Maze Hill
For what opened on a
latterly conceived spur between the original North Kent Line and the branch of
the London & Greenwich Railway, the layout here was surprisingly extensive. If
the Royal Observatory’s opposition to the railway had not been an obstacle, the
SER would ideally have taken its 1849-opened North Kent Line through to the
Greenwich terminus of 1840, rather than assuming the circuitous route it was
compelled to, via Blackheath and Lewisham. Latterly, the Royal Observatory
relaxed its restriction on railway incursion, which allowed a double-track spur
between Charlton and Maze Hill to be opened on 1st January 1873. The final stretch
to Greenwich was not brought into passenger operation until 1st February 1878.
In retrospect, this was a somewhat unusual station owing to a number of
features. Despite being situated on what was fundamentally a connecting spur
between a pair of hitherto separate lines, Maze Hill commanded no less than
three platform faces, two of which constituted an island, the latter sitting to
the immediate north of the double-track running lines. The side platform face,
to the south of the running lines, was host to the main building, and this
itself was an oddity. It was built to the same design as that which later opened
at Halling in 1890 (and of which is still in existence). Constructed in the
thick of the SER’s ‘’economical’’ clapboard era, Maze Hill was one of few
stations at the time to receive the brick treatment, but in spite of this, the
railway company was evidently keen to standardise. Therefore, brick the building
may have been, but its walls were clad with clapboard to deceive the eye!
Adjoined to the eastern elevation of the main building was a single-storey
clapboard extension, which had the appearance of a SER-designed signal cabin
which had lost its base. To have the station purporting an economical look by
use of timber cladding may seem unusual, but the main structure was not without
some finesse; an intricately patterned canopy was incorporated. The fundamental
design of this was akin to the example at Plumstead, with the gradual
upward-sloping roof, but the valance was instead identical to that which can
still be seen at St Johns. The island platform canopy was instead arched in
nature, like the examples at Paddock Wood, but it was decorated with the same
valance design as that used on Maze Hill’s ‘’up’’ side. A lattice footbridge,
positioned to the west of the main station building and island canopy, linked
the platform surfaces.
Neither Greenwich nor Maze Hill stations were hosts to goods facilities, but the
latter did play one important role, aside from serving passengers: that of
carriage storage. A large array of rolling stock sidings flanked both sides of
the station layout; to the north of the platforms were five westward-facing
sidings, in addition to a short eastward-facing stub, and to the south were six
eastward-facing tracks. Of interest are the two eastward-facing tracks
immediately behind the ‘’up’’ platform, which terminated where the eastern
elevation of the station building began. This pair of tracks were provided with
protection from the elements in the form of an arched roof spanning the majority
of their length - an identical structure was later installed over two of the
‘’down’’ storage sidings. Roofs such as these were also features of both
Blackheath and Woolwich Dockyard stations, although their existence at the
latter two was short-lived compared to the example at Maze Hill. Two signal
boxes, to the east and west of the platforms, were commissioned by the SER to
independently control the ‘’up’’ and ‘’down’’ sidings respectively.
Circa 1908, the SE&CR installed another footbridge, this time a covered lattice
example positioned to the east of the station building. The original footbridge
remained in use concurrent with this until its removal by the Southern Railway.
Under the latter company, there were also signalling modernisations: the most
western signal box was subject to decommissioning on 4th February 1934, the
remaining cabin to the east taking over its functions. Maze Hill was not the
first station along the route to lose a signal cabin; Plumstead and Gravesend
Central stations each lost such a structure in 1926 and 1928 respectively.
Despite the installation of third rail in 1926, the extensive carriage sidings
around Maze Hill’s platforms remained, but these were never electrified, thus
were host only to locomotive-hauled rolling stock.
It becomes apparent that this station was the recipient of World War II bomb
damage. By the time Maze Hill had passed into British Railways ownership, half
of the main building was no longer in existence and a number of canopy struts on
the ‘’up’’ side had been strengthened. The western third of the island canopy
had also disappeared, leaving just the struts which once supported the cladding.
By the time ten-vehicle electric formations had commenced in 1957, the carriage
shelter on the ‘’down’’ side had been dismantled and one siding lifted, and by
the full completion of the Kent Coast Electrification in 1962, all such storage
tracks had gone out of use. In spite of this, the remaining two-storey high
all-timber mechanical signal box of SER design, continued to control the
rationalised layout until the St Johns Panel took over on 29th November 1969. To
those interested in bygone railway architecture, this closure would have been
the least of their worries, for worse was to come. In early 1971, the somewhat
patched-up, but nevertheless interesting station, suffered fire damage, which
prompted a near complete rebuild. All structures, except the 1908 covered
footbridge, were obliterated, and the island was converted to a standard side
platform. The then new ‘’up’’ side ticket office was a single-storey rectangular
all-glazed structure, and this became the first of its type to be trialled by
British Rail as a ''modern-image'' suburban station on the South Eastern
Division. The new station was deemed formally complete on 14th July 1971. A
ticket office identical in design appeared at Chelsfield three years later, and a much larger example came into use at Dartford during the same era. A
''bus shelter'' was installed at the
bottom of the footbridge’s flight of stairs, on the ‘’down’’ side. The former
site of the ‘’up’’ side carriage sidings was given over to the development of
blocks of flats, and the vacant land on the ‘’down’’ side was similarly sold off
for conversion to residential property. The platforms were lengthened at their
eastern ends in 1992 in connection with the twelve vehicle ‘’Networker’’ scheme
and, finally, in 2005, a waiting shelter appeared on the ‘’up’’ platform, just
to the west of the main station building.
An eastward view of Maze Hill from 3rd July 2006 reveals the footbridge of 1908, the station
building of 1973, and the waiting shelter of 2005. The yellow railings on the far left indicate
the long disused platform face, and the blocks of flats in the background are situated on land
formerly occupied by sidings. David Glasspool
This westward view from 3rd July 2006 is reminiscent of the easterly exit from Gravesend Central.
As at the latter, the line's London-bound course out of Maze Hill is through a brick-lined cutting,
complete with overbridges. The tunnel in the distance is 450 yards in length. David Glasspool
No. 465027 broke the silence as it passed through non-stop on 3rd July 2006, with a semi-fast
Charing Cross service. A terminus for the first five years of its existence, Maze Hill is at least
convenient for those travellers bound for Greenwich Park. David Glasspool
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