Trimley, Suffolk
Kitmasterbloke, CC BY 2.0
Unlisted, 1891, W.N. Ashbee
Trimley railway station was opened by the Great Eastern Railway in 1891, when the Felixstowe branch line was extended from ‘Orwell’ near Nacton towards the Suffolk coast. It was built to designs by the company’s chief architect, W.N. Ashbee, and is considered one of only two surviving stations outside Essex to be completed in the ‘Ashbee style’, a standardised interpretation of the Domestic Revival designed for versatile application across all plan forms. The vocabulary had been developed for the so-called ‘New Essex’ lines which were completed in phases between 1889 and 1889, and was characterised by red brick, vertical tiling, decorative exposed timber detailing, and a gabled porch.
The main building is in a five-part arrangement, with the ticket office and post room to the centre and two-part recessed wings to either side. The east and west wings contain separate lavatories and waiting rooms for ladies and gentlemen and serve to break up the architectural massing and improve the legibility of the plan. The station has significant group value as part of a larger collection of nineteenth-century railway buildings, which all remain intact, including a station master’s house, goods shed, lattice passenger footbridge, passenger shelter, and signal box. The branch line had been built on a single track, but when Trimley was added a second line a second track was laid to allow freight trains to bypass the station, meaning that new platforms were required for each track.
The station’s fortunes began to decline in 1898, when a new station opened in Felixstowe Town, which was more convenient for passengers. With reduced passenger numbers, there was talk of closing the station altogether. In the end, a compromise was struck, and the station was retained as a ‘pay train’ operation, with all fares being collected by the guard so that the only staff left at the station were the signalmen. The buildings were taken out of use in 1967, and since then, they have lain vacant, despite nearly 60,000 passengers using the station every year. Network Rail recently issued a statement, indicating that if redevelopment plans are not underway before the end of this year, the station will be demolished and replaced with a security fence. This is unacceptable, and though the buildings are unlisted, Greater Anglia has a legal responsibility to ensure the proper maintenance of its estate.
Status Update / March 2026
The station evaded demolition in 2009, when a campaign by a local Friends group – now called the Trimley Station Community Trust – convinced Network Rail to revisit their proposals, but it nevertheless remains in a critical condition. Historic England issued a Certificate of Immunity from Listing in 2022, indicating that they do not intend to list or protect the building, and there are concerns that it is vulnerable to vandals and thieves. This is in spite of an increase in passengers using the station.