Representatives of the National Railway Heritage Awards travelled to North Devon on Saturday 2 April 2022 to witness the official unveiling of the plaque awarded to the Lynton & Barnstaple Community Interest Company for the restoration of the station at Chelfham.
The work undertaken on the station had seen the project awarded the Hendy and Pendle Trust Volunteers Award at the 2021 National Railway Heritage Awards at the ceremony held at Merchant Taylors’ Hall in December 2021. Unfortunately at short notice neither Peter Hendy nor Sue Pendle, as sponsors, were able to be present at the unveiling and, in their absence, the plaque was unveiled by the MP for North Devon Selaine Saxby.
Work started on restoring the station in 2012 and, over the past decade, the station building, platform, signal cabin and signals have been completed. Careful research has led to a first-rate and highly accurate historic restoration. Externally the work included the repointing of walls with lime mortar and work to the roof that included the casting of new tiles that were identical to the originals. The level of detail achieved is impressive. That it has all been done and funded by a small group of volunteers makes it even more remarkable.
The unveiled plaque at Chelfham with, from left, Andy Savage, Chairman of the NRHA, Selaine Saxby MP for North Devon and Nigel Thompson from the Lynton & Barnstaple CIC.
The restored station at Chelfham on the long-closed Lynton & Barnstaple line in North Devon; the quality of the restoration of the station building and its associated structures made it a worthy winner of the Hendy and Pendle Trust Volunteers Award at the 2021 National Railway Heritage Awards.