E ridge is the archetypal 'country junction'. At one time, four routes radiated from its four-platformed station, yet the hamlet from which it takes its name, Eridge Green, is well over a mile away and the station itself is adjacent to nothing but fields, woods and a pub - the latter doubtless built in the hope of attracting clientele who missed their connections and had little else to do! The first railway in the area was opened in 1866 and ran from East Grinstead to Tunbridge Wells West via Groombridge. Before that decade was out, it had been joined by an extension linking Lewes with Groombridge via Eridge, and an extension into Tunbridge Wells Central. A line linking Eridge with Polegate, near Eastbourne, followed in 1880 and one running north to Hurst Green eight years later.
展开▼
