Harold Wood station history from Victorian era to Elizabeth line

Harold Wood station, now part of the Elizabeth line, was once used for delivering coal and pre-dates both Upminster and Hornchurch stations.

In 1866, 300 acres of Gubbins Farm in Harold Wood were bought by developers who formed The Harold Wood Estate Company to create a suburban villa town.

The more formal entrance and booking office of Harold Wood station, built in around 1880 (Image: Havering Libraries-Local Studies)

They arranged for a railway station to be built on the London to Colchester line, and Harold Wood station opened on February 1, 1868.

According to Havering Libraries, there were "cheers" from a large group of labourers employed on the estate when a train stopped at the station for the first time.

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At the start only 12 trains could stop there each day - six up and six down the line.

The signal box and footbridge at Harold Wood station (Image: Havering Libraries-Local Studies)

The station's initial entrance was in Station Road, but this changed in 1880 when a more formal booking office and entrance was built in Oak Road. 

Harold Wood also had a coal siding - a short railway track used for delivering and storing coal - and goods yards, behind the ticket hall and separate to the main line.

A total of 19,110 tonnes of goods and coal traffic passed through Harold Wood station in 1913, according to a speech by the stationmaster at the annual dinner of railway station staff the following year.

View of the goods yard, signal box, platform and Oak Road station entrance at Harold Wood Station (Image: Havering Libraries-Local Studies)

The stationmaster's speech also revealed that 39,486 passengers were booked at Harold Wood over the year, as well as more than 25,500 parcels and batches of milk.

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Later on in the station's history, in 1934, one of the platforms was lengthened and new booking and parcel offices were built.

Harold Wood station's coal siding and goods yard before its closure in 1965 (Image: Havering Libraries-Local Studies)

The coal siding did not close until 1965, with one photo taken at the time showing two of the coal merchants and two station staff standing close by.

Harold Wood is now part of the Elizabeth line, having undergone a refurbishment - including a new footbridge and lifts - before the formal opening of the line in 2022.