Listed status 'testament' to heritage railway work

Weybourne Station is part of North Norfolk Railway's Poppy Line

Two Norfolk railway stations have been given Grade II-listed status in recognition of their historic and architectural significance.

The stations at Sheringham and Weybourne have been listed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on the advice of Historic England, as part of work to mark 200 years of the modern railway.

Both are part of North Norfolk Railway's (NNR) Poppy Line - a five-mile heritage railway between Sheringham and Holt, and are alongside five others in the country receiving the status.

NNR's general manager Graham Hukins said: "This is very welcome recognition of what we've done in the last 50 years."

North Norfolk Railway has about 75 staff and more than 600 volunteers, maintaining stations including at Weybourne

Sheringham's station was built in 1887 for the Eastern and Midlands Railway, on its line between Melton Constable and Cromer, transforming it from a fishing village into a popular tourist resort.

It is described as "as one of the most substantially complete" of the surviving Eastern and Midlands Railway stations.

Weybourne was built in 1900 for the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway, opening to passengers the following year.

Around 150,000 use the North Norfolk Railway each year, visiting stations including Sheringham

Both are cited as having "impressive architectural quality over and above the functional designs" that were adopted for many rural stations nationally during the completion of the rail network.

Mr Hukins said the NNR attracted about 150,000 visitors a year and cost more than £4m annually in maintenance, with 75 staff supported by more than 600 volunteers.

As a non-profit organisation, he said excess funds were put back into the railway, adding: "To have recognition on a national basis is obviously very welcome, it really reinforces what we are doing already.

"It helps us carry on the work we do to restore and to look after these two stations in particular."

Graham Hukins is general manager of the North Norfolk Railway

About 92% of listed buildings have Grade II-status, with Grade II* being the next level of significance and Grade I being the highest.

As part of its Railway 200 project, Historic England is inviting people to provide stories, photos or videos in regards to its additions to the National Heritage List.

The other five rail stations added are in Durham, Dorset, Devon and the Isle of Wight.

The listings celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of modern passenger railway services, with the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway on 27 September 1825.