Disused Stations: Clare Station

Clare Station Gallery 2: September 1975 - May 2014

Clare station looking east in September 1969; apart from the removal of the name boards nothing appears to have changed after more than two years of disuse. The track was lifted in 1970

Photo by Nick Catford

Clare station looking west in September 1969; the signal box appears to have lost all its windows. The box was burnt down shortly after this picture was taken.
Photo by Nick Catford

Unlikely many old station buildings, Clare was securely boarded up to deter vandals as seen in this view from September 1969.
Photo by Nick Catford

The west end of Clare station building seen from the cattle dock in September 1975. The track bed on the north side has been filled up to track level. By this time the station was part of the Clare Castle country park.
Photo by Nick Catford

Clare station looking east in June 1975. The station building was in use as an office and residence for the park ranger.

The waiting shelter on the down platform at Clare station in December 1975. The shelter was open fronted with two lines of benches and an open fire. The room at the east end of the building is a small waiting room with a second open fire while that at the west end was a lamp room. There was originally weather boarding below the windows, this has been replaced with brick.
Photo by Alan Young

The main station building at Clare in March 1976. The canopy between the two wings has been filled in to make a conservatory. The cattle dock is seen beyond the platform to the rear.

Photo by Nick Catford

Clare station looking west in March 1976. The castle mound is seen to the right of the station buildings.
Photo by Nick Catford

Clare station forecourt in March 1976. Nine yeas after closure littler has changed, even one of the out buildings seen in the bushes on the left is still standing.

Photo by Nick Catford

Clare station and goods yard seen from the cattle mound in April 1990. The concrete strip is the cattle dock with the trackbed now filled up to dock level. Cattle pens stood on the dock. The goods shed is out of sight to the right. The track bed now forms part of the Stour Valley path which runs
through the park.
Photo by Dave Burrows from his Flickr photostream

Clare station looking west in August 2005. The east end of the up platform has been allowed to return to nature but the down platform is kept clear of undergrowth and is used by walkers along the
Stour Valley path.
Photo by Nick Catford

Clare station looking west in August 2005, the cattle dock is seen on the far left.
Photo by Nick Catford

Clare station forecourt in August 2005. At this time the building was used as an office and residence for the park ranger.
Photo by Nick Catford

Clare goods shed in August 2005. This is now the only surviving example of the 1865 design goods shed. Whilst not original to the site the crane is a rare surviving example of the kind of crane used at 1865 type stations. It arrived at Clare from nearby Glemsford in 2004. There have been some changes to the building over the years. The arched openings on the east and west sides were replaced with flat lintels, and the canopy on the north side (out of view), which would have provided shelter when unloading road vehicles, has been removed. The single-storey extension has been added to the south side in the late 29th century. The castle mound is seen on the right.
Photo by Nick Catford

In 2012 the park ranger was made redundant and had to leave his house which was subsequently boarded up. It remains empty in May 2014 although there are plans to renovate it turning it as a a two-storey residential property, an office and an education centre.
Photo by Mike Haddon

Clare station forecourt in May 1014.
Photo by Mike Haddon