In the history of Yeovil’s railways, names can easily blur. Many people assume Hendford Halt and Hendford Station were one and the same, or that the Halt simply replaced the earlier station. In reality, they were two different places serving different purposes at different times, both on the Yeovil to Taunton line but separated by location, era, and function.
Hendford Station
Also known as Yeovil Hendford holds the distinction of being Yeovil’s very first railway station. Built by the Bristol and Exeter Railway, construction began around 1847 and the station opened with the branch line from Durston on the 1st October 1853 for passengers (goods a few weeks later).
It stood on the western edge of the town, in the angle between Hendford Hill and what is now Lysander Road/Way; where B&M now stands. It roughly 500 metres from the High Street and then considered the ‘outskirts’ of the town at the time.
The original layout formed a broad Y-shape: a single-platform passenger station on the southern arm near Hendford Hill, with a goods yard on the northern arm. The line used Brunel’s broad gauge.
The bridge in the background is the location of Hendford Halt, which was not opened until 1932. Today, the bridge is no longer there, but it would have passed over where McDonalds now is.
In February 1857 the track was extended under Hendford Hill to meet the Great Western Railway at Pen Mill. When the more central Yeovil Town station opened in 1861, Hendford closed to passengers after just a few years of service. It continued as a busy goods depot, handling a wide range of merchandise with sheds, sidings, cattle pens, timber yards, and a substantial crane. The goods yard remained active until final closure on 9 October 1967.
Hendford Halt
As Yeovil expanded, it became apparent that that a new station/halt was needed. The area around Hendford had grown, including businesses like Westlands. As there were many workers and residents, Hendford Halt was opened on the 2nd May 1932.
This was a simple, unstaffed single-platform, located a short distance to the west of the original station, opposite Forest Hill.
The halt was never intended to replace Hendford Station, as it was an additional stop, opened decades later.
The Closure
British Rail closed both sites to passengers on 15 June 1964 as part of the Beeching cuts that ended services on the Yeovil to Taunton branch. Demolition crews later removed the Halt, and subsequent building work erased most traces of the goods yard. Today the original station site stands near the B&M store on Lysander Road, and visitors can still spot remnants of the old platform wall in the car park.
The Halt’s location corresponds roughly to the area of a Morrisons petrol station. Part of the former trackbed survives as a pleasant walkway and cycle path. It leads toward Yeovil Country Park and Nine Springs, with high retaining walls still visible in places.
Two Places at Once
The distinction matters. Hendford Station was Yeovil’s pioneering passenger terminus that evolved into a long-lived goods yard. Hendford Halt was a later, modest passenger addition built specifically for the industrial western suburbs.
With the posts I made about Hendford, I think some people may have confused the two, so I wanted to clear it up. It was so nice to see people ask questions and talk about some of their memories about the branch line.
Next on the line is Montacute, which I have just started writing up. I also have some movie footage to share about the station. Sadly, the quality isn’t the best, but it’s still nice to see it. As I have said, if you have movie footage you want to share with me, please let me know.
