Appeal to save ‘world's oldest' railway station

The Heighington is said to be one of the most important buildings in the country

An urgent appeal has been made to help restore what is believed to be the world’s first railway station.

The Heighington stop in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, dates back to the 1800s but is now dilapidated.

Community group Friends of the Stockton and Darlington Railway wants to raise about £500,000 ahead of the site's 200th anniversary next year.

A trustee of the group said that they want to restore the building so people can go inside and “have a look”.

The Heighington stop has remained empty since 2017

The building was “effectively built as a proto-railway station before the concept of the railway station had been fully developed”, according to Historic England.

It was part of the Stockton and Darlington railway line which was the first passenger railway to use steam trains in the world.

The Heighington stop was initially designed as a public house but it also accommodated passengers, making it “possibly the world’s first railway station”, according to the public body.

The building was vacated in the 1970s and in 1984 it became a pub, according to Friends of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.

But this shut in 2017 and the building has since remained empty.

Community group Friends of the Stockton and Darlington Railway wants to raise about £500,000

The heritage group said it was hoping to raise £500,000 to buy and repair the building.

It said it expects the majority of the money to come from grant funding but is seeking about £100k from the local public.

Caroline Hardie, a trustee of the group, said: “We need to raise, first of all, enough money to be able to buy it and then to make it secure.”

She said the group want to make it safe so that “people can go inside and have a look”.