Middleton Towers Restoration Group

On 7th September 1968, the King’s Lynn to Dereham railway closed to passengers, ending over 120 years of use and marked the end of what is now a much-needed rail connection.

Middleton Towers served as the first station on the line and remains to be the only station to have retained some track. The station now serves as a freight-loading point for silica sand from the local Leziate quarry run by Sibelco UK Ltd.

I founded the Middleton Towers Restoration Group in July 2021 with one initial aim; to fully restore the former railway station site to be used by the local community. We are a group of over 130 railway enthusiasts, engineers and tradespeople who want to see our community effort come into fruition.

Our aim is to convert the former waiting room and ticket office into a public tea room and a museum of the former King’s Lynn to Dereham railway.

As you can see from our photos, the former ticket office and platform access room are in dire need of repair. The station house however is in great condition and this is privately owned and used by Sibelco while the rest is owned by Network Rail. We aim to hold discussions with Network Rail to obtain permission to renovate their portion of the site.

A consensus amongst our members is that, under our plans, it would serve as a public tea room and a museum for the former King’s Lynn to Dereham railway. However, our ambitions cannot end here. While we focus on our current plans, we must be ready to campaign for reinstatement of a passenger service at least as far as Middleton Towers or East Winch. A substantial amount of potential rail users reside in this area and it would certainly relieve some pressure on our roads.

We must not let central or local Government make knee-jerk decisions to develop on any portions of the line or, worst of all, tear it up entirely as regrettably done in the 1960s.