Britain’s last surviving railway nursery
There used to be six railway nurseries supplying flowers and vegetables to stations and other railway properties up and down the land. Now only one remains, in a pretty village just on the outskirts of York.
Poppleton’s railway nursery began life during the Second World War. With supplies disrupted and food short, Britain’s railways had to look to their own resources to provide for staff canteens and railway-run hotels. So land at the Poppleton Station goods yard was put into service. Workers built wooden greenhouses and planted fruits and vegetables.
Info
Address Station Road, Poppleton, York YO26 6QA, +44 (0)1904 797623, www.poppletonrailwaynursery.co.uk, pcrn.info@yahoo.co.uk | Public Transport South side of Boroughbridge Road (A59) at Northfield Lane; 7-minute walk from Poppleton Station. Poppleton Station is served by Northern Trains on the York to Harrogate line. Closest bus stop: Station Road, Poppleton | Hours If you want to volunteer, the nursery is open during the day from Monday to Friday. Otherwise, check the website for the next public plant sale| Tip St Everilda’s, on Church Lane in neighbouring Nether Poppleton, is worth a visit – the stained glass in the east window dates from the 13th century.
After the war, the nursery switched to growing shrubs and trees, which were needed to stabilise bomb-damaged embankments. As Britain returned to post-war normality, it produced flowers, bedding plants, and hanging baskets with which to decorate stations along the East Coast Main Line. In the 1980s, the nursery even constructed a railway of its very own. The two-foot gauge railway helped transport materials around the site.
As the privatisation of British Rail approached, the nursery diversified and carried out horticultural work at power stations and the Imperial War Museum at Duxford. Sadly, though, by 2006, the nursery was closed and the site abandoned. But not for long.
A group of railway workers felt strongly that the last railway nursery in the country should remain active. Led by Paul Salveson, the volunteers persuaded Network Rail to grant them tenancy of the site and created the Poppleton Community Railway Nursery in 2009.
Today the nursery works in partnership with health agencies in York. Training in gardening skills has proved to be highly therapeutic for people recovering from mental health crises, rebuilding their self-esteem, social skills, and confidence. The nursery also holds regular plant sales. Go along when you get the chance – it’s a truly remarkable place.
Nearby
Back
To the online map