Hassocks railway station

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Hassocks

The main building on the up platform at Hassocks station (25 November 2006).

Location

Place

Hassocks

Local authority

Mid Sussex, West Sussex

Operations

Station code

HSK

Managed by

Southern

Platforms in use

Live departures and station information from National Rail

Annual Rail Passenger Usage

2004/05 *

0.842 million

2005/06 *

0.835 million

History

21 September 1841

Opened (Hassocks Gate)

1 October 1881

Renamed (Hassocks)

1973 ^[1]

Rebuilt

National Rail - UK railway stations

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

* Annual passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Hassocks from Office of Rail Regulation statistics.

UK Railways Portal

Hassocks railway station serves Hassocks in West Sussex. It is on the Brighton Main Line 12 km (7¼ miles) north of Brighton railway station, and train services are provided by Southern and First Capital Connect.

The station was named Hassocks Gate upon its opening on 21 September 1841 by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway; for many years it was used by excursion trains for passengers visiting the nearby South Downs and suffered as a result as it became a meeting place for prostitutes. It stands almost at the summit of the line's climb from London before traversing Clayton Tunnel, a short distance south of the station.

Between December 1880 and August 1881 a new station building was constructed by James Longley & Co of Crawley. It was built in the same style as stations on the Bluebell and Cuckoo lines with a half-timbered upper storey, decorative brick eaves, stained glass windows and charming porches. The booking office was covered by a lantern-shaped roof and the platforms by wooden canopies on iron columns. The station was demolished in 1973 by British Rail and replaced with a CLASP structure which has been described as "truly awful".^[2] In 2006 the local community announced that it was hoping to raise £2.5m to rebuild the station to the previous design.^[1] These plans seem to have fallen through as in 2008 Network Rail announced that it would be carrying out an 18 month feasibility study to identify possible improvements to the existing building in order to facilitate access by the disabled and elderly.^[3]