A railway enthusiast spent 25 years restoring the Victorian station used by British royals near Sandringham; now the former royal stop and signal box are on sale for £1.25 million
When you are a royal, everything is high class. From your clothes to your travelling vehicles, everything associated with you is expected to abide by certain standards. Thus, when the royals travelled from London to Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, they had a special station of their own. Originally known as Wolferton Station, the terminal was first opened in 1862, the same year that Queen Victoria bought Sandringham Estate for her son Albert, Prince of Wales. And now it’s been converted into a modern family home, on the market for £1.25m.
Inside the royal station
The Royal Station, as it is now known, is located in the small Norfolk village of Wolferton
The Royal Station, as it is now known, is located in the small Norfolk village of Wolferton, just two miles from Sandringham Estate. It is at this royal holiday home that Albert and his wife, Princess Alexandra of Denmark, would spend their autumns and winters, gathering with the rest of the family for week-long hunting parties, Christmases and New Year. Used by the royal family for more than 100 years, station master Harry Saward recorded 645 special royal trains at Wolferton during his 27 years in service. Alongside the couple, foreign monarchs, politicians and diplomats were all known to stop at the station on their way to hunts, luncheons and parties.It was here that mourners gathered for the funeral procession of Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence, in 1892 (who died of flu aged 28 while at Sandringham), and for the funeral of Queen Alexandra in 1925. It is also here that people gathered to greet the Duke and Duchess of York on their wedding day in 1893, as they arrived to spend their honeymoon at York Cottage on the estate.In its time, the station also doubled as a hunting lodge. In 1908, it was reported that a hunting party of ‘The King, the Prince of Wales, Prince Athur of Connaught, Prince Alexander of Teck and several of the King’s guests’ had enjoyed a ‘good day’s shooting in the fields and woods near Wolferton railway station […] Lunch was served in the waiting-room used by the royal family at Wolferton stations, and the sportsmen were there joined by the Queen, the Princess of Wales, Princess Victoria, Princess Alexandra of Teck and others,’ according to a report by Country & Town House.Due to the volume of traffic on the line, in 1898 new downside buildings (those on the side of the station where guests disembark) were built. Tudor in style, these buildings included a royal suite complete with three oak-panelled rooms, one grand central reception room for greeting guests, the Prince’s Room (now King Edward VII room) and the Princess’s Room (now Queen Alexandra room), both featuring their very own washrooms, plus an equerry vestibule to enable staff to move around without disturbing guests
A railway enthusiast’s dream
Despite its rich history and style, on May 3, 1969, it was the end of the line for Wolferton Station. In a series of post-war rail cuts, the entire King’s Lynn to Hunstanton line was closed, including Wolferton. The royal family, meanwhile, had ceased regular use of the station in the mid-1960s in favour of King’s Lynn. Closed for good, the station was pegged for demolition with plans to transform the surrounding land into a housing development.That’s when former railway employee Eric Walker stepped in. Eager to save this historic building from destruction, he and his wife Herta bought it up themselves and converted the royal suite and public waiting rooms into a three-bedroom family home. Briefly running a museum at the station too, in 2001 they put the Grade II* listed property up for auction.Sold onto railway enthusiast Richard Brown, he completed a huge renovation on the home, incorporating partial underfloor heating, air conditioning, a heat exchange, an EV charger and, where possible, double glazing. In addition to the central property, he also acquired the old signal box, restoring it into a one-bedroom annexe complete with working levers – though the track they’re connected to has long gone.In a conversation with The Times, his daughter, Amy Brown, said the 25-year renovation has been ‘an absolute labour of love’ for her father, who went on to win several awards for the project. Currently, the abode is on the market for £1,250,000.
