Bricket Wood station — on the Abbey Line railway between Watford and St Albans — has formally opened a restored building in the station as a new cafe.
Bricket Wood Station Opening (c) LNR
The tea room in a disused building at the single-platform station was officially opened at a ceremony attended by representatives from London Northwestern Railway (LNR), the Bricket Wood Station Heritage Trust and local dignitaries.
The opening of the building is thanks to £250,000 of funding from LNR and years of dedication to the project from local volunteers.
As well as the tea room – which has already attracted hundreds of visitors since opening earlier this year – the grant funding also means the station is now home to informative displays about the history of the site.
The transformation of Bricket Wood was made possible due to LNR’s “Your Community, Your Fund” scheme. The Department for Transport (DfT) provides the funding which is then allocated by LNR and sister company West Midlands Railway to projects across the network.
David Horton, chairman of the Bricket Wood Station Heritage Trust, said: “The quality of the Edwardian-style tea room run by Cheryl Clark will assure popularity and love for the building for many years to come. I’d like to thank all of those involved in the project over the last seven years for their dedication, hard work and skill, not least my fellow Trustees, our architect, and our restoration team.
“An enormous thanks must also be extended to our industry partners Network Rail, London Northwestern Railway and the Railway Heritage Trust, without whom none of this would have been possible.”
The tea room at Bricket Wood station is open from Wednesday to Saturday between 9am to 3pm.
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