The lost Cambridgeshire railway station that is now a private home

Even small villages in Cambridgeshire once had their own railway stations, now lost to time after the increasing popularity and number of cars. Peakirk, a village near Peterborough, is one such place, with its former railway station building now converted into a home.

The station opened in October 1848 on the Lincolnshire loop line which connected Peterborough to Lincoln via Spalding. During its lifetime the station was known as Peakirk & Deeping, Peakirk & Crowland, and just Peakirk.

It was a small station with two staggered platforms, according to Disused Stations. The station buildings included a booking office and stationmaster's house, as well as a shelter for passengers to wait in.

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The station's location in the Fens meant that it was in prime position to transport wildfowl into cities for sale at markets. Another foodstuff that travelled through Peakirk was potatoes.

Produce like potatoes and other types of food were transported by boat along Maxey Cut and the Welland Navigation before being transported by rail. Other materials transported by rail included building materials, some of which were used to build the station itself.

The station saw its last passengers in September 1961, after more than a century as an active station. It closed to goods traffic in April 1964, with the demolition of the platforms following soon afterwards.

The station is now a private home after being converted in the 1990s. The platform and goods yard have become housing developments, but the station itself looks very much like that which passengers in the 19th and 20th centuries would recognise.