
Looking across from the Lynwood estate on a winter’s day in the 1960s.