Berwyn Station, Llangollen & Corwen Railway

Opened in 1865 and built some seven miles from Llangollen, the station owed its existence in part to the influence of the local gentry. The Chairman of the Llangollen and Corwen Railway was Lt. Colonel Charles Tottenham and Anglo-Irish lord who owned much of the land on which the railway was built. He lived at Plas Berwyn mansion and in an agreement dated 26 August 1861, it was announced that “A station to be called The Berwyn Station shall be built in ornamental style and contain a first class waiting room in addition to the general waiting room. All passenger trains shall stop at Berwyn if and when required by the owner or occupier of or visitors to Plas Berwyn mansion.”

Samuel Pountney Smith, who was responsible for a number of stations on the line, prepared drawings for Berwyn in 1864. The station was situated on an awkward steeply sloping site between the A5 Holyhead Road and the River Dee. At the request of the railway company, it was designed in a half-timbered Tudor style in keeping with the Chain Bridge Hotel on the opposite bank of the river (designed by S Pountney Smith in 1828?). The station comprised a booking office, general waiting room, a ladies’ waiting room (originally the first class waiting room) and two lavatories. The only member of staff employed at Berwyn in 1924 was the Station Master, who lived in the adjoining three-storey station house at a rent of 7s 6d a week.

In 1956, the station was downgraded to an unstaffed halt. The final passenger services between Llangollen and Bala Junction ran on 12th December 1964. The station was re-opened in 1985-1986 as part of the preserved Llangollen Railway.

Reference           Peter A Short History of Berwyn Station