Wolferton railway station 'very special' for royals

A tiny village station seen by millions of people when George VI's coffin was taken by train to London 70 years ago has been "very special" for the royal family, a historian said.

People living around Wolferton, near Sandringham in Norfolk, have been reflecting on its importance during the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

Wolferton had just 200 villagers in 1861 when work started on the station.

"It was coincidental it became a royal station," said historian Andrew Murray.

The line from King's Lynn to Hunstanton was opened in 1862.

The station site, which closed in 1969, is now a museum, but for over a century royal families from across the world, heads of state and celebrities would gather at Wolferton, usually on special royal trains rather than mixing with locals or holiday-makers.

"It was a very special station; when the line was planned and they started building it in 1861, there was no idea that the royal family would have Sandringham," said Mr Murray, from Hunstanton Heritage Centre.

"Prince Edward [later Edward VII] was given Sandringham as his 21st birthday present.

"The royal family had been looking round to find somewhere suitable away from London and places he might find interesting.

"He was shunted off up here and a year later he married Princess Alexandra and they had a happy life here."

Wolferton station became part of the royal estate, with every monarch since Edward VII subsequently buying more land around the area.

The station itself was used as a reception area for all the visiting VIPs for the period in the late 19th Century when Sandringham House was being rebuilt, as guests could only enter the house via the ballroom.

It was even used by Edward to entertain his shooting parties.

Mr Murray said the Queen, her grandfather George V and father George VI all spent a lot of time at their private residence.

In 1952, British Pathe footage was watched by people across the world as locals turned out to pay their respects as George VI's coffin was taken by gun carriage to Wolferton on its way to King's Cross in London.

Sixteen years earlier George V's funeral train had set off from the same spot.

A manicured lawn now stands where the train tracks were.

The station was believed to have been last used by the royal family over Christmas 1966, and by its last passengers in 1969, when the King's Lynn to Hunstanton line closed.

The buildings fell into disrepair, with a large part of the site bought in 2001 by Yorkshire businessman Richard Brown, who has since carried out major restoration work.

But until it became redundant one thing was assured for the Queen at Wolferton, said Mr Murray.

"I don't think she waited - the royal trains were treated as the highest priority," he said.

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