Weighbridge House At Bearsted Railway Station And Associated Structures

The weighbridge house, weighbridge, and cattle dock at Bearsted Railway Station date to circa 1884 and were likely designed by Arthur Stride for the Maidstone and Ashford Railway. The weighbridge house is a single-storey building constructed of yellow brick in Flemish bond, with red brick voussoirs and a gabled slate roof. The south-east elevation features a horizontal-sliding casement with intact glazing bars (currently unglazed) and a stone cill, alongside a half-glazed wooden door. Internally, the roof is boarded with collar beams and a ridgepiece.

The weighbridge, located to the north-west, consists of a horizontal rectangular steel structure set into a concrete base. This base incorporates incised steel plates, steel edging, and a slot for the winch mechanism on one side. The cattle dock, originally a rectangular pen without a roof, retains its yellow brick stretcher bond floor.

The structures were built in the goods yard at Bearsted Station in 1884, as part of the Maidstone and Ashford Railway, which later became part of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway in 1899. All three structures are depicted on the 1897 Ordnance Survey map, showing no alteration to their footprint since construction.

The goods yard ceased operation in 1964, subsequently used as a storage yard for a coal merchant until the 1990s. A C20 tubular steel fence with concrete posts, formerly surrounding the cattle dock, was removed after 1964. The buildings have group value as Bearsted is the only station on the line to retain its original buildings, goods shed, weighbridge house, and cattle dock, making it a significant example of the Maidstone and Ashford Railway.