Brentwood Station

The first proposals for a railway through Brentwood were introduced in 1836, but they faced strong opposition from Lord Petre of Thorndon Hall. Concerned about the impact on his estate, Lord Petre pushed for an alternative route that would bypass his lands. Although this proposal was rejected, a legal agreement was reached in which the railway company paid Lord Petre £120,000 for building on his property.

In 1838, parliamentary approval was granted for the railway, and construction began shortly thereafter. The Eastern Counties Railway advertised building contracts in December 1838, and by 1839, hundreds of workers were engaged in constructing the line. Brentwood’s terrain, particularly around Shenfield Common, proved challenging due to its sandy, waterlogged ground, which acted like quicksand.

Brentwood Station officially opened on July 1st 1840, run by the Eastern Counties Railway. Trains to London took about 45 minutes and the terminus was at Shoreditch station (later renamed Bishopsgate). The original station had its entrance on the Warley Hill side. According to Whishaw's The Railways of Great Britain and Ireland (1840), the station was initially a temporary structure, which six years later was replaced by a permanent brick building in Tudor revival style. Functional facilities were constructed on the north side of the line, including a goods station, coal yard, cattle pens, and an engine shed. Brentwood was the terminus of the line from London until Chelmsford station opened in 1843.

The early years saw some notable incidents. In September 1840, Josiah Thorrowgood, a local auctioneer, stole a train from Brentwood and crashed it into a horse carriage and a coal cart, causing minor damage but no injuries. A more serious accident had occurred in August 1840 when a train derailed at Brentwood due to speeding, resulting in the deaths of four people.

As rail traffic increased, a turntable was added at Brentwood to assist trains up the steep incline to Shenfield. By 1845, the turntable was enlarged, and by 1868, a larger engine shed was constructed to support more powerful locomotives. A goods yard was established by the 1870s, with sidings serving local industries such as a gas works and Robsons Maltings, it was probably also around this time that the buildings and old entrance on the north side of the lines were built.

In 1862, the Great Eastern Railway (GER) took over the station, which was renamed "Brentwood & Warley for Billericay" in 1882, before being shortened to "Brentwood & Warley" in 1889. In 1882 it was proposed that the Southend line should branch out from Brentwood, altgough this ultimately was built at Shenfield station. By the 1890s, coal sidings were also in use.

The station underwent significant changes during the 1920s and 1930s. In 1933-34, the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) doubled the number of tracks passing through Brentwood to four. A new booking office and two additional platforms were constructed on the south side of the station. The bell tower, once a key feature of the station, was demolished during this period.

World War II brought further changes to Brentwood Station. Plans for electrification were postponed due to the war, and the station became a target for German bombing. On January 6, 1941, a German bomber attacked Brentwood Station, killing a railway worker, Eric Frank Bridgeman, and wounding 20 others. The station suffered significant damage, including the destruction of the booking office.

After nationalisation in 1948, Brentwood became part of the Eastern Region of British Railways. The engine shed was closed in 1949, and the station saw its first electric services that year, though steam trains continued to operate alongside electric services for a short period. By the late 20th century, infrastructure improvements, such as embankment ladders, were introduced to facilitate maintenance along the steep bank towards Shenfield. The base of the now demolished engine shed can still be seen as the brick wall on the eastern end of the eastbound platform.

The two platforms on the south side of the station were closed in the late 20th century, and the tracks there are now only for trains that are not stopping at Brentwood station.

In 2010, further refurbishment took place under National Express East Anglia, improving the entrance, ticket hall, and waiting areas, with provisions made for lifts to the platforms. In May 2015, the stopping service to Shenfield became part of TfL Rail, later incorporated into the Elizabeth Line in May 2022, continuing Brentwood Station’s evolution as a key transport hub for the region.