Holt railway station

In 1880 and 1881, the Lynn & Fakenham Railway obtained successive Acts of Parliament authorising the construction of a line north from its Melton Constable station as far as Kelling Heath where it would fork: one branch heading to the north-west to reach the fishing port of Blakeney, whilst the second would proceed to the north-east to reach the coastal village of Sheringham and then Cromer. A new company – the Eastern & Midlands Railway – was formed to build the line.[1] Construction began in April 1883 and later that year the rails had reached Holt, five miles from Melton Constable, but work on the station and yard did not begin until much later.[2] Holt was to remain the line's northern terminus and only station until 1887 when it finally reached Cromer. The line to Blakeney was never built due to doubts over its viability.

The original 1884 building consisted of little more than a sleeper platform and basic wooden buildings. Upon the completion of the line to Cromer, more durable buildings – most likely designed by William Marriott – were built; these included a brick-built main station building of typical Midland and Great Northern (M&GN) design, with a central block and two projecting gabled cross wings – the central portion being set back slightly to form a loggia for passengers on the down platform. A wooden waiting shelter was erected on the up platform with a saw-tooth canopy. The original wooden station building later became a 'reading room' at Melton Constable station.[3] Holt station was destroyed by fire in 1926 and a concrete replacement was built.[4]

When most of the former M&GN railway lines were closed in 1959, the branch through Holt remained open until 1964.

Following closure of the line between Melton Constable and Sheringham, the station buildings at Holt were demolished and part of the trackbed subsequently reused to construct part of the A148 Holt bypass. In 1965 a company known as Central Norfolk Enterprises (which changed its name to the North Norfolk Railway (NNR)) attempted to purchase the trackbed, but was rebuffed by Norfolk County Council which wished to proceed with the road scheme. The NNR did manage to restore the line between Sheringham and Weybourne[5] and, in 1987, opened a replacement Holt station on the edge of the town.[6] The NNR also salvaged Holt's original signal box which was relocated to Weybourne.[4]