St. Denys

St. Denys Station. The first station near this location was opened in 1861 as ‘Portswood’. After only five years, the station was moved owing to the opening of the route to Netley. The name ‘St. Denys’ was only adopted much later in 1876. St. Denys Priory, established in the area around 1124, was named after one of three different saints… nobody is quite sure which one!

Major alterations to the layout of the station were made in 1899. At around this time a proposal for trams to use the Dukes Road level crossing just south of the station was thought far too dangerous, so a compromise was the construction in 1904 of a large iron bridge. The ‘Horseshoe Bridge’, as it is now known, was never actually used by trams!

The main station building and booking hall at St. Denys, with its many fascinating architectural details, is now Grade II listed.