St Margarets Station marks 150th birthday

It was great to welcome so many people to the 150th Birthday Party at St Margaret’s station on Saturday 3 October, organised by SCRP, The Friends of St Margarets Station, and residents of Amyand Park Road.

Guests included the Mayor of Richmond, Nancy Baldwin; Managing Director of SWR / NR Wessex, Lawrence Bowman; and the Minister of State for Rail, Lord Hendy with his fantastic heritage Routemaster bus!

The birthday really was celebrated in style: with a street party, live music provided by The Elastic Band, children’s games in the grounds of Amyand Park Chapel, a stunning exhibition of the history of St Margarets Station by local residents (Michael Gambazzi, Paul Velluet and Chris Hurrey), and all topped off by an array of marvellous cakes.

One 65 year old resident fulfilled a lifelong dream to get in the driving seat of a Routemaster bus, and one of the older community members was reduced to tears by all the fun. A new mural was showed off, created through collaboration with three local schools, artist Will Parker and Turner’s House.

There was also a display of children’s artwork in the waiting room on platform 1, and a chance to see the new planting at the station, for which The Friends of St Margarets Station received a London In Bloom ‘Celebration Stations’ award.

To round off the party, there was a resounding chorus of ‘Happy birthday’, with the guests being joined by dozens of residents.

As Sidonie Forrest-Brown, Chair of the Hounslow Richmond Community Rail Partnership put it: “What made the day so special was the huge support and enthusiasm of everyone involved, and I really would like to thank everyone who contributed to making the event such a success."